PUB - Publikationen an der Universität Bielefeld

The Impact of Psychological Psychotherapy on Anxiety Provoking Dizziness in Panic Disorder with Agoraphobia Introduction: Dizziness is frequently reported as a typical somatic complaint in panic disorder with agoraphobia. However, it is unclear, how often dizziness is experienced as anxiety provoking, and to what extent fear of dizziness affects treatment success. The present study examined the frequency and the influence of behavior therapy on anxiety provoking dizziness in patients with panic disorder with agoraphobia. Patients and Methods: 398 agoraphobics with panic disorder participated in the study. To analyze the impact of psychotherapy on dizziness, patients were classified into four groups depending on anxiety provoking dizziness (strong/weak) before or after treatment (pre/post). Results: Fear of dizziness was the most frequent somatic complaint in these patients at the beginning of the treatment. According to different self-rating scales, all four groups improved considerably with treatment. However, the group that reported dizziness as very anxiety provoking before treatment but no longer anxiety provoking after treatment yielded the strongest overall therapy effect. The other three groups did not differ in their overall benefit from treatment. Similar effects were found if different somatic sensations such as heart palpitations or hard breathing were selected. Discussion: The frequency of fear of dizziness emphasizes its relevance in this patient sample. It is therefore important that practitioners be informed about possible differential diagnoses that may include this fear. However, fear of dizziness did not take a special role in treatment outcome because treatment efficacy depended on losing the fear of disorder-typical physical symptoms in general, not specifically the fear of dizziness.