Agoraphobia Demographics
Agoraphobia is a mysterious and potentially debilitating disorder. Its most well known symptom involves fear of being in open spaces. However, sufferers may exhibit one or a combination of many other psychological, physical, or behavioral symptoms. As a result of these symptoms, people suffering from agoraphobia can be quite misunderstood and have difficulties with personal relationships and functioning in normal daily life.
People with agoraphobia come from all walks of life and cultures. They include our family members, friends, co-workers and neighbors. Onset of the condition usually occurs in young adulthood and affects women more than men. Perhaps you even know someone who has it.
Causes of Agoraphobia and Symptoms
The causes for agoraphobia are not conclusively known. It may have genetic factors or be the result of some emotional trauma, such as abuse or exposure to stressful situations. For example, people diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder are more in danger of developing agoraphobia symptoms. Based on the most recent statistics from The National Institute of Mental Health about .8% or roughly 1.8 million US adults 18 and older evidence agoraphobia symptoms.
It should be noted that while agoraphobia and panic attacks are closely related conditions, on rare occasions one can occur without the other. According to published reports nearly 95% of agoraphobia sufferers will experience panic attacks at some time along with other agoraphobia symptoms. Conversely, roughly 1/3 of people with diagnosed panic attacks have an accompanying agoraphobia diagnosis.
Psychological Symptoms:
-Fear of feeling out of control or trapp...
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...port and Intervention
Mental health professionals state that agoraphobia is under-reported due to the stigma associated with mental health issues. Suffers often do not wish to draw attention to themselves so they hide or cover their symptoms when possible. It is often up to family members to help the agoraphobia sufferer seek intervention.
Once intervention is in place, family is asked to support and encourage the sufferer's treatment plan. Family members may even be invited to participate in therapy with their loved one. This facilitates the patient's progress in overcoming the disorder's affects. Many sufferers learn to manage their symptoms and eventually eradicate triggers for them. Others are able to greatly improve their control over their symptoms. With the right treatment and support, prognosis for recovery from agoraphobia is possible.
Panic disorder- sudden intense and unprovoked feelings of terror and dread. People who suffer from this disorder generally develop strong fears about when and where their next panic attack will occur, and often restrict their activities as a result.
Agoraphobia is a psychological disorder characterised by panic and anxiety. This particular anxiety disorder involves the fear of experiencing a panic attack in a public place where safety may be unavailable, which causes discomfort (Lilienfeld, 2017). This disorder is commonly recognized in women and often arises during adolescent years. Often times, people develop agoraphobia after a previous panic attacks, which than causes them to worry about having another in the future (Agoraphobia, 2017). This results in avoidant behaviours, such as evading places where an attack may occur. There are many causes, symptoms, effects on both the individual with the disorder and their loved ones, as well as a variety of treatments available.
Autophobia is a phobia that has a different meaning for each person. According to Dr. Eric Chan, a clinical psychologist at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, the main definition of autophobia is the fear of being alone or lonely” (1). The symptoms of autophobia can range from being overcome by the feelings of anxiety from anticipating the fear of loneliness to becoming isolated when the person is alone. As stated by Dr. Eric Chan, even when individuals with autophobia is physically safe, “they may live in fear of being unloved and being unwanted” (1). Therefore, people with autophobia live in constant distress because they are horrified of being alone or lonely for the rest of their lives. As most people know most phobias are treated with exposure therapy. The individual will be exposed to their fear of being alone constantly, so autophobia
For a person diagnosed with agoraphobia, there are a number of restrictions and consequences associated with the disorder. A serious consequence is the incidence of severe and paralysing panic attacks. In the early stages of agoraphobia people suffer recurring panic attacks when in certain public places or situations. These attacks cause the person to feel generally uncomfortable in public settings. Eventually, fear of the recurrence of the panic attacks results in an obvious reluctance or refusal to enter all situations associated with the attacks. Other consequences of agoraphobia may include fear of being alone, fear of being in places where escape might be difficult, feelings of helplessness, dependence on others and depression. These consequences place many serious restrictions on a person with this disorder. Agoraphobia causes people to restrict their activities to smaller and smaller areas in order to avoid crowds, and open and public places or situations. This may finally lead to the inability of a person to leave their home without suffering a panic attack.
anxiety and panic attacks, and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (1). Many of these symptoms cause people to avoid contact with the outside world, thus thrusting them deeper into their fears.
