View source for Panic

{{Short description|Sudden overwhelming sensation of fear}}
{{For|the psychological condition|Panic attack}}
{{Other uses}}

[[File:The expression of the emotions in man and animals (1872) (14785143685).jpg|thumb|Illustration in [[Charles Darwin]]'s ''[[The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals]]'']]

{{emotion}}

'''Panic''' is a sudden sensation of [[fear]], which is so strong as to dominate or prevent [[reason]] and [[logical]] thinking, replacing it with overwhelming feelings of [[anxiety]], [[uncertainty]] and frantic [[Psychomotor agitation|agitation]] consistent with a [[Fight-or-flight response|fight-or-flight]] reaction. Panic may occur singularly in individuals or manifest suddenly in large groups as [[mass panic]] (closely related to [[herd behavior]]).

== Etymology ==
The word "panic" derives from antiquity and is a tribute to the ancient god [[Pan (god)|Pan]]. One of the many gods in the [[mythology]] of ancient Greece, Pan was the god of shepherds and of woods and pastures. The Greeks believed that he often wandered peacefully through the woods, playing a pipe, but when accidentally awakened from his noontime nap he could give a great shout that would cause flocks to stampede. From this aspect of Pan's nature Greek authors derived the word ''panikos'', "sudden fear", the ultimate source of the English word: "panic".<ref>{{cite web|title=Definition of Panic by Merriam-Webster|date=21 March 2025 |url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/panic}}</ref> The Greek term indicates the feeling of total fear that is also sudden and often attributed to the presence of a god.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Horrorism: Naming Contemporary Violence|last=Cavarero|first=Adriana|publisher=Columbia University Press|year=2010|isbn=9780231144568|location=New York|pages=5}}</ref>

== Psychology ==
The [[Fight-or-flight response|fight-or-flight]] response (among other names) is a physiological reaction that occurs in response to a perceived [[Psychological trauma|harmful event]], [[Trauma (medicine)|attack]], or threat to survival. Animals react to threats with a general discharge of the [[sympathetic nervous system]], preparing the animal for fighting or fleeing. The [[adrenal medulla]] produces a hormonal cascade that results in the secretion of [[catecholamines]], especially [[norepinephrine]] and [[epinephrine]]. The hormones [[estrogen]], [[testosterone]], and [[cortisol]], as well as the neurotransmitters [[dopamine]] and [[serotonin]], also affect how organisms react to stress. The hormone [[osteocalcin]] might also play a part.

[[Stress (biology)#General adaptation syndrome|General adaptation syndrome]] regulates [[Stress (biological)|stress]] responses among [[vertebrate]]s and other [[organism]]s involves the fight-or-flight response as it first stage.

A [[panic attack]] is a sudden period of intense [[fear]] and discomfort that may include [[palpitations]], sweating, [[chest pain]], shaking, [[shortness of breath]], [[Hypoesthesia|numbness]], or a feeling of impending doom or of losing control. Typically, symptoms reach a peak within ten minutes of onset, and last for roughly 30 minutes, but the duration can vary from seconds to hours. Though distressing, panic attacks themselves are not physically dangerous. They can either be triggered or occur unexpectedly.

In psychology, there is an identified condition called [[panic disorder]] that has been described as a specific psychological vulnerability of people to interpret normal physical sensations in a catastrophic way.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Essentials of Abnormal Psychology|last1=Durand|first1=Mark|last2=Barlow|first2=David|last3=Hofman|first3=Stefan|publisher=Cengage Learning|year=2018|isbn=9781337619370|location=Boston, MA|pages=132}}</ref> It is related strongly to biological and psychological factors and their interactions.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Barlow|first1=David|title=Abnormal Psychology: An Integrative Approach, 7th edition|last2=Durand|first2=Mark|publisher=Cengage Learning|year=2012|isbn=9781285755618|location=Stamford, CT|pages=139}}</ref> Leonard J. Schmidt and Brooke Warner describe panic as "that terrible, profound emotion that stretches us beyond our ability to imagine any experience more horrible" adding that "physicians like to compare painful clinical conditions on some imagined 'Richter scale' of vicious, mean hurt … to the psychiatrist there is no more vicious, mean hurt than an exploding and personally disintegrating panic attack."<ref>Leonard J. Schmidt and Brooke Warner (eds), ''Panic: Origins, Insight, and Treatment'' (Berkeley CA: North Atlantic Books, 2002), xiii</ref>

[[File:Run on the Seamen's Savings' Bank during the Panic of 1857.png|thumb|[[Bank run]] on the Seamen's Savings' Bank during the [[Panic of 1857]]]]
Panic attacks can occur due to several other disorders including [[social anxiety disorder]], [[post-traumatic stress disorder]], [[substance use disorder]], [[Major depressive disorder|depression]], and medical problems.

