Agoraphobia

The fear of being in large or unknown public places is called agoraphobia. This phobia is associated with panic attacks and anxiety. Agoraphobia has different stages--the most severe case can confine a person to his or her home and less severe cases can cause a person to suffer a panic attack from being in an area where there are few or no places to hide or feel protected. Agoraphobia is a disabling fear. It makes a person feel as though there is no hope or help available to them, thus causing panic. While agoraphobic behaviors are irrational, an agoraphobic person's fears are valid and often surface in therapy. 

• Psychotherapy for Agoraphobia
• Physical Effects of Agoraphobia
• Agoraphobia in the DSM

Psychotherapy for Agoraphobia

Persons with agoraphobia can benefit from attending psychotherapy. In psychotherapy sessions, people with agoraphobia have the opportunity to talk through their anxieties, thoughts, and feelings that cause panic, as well as explore ways in which to cope with their agoraphobic tendencies and explore ways in which they will approach situations that can be potentially dangerous for them. People with agoraphobia can learn to help themselves with different thought processes and exercises, and they may create a more conducive environment for themselves where they can potentially avoid situations in which they would react in an agoraphobic way.  

Physical Effects of Agoraphobia

Agoraphobia is not only an illness that affects the mind, but it affects the physical body as well. Agoraphobia can lead to high blood pressure and a variety of other harmful physical symptoms including:

• Abdominal distress that occurs when upset

• Difficulty breathing or chest pains

• Confused and/or disordered thoughts

• Dizziness

• Excessive sweating

• Abnormal heartbeat

• Lightheaded or near fainting

• Nausea and vomiting

• Numbness and tingling

• Skin flushing

• Unusual temper or agitation with trembling or twitching

• Anxiety or panic attack (severe or acute)

• Becoming housebound for prolonged periods of time

• Dependence on others

• Fear of being alone or in places where escape might be difficult

• Fear of losing control in a public place

• Intense fear of dying or going crazy

• Feelings of detachment or estrangement from others

• Feelings of helplessness

• Feeling that the body is unreal

• Feeling that the environment is unreal

Agoraphobia in the DSM

Agoraphobia is classified in the DSM under anxiety disorders as a panic disorder. It is characterized by the fear of being in large and/or unknown public places. Agoraphobia without history of Panic Disorder is also classified as an anxiety disorder in the DSM and is characterized by extreme fear of panic attacks or related panic symptoms. 

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