Jackson would be to undergo Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). CBT is a method of psychotherapy that looks to treat psychological disorders by implementing modifications that change dysfunctional thoughts, emotions, and behavior. (Zalyte, Neverauskas, & Goodall, 2017) CBT is the most commonly used and most effective treatments for Agoraphobia. (Gloster, Wittchen, et al. 2011) In this case, therapist guided exposure during CBT will prove to be Mrs. Jackson’s best option. Self-exposure to their trigger can be difficult for phobia patients, and they will often activate avoidance behaviors which can interfere with their progress through treatment. The presence of a therapist can help to counteract this. (Hahlweg, Fiegenbaum, Frank, Schroeder, & von Witzleben, 2001).The therapist’s role in this case would be to reassure Mrs. Jackson about her safety, and identify safety behaviors that Mrs. Jackson can utilize to ensure that she is secure, such as carrying a cell phone for emergency purposes. The therapist’s feedback can help guide Ms. Jackson and promote more effective behavior by providing modeling and verbal instructions. I would recommend setting up a daily plan that included gradual exposure to the world outside of the home, with small steps being taken until Mrs. Jackson is more comfortable and can make larger and larger advances into the outside world. The therapist’s presence will help keep her accountable, and ensure that she is
What would be the criteria used to distinguish between clinically significant fear and anxiety, and everyday fear and anxiety?
Severe anxiety, which can be described as an episode of terror, is referred to as a panic attack. Panic attacks can be extremely frightening. People who experience panic attacks over a prolonged time period may become victims of agoraphobia, which is a psychiatric disorder that is closely associated with the panic disorder. Patients with Agoraphobia avoid certain places or situations such as airplanes, crowded theaters, a grocery store or anyplace from which escape might be difficult. It is said that Agoraphobia can be so severe that it has made certain individuals housebound.
Phobias are considered a part of anxiety disorders, a phobia is an intense and irrational fear of a certain thing or situation. Some examples of phobias include fear of heights, insects, and even talking in front of a large crowd. The intensity of phobias differ from patient to patient but the severity of phobia...
Panic attacks are the third kind of phobia. They can change the quality of a person’s life. Someone with a phobia this bad may be shopping at the supermarket and suddenly experience dizziness and a feeling of being out of control. At that moment, the person experiences a fear of dying, with no safe place to go. When this happens more than once, the person might think they are going crazy. Someone with panic attacks soon won’t leave the house because of fear of a panic attack happening outside the house. Soon, depression s...
One of the characteristics of a phobia is a feeling that is greater than the fear of a situation or object with an exaggeration of the danger associated with the said situation or even object. This persistent fear often leads to an anxiety disorder that leads an individual to develop mechanisms that ensure one avoids the object or situation that triggers the occurrence of the phobia. Phobias can have highly debilitating effects on an individual including the development of depression, isolation, substance abuse, and even suicide. Many people take phobia for granted however, it is clear that it has the potential to impair the quality of life for both the affected and the people around them. The fact that many of the phobias are manageable using
There are many different perceptions about people with social anxiety. People who do have it are often seen by others as just being shy, aloof, constrained, unfriendly, uneasy, quiet, indifferent, or diffident. The people who are afflicted with social anxiety may be clouded by these perceptions as well, so they may fail to seek treatment. Because the problem is generally unheard of, they may think that they are the only ones who suffer from it. People who do seek treatment are misdiagnosed 90% of the time, often labeled as "personality disorder", "manic depressive", or "schizophrenic", among other things. This is because social anxiety is not well understood by the general public, or medical or health care professionals. They are not even sure of the real cause of it or what it stems from.
Jane Smith was referred to counseling at her Neighborhood Center by the head Social Worker. Social Worker stated on the referral sheet that Ms. Smith suffers from Agoraphobia. Agoraphobia is an intense fear of being in public places when you feel escape may be hard to do. Individuals with Agoraphobia tend to avoid public places and may not leave the home. Agoraphobia can be treated with CBT. CBT help change the way you think, feel, and behave and can be used to treat various health problems which includes phobias. Social Worker explained that Ms. Smith
Main Point 1: There are three main categories of phobias. The first category is Specific Phobias which are known as simple phobias. Specific phobias or simple phobias are usually fears about specific situations, living creatures, places, activities, or things. Examples of simple phobias is dentophobia (dentists), aerophobia (flying), claustrophobia (small spaces), and acrophobia (heights). The other two categories are Social Phobia and Agoraphobia. These two are known as complex phobias. The article “What is a Phobia?”, describes them as complex phobias because “they are linked to deep-rooted fear or anxiety about certain situations, incidents or circumstances, which make them more disabling than simple phobias.” Social phobia is also referred to as social anxiety disorder. Social phobia may be defined in which a person has an excessive and unreasonable fear of social situations. (Webmd.com) A person with social phobia finds being in social situations very difficult to handle with because of the lack of social skills or experiences that person may have. Going out to social events such as parties or functions may cause anxiety to a person with social phobia. There is that fear a person has of being embarrassed in public. People with this phobia may be afraid of a specific situation such as public speaking. Medicinenet.com defines “agoraphobia” as “a fear of being outside or otherwise being in a situation from which one either cannot escape or from which escaping would be difficult or humiliating.” The results of agoraphobia are anxiety and panic attacks. People with agoraphobia sometimes confine themselves inside their own home when symptoms are
Another environmental cause of anxiety can be our life experiences and upbringing. A person can develop anxiety by simply seeing how a relative may react to fear or stress when they were younger. People with social phobia may have developed it because of poor social interactions they had when