Fear of the Known - Taking Your Life Back.

What is Agoraphobia?

The term "agoraphobia" is from the Greek words for "public square" and "fear". And in fact, it is commonly referred to as a "fear of open spaces.' But actually, it's not as simple as that.

Agoraphobia is a form of anxiety disorder where you fear and avoid places or situations that make you feel trapped or helpless. Fear of helplessness may be caused in contradictory ways.

One agoraphobic may fear being left alone while another might fear being surrounded by a crowd. Some may actually fear to be in a wide open space while others may fear confinement in elevators or public transportation.

What all of these situations have in common is the feeling of being helpless or unable to escape. The problem sometimes goes unreported like many other phobias as sufferers contort their lives to avoid situations that cause their fears

Symptoms of Agoraphobia may include:

Fast, pounding heartbeat; Hyperventilating; Feeling hot (or cold); Nausea or diarrhea; Feeling dizzy or faint Feeling like you're dying

Panic attacks are often mistaken for heart attacks because the symptoms seem similar.

Some Possible Causes

Agoraphobia can originate with a panic attack. Panic attacks can occur out of the blue for no apparent reason at all. But the victim may associate the panic attack with the specific situation where it happened.

And this pattern of avoidance can develop into agoraphobia if you happened to be outdoors or perhaps a fear of flying if you were on a plane.

A traumatic event like the death of a loved one or loss of a job can cause feelings of helplessness that develop into agoraphobia. In this case, in the form of reluctance to leave the safety of the home or even a specific room.

Some studies indicate agoraphobia may be related to specific substances. Tranquilizer use, smoking tobacco and drinking alcohol have all been linked to panic attacks if not specifically agoraphobia.

Ways it is Treated

Desensitization - The victim is exposed to the situation he fears and stays there until the fear goes away on its own. Attacks typically last 30 minutes or less. One method using this technique is known as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT).

Antidepressant medications like Benzodiazepines (Bromazepam) and tricyclic antidepressants (Amitriptyline) have been useful. Antianxiety medications like as clonazepam and alprazolam have also been used to treat agoraphobia.

The patient may also be trained in relaxation techniques like yoga or Tai Chi to help prevent anxiety or relieve it once it begins.

Finally, participation in some kind of support group is often helpful. In the case of someone housebound by agoraphobia, this contact might have to be by phone conference or in a chat group online.

What You Should Do

If you feel this is the situation you're in, don't suffer it in silence. Seek professional assistance or follow a do it yourself program. But however you do it, confront your fear and take your life back!. There are two separate phases of treatment.

First, learn to recognize and anticipate attacks so they don't catch you unprepared. That way you can use relaxation techniques to reduce the severity of an attack or even avoid it completely.

Secondly, begin to expose yourself to the situations that cause your fear. It is the habit of avoiding them that makes them grow more powerful over time. Each time a panic attack passes, the fact you are unharmed is evidence to your subconscious mind that the fear was unnecessary.

Over time you can retrain that "flight or fight' response to stop occurring in situations that are not actually a threat.



Face your Fears and you will realise they were never there