Sense of impending doom

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Sense of impending doom
Specialty Critical care, emergency medicine, family medicine, psychiatry
Symptoms Sensation of imminent, life-threatening danger or tragedy.
Differential diagnosis Heart attack, generalised anxiety disorders, panic disorder, depression, blood transfusion, bipolar disorder, anaphylaxis

A sense of impending doom is a medical symptom that consists of an intense feeling that something life-threatening or tragic is about to occur, despite no apparent danger. Causes can be either psychological or physiological. Psychological causes can include an anxiety disorder, depression, panic disorder, or bipolar disorder. A sense of impending doom often precedes or accompanies a panic attack. Physiological cause could include a pheochromocytoma, heart attack, blood transfusion, anaphylaxis, [1] or use of some psychoactive substances. [2] A sense of impending doom can also present itself as a postoperative complication encountered after surgery. [3]

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References

  1. "Sense of impending doom: Common Related Medical Conditions". symptomchecker.webmd.com. Retrieved 2021-12-21.
  2. Dose-Response Study of N,N-Dimethyltryptamine in Humans: II. Subjective Effects and Preliminary Results of a New Rating Scale (PDF). Archives of General Psychiatry. 1994.
  3. Lopez, Peter P.; Patel, Nilesh A.; Koche, Lisa S. (May 2007). "Outpatient complications encountered following Roux-en-Y gastric bypass". The Medical Clinics of North America. 91 (3): 471–483, xii. doi:10.1016/j.mcna.2007.01.008. PMID   17509390 . Retrieved 3 January 2023.