AYNA Klinik Psikoloji Dergisi, vol.1, no.2, pp.14-22, 2014 (Peer-Reviewed Journal)
Panic disorder patients’ reports of their anxiety of losing control has been frequently
noticed. In fact, the disorder itself is characterized by an inability to tolerate a series of
physiological symptoms which are uncontrollable. Several authors reported that patients with
panic disorder strive to control a variety of events in their daily lives; such as excessive control
over emotional reactions, perfectionism, and obsessive-compulsive patterns. Psychoanalytical
explanations define “striving for control” as a secondary reaction formation strategy for panic
disorder patients, who try to deal with their dependency needs that were unmet during childhood.
In line with these suggestions, a case example is presented in order to draw a link between the
dependency needs, anger towards the parents, the development of reaction formation strategies,
and the panic disorder.
Ms.B. was a 23 years old female client. Since the first sessions, it was obivous in B’s life
how the tasks, responsibilities, and rules were given importance and priority. Being quite restricted
in affect, B. frequently reported that she rarely engaged in social interactions and avoided from
romantic attempts. In the following sessions, B.’s perfectionism over tasks and her avoidance from
social interactions were examined in terms of “strival for control”. Accordingly, the tasks and
responsibilities were observed to be the space where B felt having relatively more control; thus she
developed an unflexible life pattern in which she dedicated most of her time for her studies and
daily organizations. On the other hand, the uncontrollable nature of personal interactions boosted
her anxiety. When her anxious state was questioned in more detail, it was observed that what she
was most anxious about was being unable to control her emotions, particularly anger. A general
anxiety of being unable to control anger was evident in the relationship with her parents and her
brother. Accordingly, it was revealed that she repressed her feelings of anger towards her parents
for their inability of meeting her dependency needs. It was further observed that she directed her
anger towards her brother, with whom she compared herself in terms of coping with the unmet
needs. Through these observations, the sessions with B. were conducted aiming at increasing her
awareness and developing more adaptive strategies to deal with the dependency needs rather than
relying on excessive control mechanisms.
It has been reached a consensus that symptomatic improvement per se is not enough for
psychotherapeutic interventions and that strategies aiming at relapse prevention are needed. In
order to enhance these strategies, it is crucial to understand the mechanisms underlying the
disorders. However, regarding the panic disorder, very few is known about the underlying
mechanisms. Although the personal histories vary, the case examples are believed to provide
important data for the common problems. Hence, it is recommended in further studies to merge
these data into a systematic model of underlying mechanisms of panic disorder.
Panik bozukluğun, “kontrol kaybından duyulan endişe”, “mükemmelliyetçilik” ve “kaçınmacı başetme
stratejileri” gibi faktörlerle ilişki içerisinde olduğu literatürde sıklıkla vurgulanmaktadır. Bu özelliklerin
panik bozukluğun ortaya çıkmasında nasıl etkili olduklarının ve nasıl bir mekanizma içerisinde bir araya
geldiklerinin anlaşılması, rahatsızlığın yeniden ortaya çıkmasını önlemeye yönelik terapötik müdahalelerin
etkililiğini arttıracaktır. Kimi çalışmalar, panik bozukluk etiyolojisinde kaçınmacı ya da obsesif-kompülsif
kişilik özelliklerinin yer alabileceğinden söz etse de bu özelliklerle panik bozukluk arasında nedensel bir
bağlantı kurmaya yönelik açıklamalara nadiren rastlanılmaktadır. Genellikle psikodinamik kuram
çerçevesinde yapılan bu açıklamalar ise, kişinin, karşılanamayan bağımlı olma ihtiyaçları ve etkili bir
biçimde baş edemediği öfke duygusu sebebiyle yaşantıları üzerinde aşırı bir kontrol sağlama çabası içerisine
girmiş olabileceklerini vurgulamaktadır. Bu makalede, bir panik bozukluk vakasının formüle edilmesi
üzerinden, kontrol kaybı kaygısının ve diğer ilişkili faktörlerin, ebeveyne yönelik öfkenin bastırılması ve
tepki oluşumu stratejisi çerçevesinde nasıl örgütlendikleri ele alınacak ve bu faktörlerin danışanın hayatında
ve panik bozuk semptomlarının ortaya çıkmasında nasıl bir role sahip oldukları tartışılacaktır.