People with agoraphobia prefer to stay at home, because they are very afraid of open space, public facilities and transport, crowds, deserted streets, as well as places that are difficult to leave immediately (center in a movie theater or theater, a stylist’s chair). In some cases, the phobia is manifested even through the open door to the room. In critical cases of this disorder, it is difficult for a person to leave home unaccompanied.
Who is most prone to agoraphobia?
The ancient Greeks called the market “agora”, so the phobia of open, public places and large crowds began to be called agoraphobia. Residents of megacities have more symptoms of this disease than residents of small towns, villages and hamlets. According to statistics, there are more females than males than agoraphobes. One of the reasons for this is socio-cultural stereotypes about women’s weakness and insecurity.
In addition, the beautiful half of the world’s population tends to be more attentive to their health. Women are more likely to seek medical help than most men, who prefer not to advertise their problems and often choose alcohol as a “medicine”. This method of treatment can only worsen the situation.
Studies show that the disorder is more common in adolescents and adults. Phobia is manifested in various types of mental disorders, including manic-depressive psychosis. Fears of open space are prone to personality, mentally weak, with various disorders of the nervous system due to traumatic brain injury, tumors, infections, vascular problems. Sometimes phobia is observed in people suffering from epilepsy, gastroduodenitis and chronic bronchitis.
According to scientists, individuals with agoraphobia almost always have difficulty feeling balanced due to poorly developed vestibular apparatus. They use sight and touch more to perceive the world. If their vision “fails”, they immediately disorient in space.
Common causes of phobia
On average, there are about 5% of people in the world who suffer from this disease. Determining what causes it is difficult, as in the case of other anxiety disorders. In each case, the phobia has its preconditions, but more often they are related to:
- genetics,
- special structure of the brain,
- physical or psychological trauma in childhood.
Space phobia is often associated with panic disorder, in which a person experiences periodic panic attacks. They are intense, sudden states of uncontrollable fear or severe anxiety that develop when there is no real danger. According to experts, agoraphobia develops in every third person with panic disorder.
Such people live in fear of sudden panic, which forces them to avoid certain places or situations. Some individuals with panic disorder, fearing the physical sensations of attacks, try to avoid all possible situations, potentially leading to agoraphobia. According to researchers, the symptoms of panic disorder with agoraphobia tend to go into a chronic stage, while panic disorder without agoraphobia in most cases gradually recedes. But along with agoraphobia, it is often supplemented by obsessive-compulsive disorder.
This does not mean that space phobia develops only with panic disorder. The patient may experience fear or anxiety, which does not necessarily have to turn into an attack. This condition is sometimes attributed to the primary stage of agoraphobia.
Mental and physiological symptoms
Like any obsessive fear, agoraphobia has certain mental and physiological symptoms. The first include:
- fear of spending time alone in places where it is difficult to leave immediately or keep under control the behavior of others and the situation in general,
- fear of being apart from other people, especially in large, empty spaces,
- feelings of helplessness in public or uninhabited areas,
- the feeling that the body and the people around are not real.
In extreme cases, the phobia leads to the fact that a person needs the help of other people to visit public places, is unstable and tends to stay at home as long as possible. During panic attacks and fear, patients experience the following symptoms:
- dizziness,
- state of delirium,
- nausea,
- gastrointestinal problems, including diarrhea,
- pain and pressure in the chest,
- rapid heartbeat,
- breathing problems
- excessive sweating and chills,
- numbness in the extremities or throughout the body.
People with agoraphobia are often afraid of helplessness in situations where they may develop severe anxiety, panic, or embarrassment. This phobia can eventually result in a desire to stay at home or in a familiar room all the time. It is better to prevent this condition and make a timely appointment with a doctor and consult about possible treatment.
First of all, the doctor must find out all the symptoms of the disorder and on their basis to determine the severity of the disease. In addition, a medical examination is performed, a blood test is prescribed to rule out other diseases. Usually the diagnosis of agoraphobia is made if a person experiences a strong uncontrollable fear up to unconsciousness when:
- use of public transport,
- being in the open (parking lots, squares, markets, bridges, street festivals, etc.),
- Being in large, unfamiliar indoor spaces (theaters, cinemas, shopping malls, etc.),
- leaving your own home alone.
If in such situations it is difficult for a person to do without the support of relatives or acquaintances, and uncontrollable fear and panic last six or more months, it is a good reason to see a specialist and get the necessary therapy.
