Professor Philip Gorwood shared his expertise on panic disorder with us, overviewing the symptoms, diagnosis and management of this condition. He emphasised the increased risk of psychiatric co-morbidity, as panic attacks and the persistent fear of them can highly impair the daily life of a person with panic disorder. He also highlighted the importance of ruling out physical illness when diagnosing panic disorder. To ensure that progress can be monitored, Professor Gorwood recommended rating the level of impairment from the onset to provide a baseline level against which progress can be measured to potentially motivate people who continue to experience residual symptoms despite treatment, and to counteract low treatment adherence or compliance.