Agoraphobia is a well-known type of anxiety, where you are anxious of situation from which you see no way out. With this we mean that places, where there are many people meaning you cannot get away quickly, cause anxiety. Agoraphobia is often a result from a panic disorder, because one is anxious to get an anxiety attack in a space with many people where one cannot get away.
The situations which will trigger agoraphobia can differ from person to person. Below, we list several examples of situations which can cause agoraphobia:
- Shops
- Supermarkets
- Restaurants
- Public transport
These situations can make people feel trapped in a situation, where they cannot escape or get help if something were to go wrong. Sometimes it can help if a friend/family member is present. However, oftentimes this will not be the case, meaning you instead try to avoid the situation.
The consequences of agoraphobia?
First off, agoraphobia will be limited to experiencing anxiety in situations which cause this. After a while, this behavior will lead to avoidance of the situation. If you experience that you often/always experience anxiety and eventually get a panic attack when using public transport, for example, you will start to avoid doing so after a while, because the anxiety becomes too overwhelming.
If your agoraphobia continues, we can also speak of generalized agoraphobia after a while. This means that the anxiety spreads out to even more situations. It can be so that, if you experience agoraphobia, you do not want to go anywhere alone anymore after a while, and start to avoid certain types of transportation. For example, it can be possible that you are anxious about taking buses, and as a result thereof you also want to avoid using airplanes. The anxiety will spread out like this, having a larger and larger influence on your life.
Agoraphobia also often makes it so that you cannot do daily activities or things that make you happy anymore. This in itself can largely influence you happiness as well as your self-image. Often, we notice that people with agoraphobia develop depressed symptoms, because they feel alone and somber. Furthermore, they feel like there is nothing they can change about the situation, because they feel like they have no control over the anxiety.
Agoraphobia: treatment?
You can treat agoraphobia by dealing with the underlying constructs and anxiety. A treatment of agoraphobia will generally help you to trust your own capacities again, so that you are once again in control of your own life. This will help you to once again do the things which make you happy.
"15Minutes4Me.com" is an online self-help program which wants to help you realize these goals. The program guides you online every day in treating your anxiety and re-building your happiness.
Test your anxiety symptoms?
Do you want to know which symptoms of agoraphobia and anxiety are applicable to you, and how severe these symptoms are? Then do the free anxiety test here!