Panic experiences (PDSS-SR)
Sudden anxiety and its effect on daily life. Answer the app’s questionnaire and see your result right away.
Source · Shear MK, Brown TA, Barlow DH, et al. Multicenter collaborative Panic Disorder Severity Scale. Am J Psychiatry. 1997;154(11):1571–1575. CareOps English translation of its existing Korean questionnaire. Wording, response choices and descriptive score ranges follow the CareOps version and have not been independently validated in English. The existing CareOps version uses a common response scale across seven questions; it is not the full item-specific response wording of the original PDSS-SR.
Panic self-check: reading the seven questions
The PDSS is a panic disorder severity scale published by Shear and colleagues in 1997, and this page is based on its self-report version. It asks how often panic attacks came, how distressing they were and how much you worried about the next one. It also covers places and activities avoided for fear of an attack and the effect on work and relationships, all over the past week. This English page translates the CareOps Korean questionnaire, uses one shared response scale across the seven questions, and has not been independently validated in English.
Reading your results
Each question scores 0–4 for a total of 0–28. The result screen shows 0–8 as below the screening threshold, 9–14 as further assessment suggested and 15–28 as higher symptom burden. Even with few attacks, high worry or avoidance answers can mean daily life has narrowed. A diagnosis is made in a clinical conversation; a score of 9 or more, or a growing list of avoided places, is a good reason to talk with a professional.
A question to reflect on
List every place or activity you avoided this week because of fear of panic, and note roughly when you started avoiding each. Seeing the order makes it easier to choose where to begin taking things back.
Frequently asked questions
- How many questions are in Panic experiences (PDSS-SR), and how long does it take?
- There are 7 questions, and it usually takes about 2 minutes. For each question you choose one of 5 answers, from “Not at all” to “Very severely”. There are no right or wrong answers.
- I had one panic attack. Is that panic disorder?
- A single attack is not the same as panic disorder. That is why this check asks about worry about future attacks, avoidance and effects on daily life, not just how many attacks happened.
- If I had no attacks this week, is my score zero?
- Not necessarily. Worrying about another attack or avoiding crowded places still scores. This lets you see the worry and avoidance that can remain after attacks become less frequent.
- When should I retake it?
- It asks about the past week, so weekly retakes make changes easy to follow, especially the avoidance questions while you return to places you had been avoiding.
- Do I need to sign in? Are my answers saved?
- You can see your results right away without signing in. Your answers are used only for scoring and are not stored on our servers.
- Can I bring these results into a counseling session?
- Use the analysis button at the bottom of the result screen to have a short conversation with Maeumi without signing in. After the conversation, you can continue in the app. The web conversation does not transfer automatically to the app.
- Can I share my results with a friend?
- Yes. Use Share at the top right of the result screen to send a friend the check itself, or share your result as a link or story image. A result link carries your scores inside the address only; it does not include your name or account, and nothing is saved on our side.