What is Agoraphobia……

Agoraphobia is one of many anxiety disorders known as ‘phobias’. Agoraphobia causes sufferers to become extremely anxious when they are in situations from which escape seems impossible or potentially embarrassing.

People with agoraphobia may be afraid to leave their homes, travel by public transportation or shop in public malls. When agoraphobia symptoms are severe, they can interfere with a person’s ability to work, do errands or enjoy social activities. As with other anxiety disorders, agoraphobia symptoms may include nervousness, shortness of breath, dizziness, nausea, heart palpitations, breaking out in a cold sweat, a sensation of numbness or tingling, and a sense of impending doom.

These physical symptoms are triggered by the experience of being in public, where exposure is likely. Many people who suffer from agoraphobia symptoms have had at least one panic attack in the past, and the fear of being exposed is often connected to a fear of having another panic attack in public. Panic, or extreme and unreasonable fear that often causes the sufferer to believe he or she is having a heart attack or dying, can be connected to a specific situation or event or may appear to occur for no apparent reason.

About the Causes of Agoraphobia.

Agoraphobia causes can be difficult to pinpoint, but anxiety disorders like this do appear to be genetic in many cases, meaning that agoraphobia may run in families. In fact, a Yale University geneticist is said to have discovered the location of a gene that may predispose a person to developing agoraphobia.

In addition, innate temperament also seems to be among the factors that may contribute to the development of agoraphobia. A natural tendency to be more sensitive or inhibited may predispose a person to agoraphobia symptoms throughout life.

Further, agoraphobia causes may include specific life events or reactions to illness. For example, a history of respiratory illness in childhood may be connected to agoraphobia symptoms because recurrent breathing difficulties may lower one’s threshold for the some of the physical symptoms of agoraphobia and panic.

In terms of life events that may be linked to agoraphobia symptoms, almost half of agoraphobia sufferers say that they had recurring fears of abandonment as children. Also, many people with this form of anxiety disorder suffer their first panic attack shortly after the death of a loved one.

Often, agoraphobia causes a person to develop anxiety in specific environments, suggesting that the disorder might be a learned behavior based on a negative experience in the past. For example, a person may develop a fear of going into all shopping malls as a result of having been lost in a shopping mall as a child.

Gender role socialization may also be among agoraphobia causes and may explain why the majority of those with agoraphobia are women. Girls are often taught to be cautious and timid in public, which can lead to agoraphobia symptoms in adulthood for women who are predisposed to anxiety disorders.

Whatever the cause or causes of agoraphobia, it is important for those who suffer from agoraphobia symptoms to realize that the condition is treatable. With a combination of cognitive behavior therapy,  anti anxiety meds or herbal remedies for anxiety, and relaxation techniques, many people find relief from symptoms and, over time, become able to live, work and enjoy being in public.

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Wishing you ease and inner peace,

more on  agoraphobia causes and symptoms on our anxiety information page