Clinical case of the formation of panic attacks in a patient with alcohol dependence
The article presents a clinical example of the patient's cure with panic attacks, formed on the background of alcohol dependence. It is shown how affective disorders have affected the course of alcohol dependence and adherence to narcological and psychiatric treatment. There is a close connection between affective disorders and alcohol abuse. At the initial stages of the dependence, the patient removed the psychologically justified anxiety with the help of alcohol, then he «muffled» anxiety and panic attackswith larger doses of alcohol. However, panic attacks were formed and stopped only after a specific treatment with tranquilizers and an antidepressant. A differential diagnosis with affective fluctuations in the bipolar affective disorder was carried out. The patient's personal characteristics were also analyzed and the predominance of narcissistic features was revealed.