The fear of traveling is the common reference to agoraphobia and it is typically considered an anxiety or panic disorder. There are various ranges for this disorder, it can be a serious condition in which a person isn’t able to leave the home entirely or it can be a mild disorder in which a person can’t travel more than a few hours away from home. When a person attempts to go beyond what is considered their “safe” boundaries then they go into an agoraphobia panic attack.

The only way for a person to overcome these attacks is to push their limits, which make treatment of agoraphobia panic attack difficult. Before getting better many agoraphobics tend to get worse for this reason. Since all an individual has to do is stay within their “safe” zone they tend to ignore their agoraphobic problem. However, while the problem can be easy to ignore it is a stifling symptom that comes from a chronic panic disorder.

Begin With Baby Steps

Starting by taking baby steps is the best way a person can slow their agoraphobia panic attacks. In order to finally master their fears the individual must set specific goals to overcome their panic symptoms. Family and friends are the best people to help a person through this process, they can help a person be assured to their safety while helping them make the baby steps to overcome their panic attacks.

Why the panic attacks manifest in their form and what causes them isn’t completely known. It is believed that many of the individuals who suffer from this disorder experienced motion sickness which gave them a propensity for fear of travel before they started developing panic attacks.

The Unknown

To the sufferer themselves an agoraphobia panic attack is very frustrating. This is because an agoraphobic attack is often less rational than the typical panic attacks. While the individual may have a fear to traveling to an unknown place or beyond a certain point, agoraphobia can be caused by any type of anxiety or panic disorders that takes root and leads to agoraphobia.

A fear of public places, especially those where there is a large gathering of people such as a grocery store can develop from a social anxiety. An individual who suffers from general panic disorders can become embarrassed of their disorder which can then cause a fear of traveling and suffering a panic attack in public. This shows that with an agoraphobia panic attack it is difficult to identify and deal with it.

When most of us think about mental disorders, it’s easy to assume that only certain types of people are prone to experience these conditions. As anyone with experience in this territory will tell you, this is not the case. One of the more common mental disorders is agoraphobia, which is a condition that can truly strike anyone already prone to anxiety attacks. You might decide to obtain agoraphobia treatment, but first you have to understand what exactly you are dealing with.

Social anxiety sometimes  gets confused with agoraphobia. Since sufferers tend to avoid venturing out for social interaction. Many people believe that agoraphobia is just a fear of leaving your house, or going outside. This is true to an extent, and it can also be viewed as a subset of panic symptoms. If you experience this condition, you often don’t want to go places for fear of bringing on a frightening attack. Panic Symptoms often come first, before agoraphobia starts to develop. But this is not always the case, so be sure to monitor the situations that lead to your symptoms.

Once you realize the specific situations that cause your panic attacks, it will be easier for a doctor to diagnose your complaint and explain your options for agoraphobia treatment. Rememeber, agoraphobia is a form of a panic attack but it is very specific in nature. The word ‘Agora’ is translated into ‘marketplace’ and ‘place where people meet’ in the Greek language. ‘Phobia’ is a fear of something, so in this case, a fear of being in crowded places.

Agoraphobia treatment will allow the sufferer to break the cycle of panic attacks, but it is important to get to the root cause of the phobia. A typical agoraphobia sufferer goes out of their way to avoid crowded places and situations that might lead to a panic attack. They even go as far as to lock themselves in their house for fear of venturing into the outside world. As one should know, this can be a vicious and extremely debilitating mental condition.

Once this isolation occurs, it is time to start evaluating agoraphobia treatment options before the condition gets much worse. Speak to your doctor to discover the treatment that is right for you. If you currently only experience ‘general’ panic attacks, understand that agoraphobia can easily develop down the road and it’s best to kill the problem before it starts. Early treatment of either panic disorders or anxiety disorders will help stop agoraphobia in its tracks.

Amber’s Story

Amber had many risk factors for panic attacks when she entered high school. Her mother had a history of anxiety as well as her older brother. Amber was successfully able to avoid a speech class until her final semester of school. In order to graduate, she was going to have to take speech.

Although she had never received a diagnosis of panic attacks or an anxiety disorder, Amber had always dreaded taking a public speaking class. Just the idea of standing up in front of a class of her peers caused Amber to feel dizzy and nauseous.

When Amber walked into her first day of class, the teacher could see how nervous she was. He came up to Amber after class and discussed her obvious discomfort with this public speaking class. Amber discussed her physical reaction to having to speak in front of her peers. She explained to her teacher how she was:

* Extremely Anxious
* Dizzy
* Nauseous
* Short of Breath

Amber’s teacher recommended that she visit with the school counselor before their next class meeting. Amber was embarrassed by her reaction and was even more anxious about having to meet with the school counselor, but she knew that she was not going to be able to graduate if she could not figure out some way to get through this class.

