Abstract
Physicians practicing general medicine, internal medicine, or neurology are often consulted by patients who suffer from attacks of physical symptoms such as palpitations, breathlessness, chest pain, or dizziness while an organic cause of the complaints cannot be established. The physical symptoms are usually accompanied by the patients’ strong fear of physical or mental crises. Other patients consult psychiatrists or psychologists complaining about anxiety attacks which occur unexpectedly and for no apparent reason in situations like driving, shopping in department stores, attending public events, or being alone. The patients are physically healthy, but nevertheless often live in constant fear of physical catastrophes like fainting or dying from a myocardial infarction.
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Ehlers, A., Margraf, J. (1991). Anxiety and Physical Symptoms: Recent Findings on Panic Disorder. In: Ehlers, A., Fiegenbaum, W., Florin, I., Margraf, J. (eds) Perspectives and Promises of Clinical Psychology. Applied Clinical Psychology. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-3674-5_12
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