Agoraphobia

A phobia is an extreme or irrational fear of something. Many phobias are in relation to one another. As people, we must realize that phobias cannot be fixed by ourselves. In order to help individuals that we may encounter, we must completely understand phobias. We cannot judge them for something they cannot help. To help an individual feel more at ease it is our job to know the causes, effects, impacts, and treatments of their phobia. This would help to completely understand the phobia and in the end, help us all to support each

This research paper is designed to review articles and books of professional journals in anxiety disorders, definition of anxiety disorder, review of current and past treatments of anxiety disorders, the new section and changes to anxiety disorder in the DSM-5, new treatments for anxiety disorders and medications for anxiety disorders. This paper will show spiritual considerations for treating anxiety disorders and how

This specific phobia can lead to the person experience of an intense fear when not being able to break out of a populated area (Barlow & Mavissakalian, pp 4). This causes people having to evade open and heavily crowed environments with little possibilities to exit over their massive fear of going through a panic attack. Therefore, today there are signs in many rides at themed parks that warn people of the closed areas. This specific category of phobias causes the person to fear traveling on bus or even waiting in a line. This phobia can also lead to being dependent of someone because they are too afraid to go outside of their homes. Barlow & Mavissakalian (1981 pp 4-5), implicated that the clinical picture painted is consistent and consists or fears of going out to public places and open and crowded places, fears of walking alone or using any means or public transportation, and fears of being alone at home. Agoraphobia is the most disabling of all phobias and usually begins in early adolescence.

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD, is an abnormal biological response that is a consequence of direct or indirect exposure to a severely traumatizing event, which can further induce a maladaptive psychological state. This threatening life experience generally triggers a reaction of anxiety, vulnerability, or horror in the victim. In the film Copycat (1995), the protagonist, Dr. Hudson, suffers from this disorder, as well as agoraphobia and panic attacks due to a terrorizing experience she had in the past. Agoraphobia is defined as a paralyzing fear of being in spaces or settings where the sufferer feels there is neither escape nor available assistance in the event of a panic attack. In extreme cases, individuals with agoraphobia imprison themselves to places in which they feel “safe” and avoid facing unfamiliar places altogether, as these may yield heightened anxiety. The reason I chose this particular movie for this assignment is that the main character perfectly exhibits how one abnormal disorder can produce others, and how these disorders pose a significant hindrance to one’s everyday life. Almost everyone has undergone a minor form of an abnormal condition such as a panic attack or PTSD, but this movie depicts how the most severe form of the disease affects an individual. In this movie, Dr. Hudson’s acute panic attacks are characterized by an intensified feeling of distress, and at times incapacitate her to the brink of a nervous breakdown and unconsciousness.

A phobic disorder is marked by a persistent and irrational fear of an object or situation that presents no realistic danger. Agoraphobia is an intense, irrational fear or anxiety occasioned by the prospect of having to enter certain outdoor locations or open spaces. For example, busy streets, busy stores, tunnels, bridges, public transportation and cars. Traditionally agoraphobia was solely classified as a phobic disorder. However, due to recent studies it is now also viewed as a panic disorder. Panic disorders are characterised by recurrent attacks of overwhelming anxiety that usually occur suddenly and unexpectedly (Weiten, 1998).

A phobic disorder is marked by a persistent and irrational fear of an object or situation that presents no realistic danger. Agoraphobia is an intense, irrational fear or anxiety occasioned by the prospect of having to enter certain outdoor locations or open spaces. For example, busy streets, busy stores, tunnels, bridges, public transportation and cars. Traditionally agoraphobia was solely classified as a phobic disorder. However, due to recent studies it is now also viewed as a panic disorder. Panic disorders are characterised by recurrent attacks of overwhelming anxiety that usually occur suddenly and unexpectedly (Weiten, 1998).

Agoraphobia is a strong fear and anxiety of being in places where it may be hard to escape or even where help may not be available (medlineplus.gov/ency/article). People that normally tend to have this fear try to avoid public places in that they may feel there would be a very difficult way in them trying to escape. In turn, this does make them have panic attacks

In the first session that was held with client Jane Smith it was to determine what the client was suffering from. Counselor agreed with community social worker that client exemplifies characteristics of Agoraphobia. The key characteristic that was identified in client’s behavior was that she does not leave her home. Client has a fear of being in public places. Client depends on her granddaughter to do all of her out of the home errands. After a multitude of characteristics were identified, intervention/treatment plan can be developed. Client alongside counselor will work together to develop an effective treatment plan. In reference to CBT a treat plan is “strategy between patient and therapist that gives direction to therapeutic process”. Client will be in charge of developing three goals that she will like to complete or work toward during sessions.

