A quick definition Agoraphobia literally means fear of large, open places.
However, it is not as simple as that.
An agoraphobic feels afraid of the large open spaces because he or she feels panicky and shows anxiety disorder symptom in such situations.
A person suffering from this phobia generally avoids places, which he finds intimidating and fears that he or she might have panic attacks in these places.
Here are six frequently asked questions about agoraphobia.
Use these questions to help your own understanding of this condition and how it might affect you.
#1 What are the symptoms? The primary symptom of agoraphobia is withdrawal.
People who are suffering from this phobia will avoid going to the places, which according to them is scary.
These places might include airports, shopping malls, crowded gatherings, elevators etc.
#2 What type of people suffer from it? It is a fairly rare panic disorder and less than one percent of the total US population suffers from this condition.
It is gender neutral and most often starts to strike a person first in their mid twenties.
#3 Do all agoraphobics suffer from panic disorders? To put it simply, yes.
The reason is that if a sufferer visits a place that makes them feel uncomfortable- the likely result will be a panic attack.
However, all people suffering from panic disorders do not suffer from agoraphobia because they do not have any anxious feelings towards any places or locations.
#4 Can people with this condition function normally? Yes a sufferer can function fairly normally.
It depends on whether the place that they are terrified of visiting is a place that they have no choice but to visit or whether they can just not visit this particular location.
In all likelihood, if a person with agoraphobia has to visit a place that they are very scared of, a persons anxiety disorder symptoms will emerge quickly.
#5 How can I help a sufferer? Your role as a good friend or partner is to constantly support and encourage the person with agoraphobia to step by step overcome these fears.
You should not do this by asking them to confront their fear of places by visiting them just for the sake of it.
Instead you need to help the sufferer get professional help and support and then your role would be to reinforce the advice coming from those sessions.
#6 Are there any treatments? The treatments for agoraphobia include therapy and medication.
The patients of anxiety disorders have shown great improvements with Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and this might be an option worth pursuing.
This condition can be treated and perhaps cured with the right approaches.
Without any treatment there is little real hope of any meaningful improvement.