The school counselor was very familiar with the signs of a panic attack and especially with students feeling uncomfortable about speaking in front of their friends. To help Amber get through her next day of speech class the counselor recommended that Amber stand up in front of her family every time she wanted to talk that evening.

So Amber told her family what she was trying to do to help get over her fear of public speaking. At dinner, Amber stood up every time she asked to have an item passed to her. Before bed, Amber stood in front of her parents and brothers and did a pretend speech.

Although speaking in front of her family was a lot different than speaking in front of her peers, it did help her get through the next day of class without having a full blown panic attack. Amber was extremely uncomfortable during her speech class but was able to focus and get through the class.

As the semester continued on, Amber asked some of her friends to come to her house the night before she had a big speech due. She would then practice her speech on her close friends and family until she was able to get through it without an extreme amount of anxiety.

The technique Amber used to overcome her panic attacks is called systematic desensitization and is one of the most widely used remedies for people suffering from panic attacks.

Helping people who are seeking an anxiety attack remedy is our commitment to all those experiencing the effects of this challenging malady.

The emotions of panic, fear, and anxiety are familiar to anyone who has been faced with some threat or danger. However, for some people, rushes of Intense fear (i.e., anxiety symptoms) can occur out of the blue, without any obvious trigger, particularly following periods of stress. Furthermore, in a subset of these people, spontaneous panic attacks occur frequently and independently of stressful life events.

A diagnosis of panic disorder is given to individuals who experience panic attacks frequently (i.e., more than four times per month) or who worry excessively about the occurrence of these attacks. Typical panic symptoms include physical sensations such as breathlessness, dizziness, palpitations, trembling, nausea, and sweating and cognitive symptoms such as fears of dying, going crazy, and doing something uncontrolled.

As a result, many panic attack sufferers develop agoraphobia, a fear of situations in which escape–should a panic attack occur–might be difficult or embarrassing. Agoraphobics tend to avoid crowds, driving, public transportation, large stores, en- closed places, traveling, being home alone, and, in extreme cases, leaving the house. To illustrate the impact of panic attacks on a person’s life, consider the following case history:

Sally experienced her first panic attack out of the blue 3 weeks after completing her senior year in college. She had just finished a job interview and was meeting some friends for dinner. In the restaurant, she began to feel dizzy. Within a few seconds, her heart was pounding, and she was feeling breathless, as though she might pass out. Her friends noticed that she did not look well and offered to drive her home. Sally suggested they stop at the hospital emergency room instead. Although she felt better hy the time they arrived at the hospital, and tests indicated nothing wrong, Sally experienced a similar episode a week later while at a movie.

Sally began to wonder if she had some heart problem not detected by the hospital staff. She found herself scanning her body for unusual sensations. She also felt uneasy about going back to the same restaurant and movie theater where the attacks occurred. Her attacks became more and more frequent. Before long, she was having several attacks per week. In addition, she constantly worried about having attacks. She began to avoid exercise and other activities that produced physical sensations. She also noticed the attacks were worse when she was alone. She began to avoid driving, shopping in large stores, and eating in all restaurants. Some weeks she avoided leaving the house completely. Sally stopped looking tor work, fearing that she would be unable to stay at her job in the event of a panic attack.

Research focused on panic disorder and its treatment has increased dramatically in the past 10 years for several reasons. First, recent epidemiological studies estimate that panic disorder occurs in almost 2 out of 100 people. Second, panic disorder can lead to marked impairment in social and occupational functioning, and suicidal ideation and suicide attempts may be more prevalent than in other psychiatric disorders, including major depression. Finally, agoraphobia is an enormous burden on the health care system. Estimates for the average medical costs (e.g., for tests, medications, hospitalizations) per patient in the first 9 years after panic disorder onset to be over $10,000. With the rapidly increasing costs of health care in the United States, these figures will continue to rise.

Agoraphobia is an anxiety disorder tied closely together with anxiety symptoms and panic disorder. Agoraphobia is defined as a fear of any location or place where the sufferer may feel confined and unable to escape an embarrassing or difficult situation (as opposed to social anxiety). An example would be a person who’s had a panic attack on an airplane before and now is fearful of getting on an airplane again due to the association of that negative event.

Agoraphobia is extremely debilitating to sufferers who become fearful of leaving their ’safety zone’ they have built around their lives. Some people become distressed enough to fear leaving the safety of their own homes. This can lead to a downward spiral of anti-social behavior, isolation, and depression.

