Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Expanding The Fear Of Loss Of Vigilance Theory: Using Intolerance Of Uncertainty, Responsibility For Harm, And Fear Of Sleep To Predict Nocturnal Panic Attacks, Nicole S. Smith

Master's Theses

Nocturnal panic involves experiencing panic attacks out of a sleeping state without obvious causes such as nightmares or loud noises. Roughly half of patients with panic disorder will experience nocturnal panic in addition to panic attacks while awake, or daytime panic. Like daytime panic, nocturnal panic also occurs in other disorders such as PTSD. The Fear of Loss of Vigilance theory is currently the only model available to explain nocturnal panic. It suggests that nocturnal panickers fear states in which they cannot easily react to or protect themselves from danger. Prior research using a self-report measure to differentiate nocturnal and …