Anxiety disorders are defined by the 5th edition of the American Psychological Association (APA)’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-5) as a group of disorders "that share features of excessive fear and anxiety and related emotional disturbances".^[1] Panic disorder is an anxiety disorder characterized by recurrent, unexpected panic attacks.^[1]

Per the American Psychological Association (APA), the symptoms of panic disorder are as follows:

• Recurrent, unexpected panic attacks
• Concern or worries about the panic attacks
• Significant, negative changes in behavior related to the panic attacks, such as avoiding situations that might trigger an attack^[1]

The main symptom of a panic attack is a sudden attack of fear or intense discomfort. This is accompanied by other symptoms including trembling, sweating, shaking, heart palpitations, a pounding heart, a fast heart rate, a feeling of choking or suffocation, chest pain, nausea, abdominal distress, dizziness, faintness, light-headedness, feeling unsteady, chills, feeling overheated, numbness, tingling, feelings of unreality, depersonalization, fear of losing control, and fear of dying.^[1]

Panic disorder is diagnosed through a psychological evaluation performed by a clinician after ruling out other potential symptom causes such as medication, drugs, other anxiety disorders, or other medical conditions.^[2] The psychological evaluation is typically based on diagnostic criteria set by a publication such as the American Psychological Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) or the World Health Organization’s International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD).

The diagnostic criteria for panic disorder in the 5th edition of the DSM are as follows: recurrent, unexpected panic attacks, at least one of which must have been followed by a month or more of worries about the panic attack(s) and/or by negative changes in behavior related to the attack. The diagnosis of panic disorder can only be made if the symptoms can't be better explained by the effects of a medication or drug, by another medical condition, or by another mental disorder.^[1]

Taking inositol regularly may reduce the frequency of panic attacks.^[3] In one small randomized controlled trial (RCT) in people with panic disorder, taking 12 grams per day of inositol for a month was more effective at reducing the frequency of panic attacks than a placebo.^[4] And in another small RCT, taking 18 grams per day of inositol for a month was as effective as a month of daily fluvoxamine (an antidepressant) at reducing the frequency of panic attacks, although antidepressants like fluvoxamine usually take a minimum of 4 weeks to begin working.^[5] Inositol appears to be a promising supplement for panic disorder, although more research is needed.^[6]

However, if a panic attack is already in progress, taking a dose of inositol may not have any effect on the panic attack: A 1997 study in seven people with panic disorder found that a single 20-gram dose of inositol had no effect on a chemically-induced panic attack.^[7]