Symptoms of agoraphobia include:

• Fear of being alone
• Fear of being in a confining space such as an elevator, automobile, or plane
• Fear of crowded places such as a sporting event or shopping center
• Fear of losing control in public places
• Fear of leaving one’s safety zone
• Fear of going in public without a companion
• Sense of helplessness, dread, or fear of a future panic attack
• An increasing dependence on others

In addition to these symptoms sufferers can also simultaneously experience panic attack symptoms such as:

• Sudden feelings of fear
• Hard to breathe
• Feeling out of control
• A strong urge to flee or escape the place where the panic attack began
• A choking sensation
• Having trouble swallowing
• Chest pains or racing heart
• A sudden fear of dying or going crazy
• Shaking and unsteadiness
• Sweating
• Dizziness or lightheaded
• Feeling the need to throw up

About one third of people with panic disorder develop agoraphobia. However, in rare cases agoraphobia can develop without a history of panic attacks. Typically this can occur after a period of extreme stress, worry, or a traumatic life event. Agoraphobia occurs roughly twice as commonly among women as it does in men.

Treatment of agoraphobia is similar to treatment for panic disorder. Treatment is usually very challenging due to the need to confront ones fears head-on. The three primary categories of treatment are antidepressants, psychotherapy, and natural supplements & coping mechanisms.

Without treatment, this condition usually continues to worsen and the ability to function normally decreases.

Almost everyone has experienced the trigger of a panic and anxiety attack, they probably just didn’t know it. Think back to a time where you were in a situation of stress, fear anxiety. Can you remember how it felt?

Does this sound familiar to you?

A woman walks down a darkly lit street after a late night at a party. She feels uneasy walking home alone, so she begins to walk faster. The street is eerily quiet and all she can hear is her footsteps. Her breath quickens and her heart starts to pound. All of a sudden a wave of fear jolts through her.

This jolt, this fear, is what some people call the fight or flight response, or simply put, the stress response. The stress response is basically a mechanism that gets you ready in a position of danger. We all have this mechanism built inside us.

It is a set of physiological and psychological changes the body makes in response to a threat. The problem is that even emotional stress, such as fear, anxiety and even worry can trigger this biological response.

Back in prehistoric times this would have been of use to the caveman, who had to be on guard against other threatening animals, hence why it is referred to as the “fight-or-flight” response. When triggered the body releases hormones such as adrenaline thus causing symptoms similar to panic symptoms such as:

• Pupil dilation

• Increased awareness

• Fast breathing

• Slowed metabolism

• Increased heart rate

• Increased sweating – to cool the body down

• A sudden boost of strength

These effects can help the hunter stand and fight or run away to safety when being attacked. You might be thinking, what is the point of this mechanism now? Well, in a modern day society it does have a lack of uses. Many scientists believe that it has become a redundant response that is not needed, but we can’t simply erase this part of human biology. Human evolution takes thousands, if not millions of years to respond.

Another negative factor is that it is widely recognized as a major cause in anxiety disorders as well as mental illnesses. Stress, or too much stress rather, is very bad for physical and mental health.

During a stressful time, or in a case of a panic and anxiety attack, the sufferer is in a sense of limbo. If they can’t escape from the situation, they are forced to endure the symptoms. Because there is nothing physically to fight off, they are not in a position to expel the overproduction of hormones built up inside.

The natural response would be to respond in a physical way, thus releasing the stress hormones. Constant triggering of the stress response without a proper outlet is very damaging to a person’s mental and physical state of being.

There is however a natural and safe method to counter panic and anxiety, and diffuse the stress response which doesn’t require physical exertion.

An anxiety panic attack can seem to come out of nowhere, regardless of time and place but is there a more logical explanation? In fact, there are many triggers for panic symptoms. Let’s take a look at some of the possible causes of an attack;

Drugs;

LSD and more commonly marijuana are euphoriant and hallucinogenic drugs that can alter perception and heighten senses. Many describe euphoric and relaxing states but there is a darker side to hallucinogenic drugs. Restlessness, intense paranoia, nausea and increased anxiety; these can lead to an anxiety panic attack.

Anxiety disorders;

There are numerous types of anxiety disorders including Post-traumatic Stress Disorder, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Social Anxiety Disorder and Phobias. Each disorder has its own characteristics but share some symptoms.

Phobias;

There are literally hundreds of specific phobias some of the more common ones are; Claustrophobia, which is the fear of confined spaces and also; aviatophobia, the fear of flying. Uncommon ones include; agyrophobia, the fear of streets or crossing a street; Macrophobia, the fear of long waits; and Thaasophobia, the fear of sitting.