Definition: Agoraphobia is the fear of being in a situation where there may be lack of an escape or help, and may result in embarrassment and humiliation. (MedicineNet, 2013) This may include being in a public or open place; like in a crowd, standing in line, being in some mode of transportation, being on a bridge, or being out alone. (Psych Central Staff, 2013) Often, those with Agoraphobia need the presence of a companion to leave their house or venture to specific places. Anxiety is accompanied when one is placed in these threatening situations and they will experience panic-like symptoms or a panic attack. This fear will cause one to entirely avoid these places or situations and become more reclusive to decrease the panic attacks.

In this paper, the intern was placed at the Mobile County Department of Human Resources in the Adult Protective Services department and will be disclosing information about a particular case during their internship. To protect the clients and all parties associated confidentially within this case, material that could reveal their identity will not be discussed and only relevant information about the case will be addressed. The clients in this case have been both diagnosed with agoraphobia with panic disorder. According to the Social Work Dictionary (2014) agoraphobia is described as “an irrational and persistent fear of being in unfamiliar places or of leaving one’s home” (Baker, p. 13). Agoraphobia with panic disorder is a difficult mental illness to treat, especially with two individuals who have made the decision to stay in isolation. Ebenfeld (2014) explains panic disorder as having unexpected panic attacks and the worry of future attacks (p.2). Some professionals believe that agoraphobia is a secondary onset associated with panic disorders and for the twins’ situation, it is unsure which diagnosis was developed first.

Agoraphobia is a difficult mental illness to treat due to the fact that there is an insignificant amount of people who have been diagnosed within the United States. According to the Mental Health First Aid USA (2013) roughly 0.9 American adults are diagnosed with agoraphobia and the median age of onset is twenty years old (p. 41). People who have agoraphobia have a higher risk of developing substance use disorders by using drugs or alcohol to help them cope with anxiety. In the twins’ case, they are heavy cigarette smokers and it has to be monitored how many packs of cigarettes they are given a week. From research, there are no reports of concerns with diversity, oppression, or populations-at-risk of individuals diagnosed with agoraphobia.

Agoraphobia is an extreme behavioral disorder where one is scared to go into places where they won’t be able to depart hurriedly, where they will be trapped, and sometimes, even just going away from their residence. When having this condition, they will avoid large environments or locations where an attack had previously occurred to prevent a future panic attack. When they are in a location that involves a public area, they may start to feel confined, fragile, and often humiliated. Individuals with this condition generally don’t suffer from an excessive amount of anxiety because they avoid the situations that will create it.

Agoraphobia is a difficult mental illness to treat due to the fact that there is an insignificant amount of people who have been diagnosed within the United States. According to the Mental Health First Aid USA (2013) roughly 0.9 American adults are diagnosed with agoraphobia and the median age of onset is twenty years old (p. 41). People who have agoraphobia have a higher risk of developing substance use disorders by using drugs or alcohol to help them cope with anxiety. In the twins’ case, they are heavy cigarette smokers and it has to be monitored how many packs of cigarettes they are given a week. From research, there are no reports of concerns with diversity, oppression, or populations-at-risk of individuals

Agoraphobia could be a result of previously repressed emotional problems, such as a death of a loved-one or any type of abuse. The fear of some situations is learned. After feeling uneasy in one situation someone might think they will get the same feeling next time. this is classified on the DSM-IV it is an excessive or unrealistic worry about life circumstances.

However, phobia can even cause people to risk their health. For example, the fear of dentists can leave people suffering from it willing to risk the health of their teeth in order to avoid having to go through an exam or procedure ( MacKay). When one knows about an upcoming confrontation, it can be the reason why one can not sleep or finds it hard to focus on important tasks. Due the change in daily routine, this unrealistic fear can interfere with the ability to socialize, work, or go about everyday life, brought on by and object, event or situation. But even animals have anxieties and phobias just as every human being (www.phobia-help.de). A phobia is an irrational fear, one knows that the object or situation, one is scared off, can not hurt one, but one is still afraid. A reason for this is that the human mind can not distinguish what is real and imaginary. When one has uncontrollable anxiety attacks, he loses rational judgement, leading to complicated problems. However, anyone can develop a phobia, men and women, teens and young adults, and elderly lady or a one-year-old boy (MacKay).