Agoraphobia Research Paper

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.

Persistent concern about having additional attacksb. Worry about the implications of the attack or its consequences(e.g., losing control, having a heart attack, “going crazy”)c. A significant change in behavior related to the attacksB. The presence (or absence) of Agoraphobia.C. The Panic Attacks are not due to the direct physiological effects of a substance (e.g., a drug of abuse, a medication) or a general medical condition (e.g., hyperthyroidism).D. The Panic Attacks are not better accounted for by another mental disorder, such as Social Phobia (e.g., occurring on exposure to feared social situations), Specific Phobia (e.g., on exposure to a specific phobic situation), Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (e.g., on exposure to dirt in someone with an obsession about contamination), Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (e.g., in response to stimuli associated with a severe stressor), or Separation Anxiety Disorder (e.g., in response to being away from home or close relatives).(APA, 2000)

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

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.

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.

Panic disorder and agoraphobia are two separate disorders that often go hand in hand with each other. An individual can be diagnosed with panic disorder, but a diagnosis without agoraphobia can often take place as well. Some individuals develop symptoms of agoraphobia, but do not have the classic panic disorder symptoms, hence the reason they are both listed as separate disorders in the DSM-5. Panic disorder can be identified as “recurrent unexpected panic attacks. A panic attack is an abrupt surge of intense fear or intense discomfort that reaches a peak within minutes, and during which time four or more physical and cognitive characteristics take place (Hooley, J. 2017, pg.188).” When dealing with panic disorder it can often become debilitating, due to the fact that the individual does not know when the onset of an attack will occur. Individuals with panic disorder more commonly develop agoraphobia as a comorbid disorder, and if left untreated, can have a difficult time even leaving their home. Agoraphobia can be defined as “the individual fears or avoids

Among the many diseases in this world, some of the most interesting and least understood are illnesses of the mind. One aliment in particular, Agoraphobia, is of particular interest to me as it affects many of my family members in ways both subtle and drastic, and I cannot help but wonder if I too will fall victim to it. I know from previous knowledge that this particular ailment is a mental one, though I have witnessed it causing drastic physical symptoms, and that it generally involves a fear of leaving home for an open, public place. Through research, I aim to find the cause of agoraphobia, including anything that predisposes one to it, and treatments for it, including both medications and therapy. I would also like to know just how

Agoraphobia was first termed by German physician Carl Friedrich Otto Westphal in 1871. It comes from the “Agora”, meaning marketplace, and “phobia” meaning “fear of”. Westphal was a well-respected physician “In his time Westphal was one of the most highly regarded doctors in Berlin” (Knapp & Schumacher, 1988, p.8) and discovered agoraphobia through his study of three men. Each man exhibited the common symptom of fearing walking through public spaces, “each of the patients experienced anticipatory anxiety at the thought of going to shops, the theatre, or having to cross open spaces” (Knapp & Schumacher, 1988, p.23). Each man’s fear would cause them intense anxiety which would only be remedied by avoiding the situation or “In each case, the presence of friends, or even a vehicle,

spaces (agoraphobia). This is a fear of an actual or anticipated situation, such as using public transportation, being in open or enclosed spaces, standing in line or being in a crowd, or being outside the home alone. The anxiety is caused by fearing no easy means of escape or help if intense anxiety develops. Most people who have agoraphobia develop it after having one or more panic attacks, causing them to fear another attack and avoid the place where it occurred. For some people, agoraphobia may be so severe that they're unable to leave home.

A behavioral approach combined with systematic desensitization and token economy can treat this twenty-six year old graduate student suffering from agoraphobia. Since agoraphobia normally resulted from an event or emotion behavioral treatment is sufficient to observe and eliminate the unwanted action. This is a good thing because the stressors that trigger the problem are usually replaced with a healthier behavior. Utilizing a pleasurable stimulus such as fresh air and sunlight as opposed to a dark house is good. Plus, adding a token economy reward system to replace negative agoraphobia symptoms for a twenty-six year old graduate student most likely lacking monetary fund’s is terrific.

Have you ever imagined something in the highest esteem and when it came down to the experience, it did not live up to the hype? This was true for me in my experience on a highly anticipated visit to the so-called “happiest place on earth”, with a name like that will the hype ever be met or exceeded? Sleepless nights led up to the much-anticipated trip to Disneyworld where dreams of mice, princesses and magic danced in my head. It seems as if in an instant I woke up to a nightmare when the agoraphobia set in.

There is a variety of situations one might avoid such as crowded places because the individual fears loosing control in front of so many people. Other are shopping malls , large grocery stores, planes and trains because escape may be difficult. Also any situation that the individual experience a panic attack in the past. Some agoraphbic’s become completely housebound though it is not very common.