Although some of these phobias might seem a little strange and even hard to imagine, they are very real phobias for those that suffer them. How common are phobias? Phobias affect more than 10 percent of the population.

Being faced with one’s phobia can trigger an anxiety panic attack, or in simpler terms, the stress response. This response is a natural chemical and biological reaction to fear or stress. However, over time these chronic stressors take their toll on a person’s nervous system, making them hypersensitive to future attacks.

This is essentially what a panic attack is. It’s a way for the body to cope with a threat, regardless if there’s an actual danger or not. Although most people would agree, that having a panic attack is probably the worst way to deal with a threat, your nervous system cannot tell the difference between a perceived threat and a real threat.

For instance, many phobias may seem completely irrational, take arachnophobia for example, this is the fear of spiders. There is no actual danger (unless of course it’s poisonous) from spiders, yet millions of adults are scared and even terrified of them.

The same biological response when they see one is no different to a situation of actual danger, i.e. a deer jumping out in front of you whilst driving. The same panicky feeling that you get inside is exactly the same.

In the case of the deer jumping out in front of you; in that instance a chain of chemical reactions happened inside of you; your eyes dilated, your heart rate speeded up and strength and speed increased.

It might have saved your life, perhaps it helped you swerve and keep the car under control with the extra heightened senses. After the incident your heart would still be racing, you’d be breathing hard and you’d probably be sweating.

However in a case where an anxiety panic attack occurs without real physical threat, you’re body and mind reacts the same way. It’s because there’s no obvious cause that people often describe attacks as ‘out-of-the-blue’.

If you’re unsure if you’re suffering from panic symptoms or not, there is a rule of thumb that you can follow. And that is, panic symptoms occur during a time that you’re experiencing anxiety. Sounds obvious enough, however some symptoms seem unrelated to anxiousness.

What’s more, the list of symptoms of panic attacks is long and varied. Sufferers may experience obscure and uncommon symptoms. In addition, the feeling of anxiousness can vary in severity. In some cases, sufferers may not even realize they are suffering from a panic attack.

This might sound odd, but when you consider that disturbing panic symptoms such as derealization and depersonalization can occur, then perhaps it’s understandable. Although derealization is often related to the use of certain street drugs such as LSD and marijuana, it is often related to mental disorders such as Depression, PTSD, GAD and Panic Disorder.

Derealization is one of the most terrifying experiences a person can go through. Regardless of how many times a person experiences one, it is just as terrifying each time. Symptoms might include;

- A deranged and unhinged feeling, like you’re going crazy
- Dizziness and a loss of balance
- Loss of identity and amnesia
- Emotional numbness and disconnection from the world
- Dreamlike sensations like you’re just a spectator
- Feelings of dread and despair.

A typical symptom of depersonalization can be described as a feeling of invisibility. Many patients describe the feeling as like being a zombie or robot. They might even look in the mirror and fail to recognize themselves.

Obviously both these panic symptoms are highly unpleasant and scary but not every sufferer will experience them. More common anxiety symptoms include difficulty breathing, tightness in the chest, a pounding heart, sweating and nausea; generally lasting 10 minutes.

There are many types of anxiety disorders, each with different triggers for anxiety. Phobia is a type of anxiety disorder which is highly common. More specifically social phobia is a condition where the sufferer has constant feelings that everyone is watching, staring, and judging them, even if it is entirely not the case.

These feelings cause anxiousness, and fear that they’ll do something embarrassing in front of everyone. It’s during times such as standing at a checkout or standing on a train that provoke an attack.
Fear of doing something stupid is what often triggers the fight or flight response. A panic attack in its basic form is the body’s stress response starting up. The release of adrenaline and other hormones create all these sensations that we call panic symptoms.

Having an anxiety disorder does not necessarily mean that you suffer from panic attacks. In fact many sufferers can live fairly normal lives. However, treating your anxiety and panic symptoms is important since they are susceptible to worsening over time.

Phobias are the most easily treated of all psychological issues, with successful treatment being achieved in some cases within a few hours. They are seen as maladaptive learned responses which are able to be corrected by learning new ways of responding. The general symptoms of phobias include the following: Feelings of panic, dread, horror, or terror; recognition that the fear goes beyond what is considered normal and is out of proportion to the actual threat of danger; reactions that are automatic and uncontrollable, and seem to take over the person’s thoughts; rapid heartbeat, shortness of breath, trembling, and an overwhelming desire to escape the situation. Extreme measures are often taken to avoid the feared object or situation.

