Psychotherapy is often combined with medications for optimum effectiveness. Cognitive behavioral therapy CBT is the most common form of psychotherapy used to treat people with agoraphobia.
CBT can help you understand the distorted feelings and views associated with agoraphobia. It can also teach you how to work through stressful situations by replacing the distorted thoughts with healthy thoughts, allowing you to regain a sense of control in your life. Exposure therapy can also help you overcome your fears. This may make your fear diminish over time. You may want to try:. However, early treatment for anxiety or panic disorders may help.
With treatment, you have a good chance of getting better. This disorder can be quite debilitating since it prevents you from participating in everyday activities.
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Learn more about podophobia, the fear of feet — and find out how you can help treat the causes and symptoms of this rare phobia. Do you have Hippopotomonstroses-quippedaliophobia? Agoraphobia is an anxiety disorder. It can trigger intense fear in situations where escape may be difficult or help hard to access.
People often misunderstand agoraphobia as a fear of open spaces, but it is more complex than that. Situations that may trigger fear in people with agoraphobia include:. Some people with agoraphobia also have panic attacks or panic disorder. When the symptoms are severe, they can keep a person from leaving their home. Agoraphobia can develop at any age, but the symptoms usually appear at around 25—35 years of age, and they affect females more often than males.
A person with this type of disorder has persistent feelings of anxiety that affect their ability to function in daily life. Agoraphobia is an anxiety disorder that involves a fear of being in places from which it is hard to escape or receive help. Feelings of embarrassment, helplessness, or being trapped can trigger agoraphobia. A person may have one or more of these feelings in crowded or remote areas or on bridges or public transport, for example. Agoraphobia can develop after a person has had a panic attack.
A fear of further attacks, for example, may cause the person to avoid the kinds of situation in which the first attack took place. Though agoraphobia may follow panic disorder, the DSM-5 considers them separate diagnoses. People with agoraphobia may need help from a companion to visit public places. They may feel unable to leave home on their own or at all. Doctors usually treat agoraphobia with a combination of medication and cognitive behavioral therapy CBT , a type of psychotherapy.
It is important to note that antidepressants sometimes have unwanted effects at the beginning, which may make symptoms of the disorder seem worse. In a psychotherapy appointment, a person works with a therapist to address the causes and symptoms of their anxiety.
Back to Agoraphobia. Agoraphobia is a fear of being in situations where escape might be difficult or that help wouldn't be available if things go wrong. Many people assume agoraphobia is simply a fear of open spaces, but it's actually a more complex condition. Someone with agoraphobia may be scared of:. If someone with agoraphobia finds themselves in a stressful situation, they'll usually experience the symptoms of a panic attack , such as:.
They'll avoid situations that cause anxiety and may only leave the house with a friend or partner. They'll order groceries online rather than going to the supermarket. This change in behaviour is known as avoidance. Read more about the symptoms of agoraphobia.
Agoraphobia usually develops as a complication of panic disorder , an anxiety disorder involving panic attacks and moments of intense fear. It can arise by associating panic attacks with the places or situations where they occurred and then avoiding them. A minority of people with agoraphobia have no history of panic attacks. Journal of Affective Disorders. Craske MG, et al.
The Lancet. Olthuis JV, et al. Therapist-supported internet cognitive behavioural therapy for anxiety disorders in adults. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. National Institute of Mental Health.
McCabe RE. Agoraphobia in adults: Epidemiology, pathogenesis, clinical manifestations, course, and diagnosis. Accessed Jan. Krieger CA expert opinion. Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn.
Sawchuk CN expert opinion. National Center for Complementary and Integrative Medicine. Related Associated Procedures Cognitive behavioral therapy Psychotherapy.
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