The Fear Of Serial Killers

A respected psychologist and field expert on serial killers, Dr. Helen Hudson (Sigourney Weaver), who is renowned for her astounding lectures, becomes agoraphobic after she is brutally attacked by one of the irredeemable psychotics she has been lecturing about after one of her lectures at a local university. Due to the horrifying attack and her newly developed illness Helen’s life and mere “existence becomes defined by the walls of her apartment.” While she is living life as a prisoner in her own home she “becomes entangled in the deadly mind game of a vicious copycat serial killer” through her only link to the outside world, the internet. When she makes the connection that there is a copycat killer on the prowl she contacts the local Police Department. The psychologist and a detective then begin working together to take down the serial killer and conquer the agoraphobic disorder that has been crippling her for over a year. In order to bring the killer to justice and stay alive she has to fight her fear of leaving the apartment and face her attackers.

A Phobia is the fear of a specific circumstance, situation, or objects. Agora is an ancient Greek word meaning marketplace. Combining the two words gives us agoraphobia, which is a fear of being in crowded places, a fear of losing control in public, or the fear of being unable to escape to a safe place (usually one’s home). It became a medically recognized disorder in the mid-1800s. “The Anxiety Disorders Association of America says about one in 11 Americans suffers from panic attacks. Two-thirds also suffer from agoraphobia, and about three-fourths of all agoraphobics are women.”

“Most often, people develop agoraphobia following a series of panic attacks that happen away from home....

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...rted thinking. All of which may start a cycle of fear.” Additional interesting facts that I learned are:

• Nearly 3.2 million Americans (ages 18-54) suffer from agoraphobia according to the National Institute of Mental Health.

• Although not officially part of the definition, many people suffering from agoraphobia also suffer from depression.

• Agoraphobia is caused by a combination of family environment, psychological, genetic, and personality factors.

• The onset of this disorder is usually between late teens and the mid-thirties.

• Up to four times as many women as men are diagnosed with agoraphobia.

• Agoraphobia is not physically dangerous! That is the key here. The symptoms are those of having a panic attack, which also is not physically dangerous. It is the symptoms which are frightening.

• There is no record of anyone dying of a panic attack or agoraphobia.