The ABCs of Agoraphobia: Definition, Symptoms and Treatment

What is Agoraphobia?

This phobia is defined as ‘fear of being of an embarrassing situation’, according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary. However, this is fairly known as fear of public places where the embarrassing situation might happen. In the US alone, there is about 1 per cent of the whole population but in the UK, about 4 per cent has it. Thus, such is developed from panic attacks which then advance into full-blown agoraphobia.

What are the Symptoms?

Agoraphobia does not sound as familiar as other phobias, however, it is actually common. The symptoms are also fairly common, sometimes these are portrayed in movies. Perhaps, after hearing the symptoms, you would identify the phobia.

Some common symptoms include the fear of crowds and of public transport. Then, there is social withdrawal or isolation. The person tends to ‘hide’ from people, this even includes fear in their own neighborhoods. For some milder agoraphobics, they are still able to go out, but they would require being with another person. Lastly, a panic attack which is originally the usual cause of agoraphobia becomes a symptom.

What the Treatment Options are available?

There are many treatment options available for agoraphobia. These treatment options can range from some simple remedies up to therapies. One of the simplest ways of ‘treating’ agoraphobia is by controlling panic attacks. This is said to be the most important since this is the main reason why they do not like to go out. Simply put, if there are no panic attacks, then there is less likely to have any fearful embarrassing situations.

Another available option is a CBT or a Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. This psychotherapeutic approach works by keeping the anxiety level at a minimum. This helps by changing the person’s view of the fearful events they anticipate. One other approach is EFT or the Emotional Freedom Technique. This works by tapping the body’s points to change the negative emotional stresses. There is also the NLP or Neuro-Linguistic Programming which is commonly to place a ‘good’ pattern of behavior to follow.

There are also some alternative non-medical approaches like hypnosis and stress management. Hypnosis which uses the mind’s deep state to calm the person and then change the perspective of the fearful events is one treatment option. Stress management, on the other hand, identifies the stressors then provides a more viable option on handling the stress. In turn, when the stress is overcome then, it would be easier to remove all other fears.

Conclusion

In conclusion we hope this article has highlighted the numerous ways you can help yourself, and possibly also help somebody else who has agoraphobia.

We would recommend that you stick with natural therapies over drugs, drug's only ever mask the symptoms and rarely ever deal with them head on.

Don't get us wrong, drug's do have a place and can help put a sufferers symptoms aside so they can attemtp to deal with the real issues with behavioural therapy or other methods. But they should never be relied on 100% as the sole cure.