Agoraphobia – What is it, Causes and Treatments

Social phobia is an intense and realistic fear of social situations that may involve scrutiny, exposure, or unfamiliar people. People with social phobias  avoid situations in which they might be criticized or evaluated, and they may experience intense  anxiety , and act inappropriately. It is commonly known as  social anxiety disorder  .

Main Causes:  Most cases of Agoraphobia  develop as a complication of panic disorder . Agoraphobia can  sometimes develop if a person has a panic attack  in a specific situation or environment. They begin to worry so much about having another panic attack  that they feel the symptoms of a panic attack  returning when they are in a similar situation or environment.

Panic Disorder:  As with many mental health conditions, the exact cause of panic disorder  is not fully understood. However, most experts think that a combination of biological and psychological factors may be involved.

Biological Factors:  There are a number of theories about the type of biological factors that may be involved with panic disorders . These are described below.

Key Symptoms of Agoraphobia:  The severity of Agoraphobia  can vary significantly between individuals. For example, someone with severe Agoraphobia  may be unable to leave the house, whereas someone with mild Agoraphobia  may be able to travel short distances without any problems. Agoraphobia  symptomscan be broadly classified into three types:

• physical:
• cognitive:
• behavioral:

Physical Symptoms:  The physical symptoms of Agoraphobia  usually only occur when you find yourself in a situation or environment that causes anxiety . However, many people with Agoraphobia  rarely experience physical symptoms because they deliberately avoid situations that annihilate them. The physical symptoms of Agoraphobia  can be similar to those of a panic attack  and can include:

• accelerated heartbeat:
• Rapid breathing (hyperventilating):
• Feeling hot and sweaty:
• feeling sick:
• chest pain:
• Difficulty swallowing (dysphagia):
• diarrhea :
• Shivering:
• dizziness:
• Ringing in the ears (tinnitus):
• feeling dizzy:

Treatment of Agoraphobia:  The typical treatment for Agoraphobia , with or without panic disorder,  consists of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and antidepressant drug therapy. Some natural treatments also work by attacking the anxiety  brought on by Agoraphobia . CBT involves using exposure to the feared situation. Because it is known that people with panic disorder  tend to exaggerate bodily sensations, the therapist actually causes feelings of anxiety while teaching methods of control.

As this demonstrates that bodily sensations can be created as well as controlled, they seem less frightening. Another type of exposure technique used to treat people with panic disorder  and Agoraphobia  focuses on helping the individual identify thoughts that make bodily sensations frightening. The therapist helps them to challenge these beliefs.