Description of Panic Disorder Everyone at some point experiences fear due to a situation that overwhelms us. This is an essential response of our body that can help us survive. However, when these fears are constant, they can disable an individual. Panic disorder (PD) is a mental illness that causes a person to have recurrent panic attacks (Strickland, 2001). Panic attacks in people with Parkinson's disease arise unexpectedly, predisposed by the situation and/or by situations that remind them of terrible events they have experienced. Parkinson's disease can be classified into two types: Parkinson's disease with or without agoraphobia. Agoraphobia is the fear of being in a situation or place from which the person thinks it would be difficult or embarrassing to escape. Some individuals develop agoraphobia after the first episodes of panic attacks; others acquire it years later (Key, 2012). The disease usually emerges between the early and twenties of age and can affect any person regardless of their ethnicity. However, the condition usually occurs more in certain groups. Women are twice as likely to develop Parkinson's disease as men. In males, African Americans are more likely to develop this disorder than Hispanics or whites (Key, 2012). Young people (18 to 21 years old) are three times more likely to have panic attacks if they also have psychoticism (antisocial traits such as cruelty and rejection of social norms). This group regularly develops other mental disorders (depression and social phobias) and bad habits (alcohol or drug addiction) that aggravate PD (Goodwin, Fergusson, & Horwood, 2004). The impact of Parkinson's disease in veterans is usually greater than in any other group. Approximately 2.7% of individuals in any given year will suffer from PD, with onset rates of 6.1% to 8.3% among veterans, (Barre...... middle of paper.... ..hiatry, 54(3), 256-261. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.comppsych.2012.09.001 Choy, Y. (2008). : evidence-based treatments, 40-44,46. Retrieved July 4, 2014, from http://search.proquest.com/docview/204570274?accountid=35796Goodwin, R.D., Fergusson, D.M., & Horwood, L.J. (2004 ). The American Journal of Psychiatry, 161(1), 88-92 Retrieved July 14, 2014, from http://search.proquest.com/docview/220493290?accountid=35796Key, K. (2012). ., vol. 2., pp. 109-111), Detroit, MI: Gale Cengage Learning.Mental Disorders in America (2006). (2nd ed.) Detroit, MI: Gale Group.