How common are panic attacks?

Panic attacks can feel incredibly lonely. In the moment, it’s easy to believe nobody else has ever felt this way. In fact, panic attacks are one of the most common mental health experiences there is.

How many people have panic attacks?

A large US study, the National Comorbidity Survey Replication, interviewed more than 9,000 adults. It found that about 28% of adults had had at least one panic attack in their lifetime. That’s more than one in four people.

Most of them had panic attacks without ever developing panic disorder. In the study, about 23% had panic attacks only, without panic disorder or agoraphobia.

How common is panic disorder?

Panic disorder is when panic attacks keep happening out of the blue, along with ongoing worry about them or changes to avoid them. According to the US National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH):

• About 4.7% of US adults have panic disorder at some point in their lives.
• About 2.7% have it in any given year.

That’s millions of people in the US alone.

Who is most affected?

• Women. In any given year, 3.8% of women have panic disorder, compared with 1.6% of men.
• Young adults. Panic disorder often begins in the late teens or early adulthood, though it can start at any age.

How often do panic attacks happen?

It varies a lot. NIMH notes that panic attacks can happen as often as several times a day, or as rarely as a few times a year.

What these numbers mean for you

• You’re not alone. If you’ve had a panic attack, so have more than a quarter of the people around you, even if nobody talks about it.
• One attack doesn’t mean panic disorder. Most people who have panic attacks never develop it.
• Panic is very treatable. Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) helps most people with panic disorder, and many stop having attacks altogether.

If you’re wondering whether your panic attacks could be panic disorder, our quick self-check can help you think it through.

How Breatheasy can help

Breatheasy was made for the millions of people who know what panic feels like. Tap “I’m feeling anxious” and Luma walks you through it: rate how strong it feels, breathe slowly as your phone pulses gently, ground yourself with 5-4-3-2-1, then see how far the anxiety came down. It works without internet, and the panic button is always free. Breatheasy is coming soon to iPhone and Android.

When to get help

Talk to a doctor if panic attacks keep happening, if you’re worrying about the next one, or if they’re affecting your life. Our guide to anxiety and panic attacks covers what helps.

If you’re in crisis or thinking about ending your life, call or text 988, or call 911 if you’re in danger.

Sources

• Kessler et al. (2006). The epidemiology of panic attacks, panic disorder, and agoraphobia in the National Comorbidity Survey Replication. Archives of General Psychiatry.
• Panic disorder statistics, National Institute of Mental Health
• Panic Disorder: When Fear Overwhelms, National Institute of Mental Health