Sometimes they start in childhood for no apparent reason; sometimes they emerge after a traumatic event; and sometimes the develop from an attempt to make sense of an unexpected and intense anxiety or panic (e. Some individuals can simply avoid the subject of their fear and suffer only relatively mild anxiety over that fear. When the anxiety has gone, remind yourself that you have survived, and have not gone mad, lost control or died. When and where to seek further help If your phobias are interfering with your ability to lead a full, normal life and you don’t make any progress in challenging them yourself. If you are experiencing a lot of anxiety or distress, and you seem to be feeling like this often. If you are avoiding situations that matter or if you suffer from overwhelming blushing/trembling/sweating in social situations or feel that you lack social skills, you may be more prone. Studies have also shown that the occurrence or anticipation of stressful life events, anxiety in childhood, over-protective parental behaviour and substance abuse are common among people with panic disorder.

Treatment exists to help people with phobias and panic disorder, and research into new therapies and techniques continues. During therapy, a person can slowly learn to become comfortable with the situation or object through exposure treatment or reconditioning. If the object of fear is easy to avoid, people with phobias may not feel the need to seek treatment.

Most individuals understand that they are suffering from an irrational fear, but are powerless to override their initial panic reaction. Even professional entertainers can experience cold sweat, nausea, vomiting, and light-headedness when they step out in front of an audience. Group therapy has also been successful in providing social phobics with a supportive circle of people who can empathize with their experience and serve as a significant first rebellion against the very nature of the disease.

Psychologists have categorized as many as 500 phobias, and according to the estimates of some health professionals, as many as 50 million individuals in the United States suffer from some kind of phobia.

Glossophobia, a fear of public speaking, is one of the most common of phobias and one that must be overcome by many individuals who find themselves in the position of having to make a speech to a group of people for business, professional, or educational reasons.

Phobias are in fact a fear of being afraid and demonstrate the brain’s ability to learn instantly, potentially a very effective survival mechanism. If you are interested in finding out more about phobias and what you can do to relieve them, they are listed alphabetically and indexed by their definitions on the website.

Peter Fisher is an expert Author and webmaster for Public Speaking Courses where you will find a full list of fears and phobias indexed and explained.

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Everybody fears something, the only difference is that some people are aware of it and others are not. And while many people share specific fears with majority of the population, there are still a few whose fears are exhibited by marginalized community. This is phobia and while some people regard it as a disorder, some agree that it is nothing but a psychological flaw in every man’s brain.

Not all phobias are the same. Experts categorizes phobia into different groups. But needless to say what a man’s phobia can simply be another’s man favorite thing. The fact that there are people who will freeze to death and there are some who will grow wild in excitement once they are in heights tells us that there is more to phobias than fears, screams and emotional imbalance.

Phobias know no age. You can be a kid and be afraid of spiders and you can be old and be afraid of the same thing. While it is a fact that children exhibit phobias when they are at the ages of 5 to 9, there are phobias which will only manifest late in adulthood.
Experts explain that phobia is an uncontrollable, intense, irrational and constant fear of something that poses little or no danger at all. And since there are literally hundred different kinds of phobias (new are even being discovered as time goes by) this article will only focus on explaining the most common phobia types.

Medically speaking, phobia is an emotional disorder rather than a psychological disorder. The patient needs a very strong interaction between a series of biological and environmental factors for a phobia to appear. These factors include traumatic experiences, disturbances and unpleasant situations that usually become part of a person’s memory. These memories result into fear.

While this disorder cannot be treated with medicine or operations, there are ways for a person to actually overcome his or her phobia. The most commonly used phobia treatment involves a series of cognitive behavior therapies. Generally termed as psychotherapy, it gradually puts the patient affront his or her fears. The progressive exposure of the patient, as assistant by psychiatrist will allow the patient to develop skills that will later allow him or her to adapt to the said fear – ultimately removing discomfort later on defeating the phobia.

The other type of treatment involves medication. Medicines are prescribed by the doctor to aid the phobic patient to control his or her emotions when facing the cause of his or her phobia.

Psychologists categorizes phobia into three classes.

Social phobia is a generic term describing the intense fear of an individual to be humiliated in a social gatherings and public places. To avoid this humiliation, they fear seeing a group of people or general population. They often left with a few friends or none at all.

The next type of phobia is called agoraphobia – or fear of crowded places. People with this kind of fear will find it hard to stay in public places like parks and other areas where there are a considerable number of people such as malls, stadium and church.

The last kind of phobia called specific phobia refers to fear associated with specific people, situations, animals and environments. Common phobias of this type include fear of flying (aerophobia), fear of heights (acrophobia); fear of dead (necrophobia), fear of spiders (arachnophobia) and many others.

Irene Lock is a well known teacher of Kinesiology, for more information click on:-

Understanding the Problems

Finding the Solutions

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