Panic in social psychology is considered infectious since it can spread to a multitude of people and those affected are expected to act irrationally as a consequence.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Defence Against Bioterrorism: Methods for Prevention and Control|last1=Radosavljevic|first1=Vladan|last2=Banjari|first2=Ines|last3=Belojevic|first3=Goran|publisher=Springer|year=2018|isbn=9789402412628|location=Dordrecht|pages=142}}</ref> Psychologists identify different types of this panic event with slightly varying descriptions, which include [[Mass psychogenic illness|mass panic, mass hysteria]], [[Folie à deux|mass psychosis]], and [[social contagion]].<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=njJSDwAAQBAJ&q=panic+social+psychology&pg=PT162|title=Case Studies in Social Psychology: Critical Thinking and Application|last1=Heinzen|first1=Thomas|last2=Goodfriend|first2=Wind|date=2018-03-21|publisher=SAGE Publications|isbn=9781544308890|language=en}}</ref>

An influential theoretical treatment of panic is found in [[Neil Smelser|Neil J. Smelser]]'s ''Theory of Collective Behavior''. The science of panic management has found important practical applications in the armed forces and emergency services of the world.

== Effects ==
[[Human evolution#Before Homo|Prehistoric humans]] used mass panic as a technique when hunting animals, especially [[ruminant]]s. [[Herd]]s reacting to unusually strong sounds or unfamiliar visual effects were directed towards [[cliff]]s, where they eventually jumped to their deaths when cornered.{{Citation Needed|date=January 2024}}

[[Human]]s are also vulnerable to panic and it is often considered infectious, in the sense one person's panic may easily spread to other people nearby and soon the entire group acts [[Irrationality|irrational]]ly, but people also have the ability to prevent and/or control their own and others' panic by disciplined thinking or training (such as disaster drills).

[[Architect]]s and [[city planner]]s try to accommodate for behaviors related to panic, such as [[herd behavior]], during [[design]] and [[planning]], often using [[simulation]]s to determine the best way to lead people to a safe exit and prevent congestion or [[crowd crush]]es. The most effective methods are often non-intuitive. A tall column or columns, placed in front of the door exit at a precisely calculated distance, may speed up the evacuation of a large room, as the obstacle divides the congestion well ahead of the choke point.<ref>{{cite arXiv|last1=TWAROGOWSKA|first1=M|last2=GOATIN|first2=P|last3=DUVIGNEAU|first3=R|title=MACROSCOPIC MODELING AND SIMULATIONS OF ROOM EVACUATION|year=2013|class=math.NA|eprint=1308.1770}}</ref>

Many highly publicized cases of deadly panic occurred during massive public events. The layout of [[Mecca]] was extensively redesigned by [[Saudi Arabia|Saudi]] authorities in an attempt to eliminate frequent crushes, which kill an average of 250 [[pilgrim]]s every year.<ref>{{Citation
  | last = Castelvecchi
  | first = Davide
  | author-link = 
  | title = Formula for Panic: Crowd-motion findings may prevent stampedes
  | newspaper = Science News Online
  | pages = 
  | date = 2007-04-07
  | url = https://www.sciencenews.org/node/11205
  | access-date = 2015-06-08
  | archive-date = 2019-04-14
  | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190414194743/https://www.sciencenews.org/node/11205
  | url-status = dead
  }}</ref> [[Association football|Football]] stadiums have seen deadly crowd rushes and stampedes, such as at [[Heysel Stadium Disaster|Heysel stadium]] in [[Belgium]] in 1985 with more than 600 casualties, including 39 deaths, at [[Hillsborough disaster|Hillsborough stadium]] in [[Sheffield]], [[England]], in 1989 when 96 people were killed in a crush, and at [[Kanjuruhan Stadium disaster|Kanjuruhan Stadium]] in [[Indonesia]], in 2022 when 135 people were killed in a crush.

== See also ==
{{columns-list|
* {{annotated link|Panic attack}}
* {{annotated link|Anxiety}}
* {{annotated link|Fight-or-flight response}}
* {{annotated link|Angst}}
* {{annotated link|Collective behavior}}
* {{annotated link|Collective identity}}
* {{annotated link|Emotion}}
* {{annotated link|Hysteria}}
* {{annotated link|Kernel panic}}
* {{annotated link|Moral panic}}
* {{annotated link|Financial crisis}}
* {{annotated link|Panic disorder}}
* {{annotated link|Super Saturday|Panic Saturday (Super Saturday)}}, last Saturday before Christmas
* {{annotated link|Panic! at the Disco}}
}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Wiktionary|panic}}
{{Wikiquote}}
*[http://www.asktog.com/columns/066Panic!.html Panic! How it works and What To Do About It] &mdash; by [[Bruce Tognazzini]].
*"Panic: Myth or Reality?" &mdash; Professor Lee Clarke, [http://contexts.org Contexts Magazine], 2002. (Article available as [http://leeclarke.com/docs/Clarke_panic.pdf PDF from Lee Clarke's website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160105064324/http://leeclarke.com/docs/Clarke_panic.pdf |date=2016-01-05 }})

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[[Category:Fear]]
[[Category:Emotions]]
[[Category:Underwater diving hazards]]