Agoraphobia
2-minute read
What is agoraphobia?
Agoraphobia is often thought to mean that people are afraid of 'open spaces', but this is only half the story. Many people with panic disorder avoid situations because of their fears. This avoidance is known as agoraphobia.
Signs and symptoms of agoraphobia
Agoraphobia is linked to panic disorder and also belongs to a group of conditions called specific phobias.
People with specific phobias might also practise avoidance in less noticeable ways like avoiding exercise or sex. Panic and related phobias like agoraphobia can seriously impede an individual's ability to go to work or socialise with friends and family.
Signs of agoraphobia include:
- avoiding situations because of concern you’ll have a panic attack, or only going with someone who you think can help you if you do have a panic attack
- experiencing anxiety or fear about being in places where escape might be difficult, such as public transport or in large crowds at a concert
- feeling anxious or panic when you can’t avoid certain situations.
More information
- Find out more about specific phobias.
- Check out a personal story on recovering from agoraphobia.
Not sure what to do next?
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Last reviewed: July 2017
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Top results
Agoraphobia - Better Health Channel
A person with agoraphobia is afraid to leave familiar environments, because they are afraid of having a panic attack.
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What is agoraphobia? | Anxiety | ReachOut Australia
Agoraphobia is an anxiety disorder characterised by a fear of having a panic attack in a situation that is difficult to escape from or where help may not be available.
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How To Deal with Panic Attacks and Agoraphobia | THIS WAY UP
Feeling overwhelmed by panic? You may be dealing with panic attacks, panic disorder, or agoraphobia. Learn more about these conditions.
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This Cognitive Behavioural Therapy course from This Way Up will help you learn to combat panic attacks, panic disorder, and agoraphobia.
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Agoraphobia | Understanding Anxiety
The short video clip above features Professor Rocco Crino, a practising Clinical Psychologist with a lifetime's experience in the treatment of Anxiety Disorders
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What is panic disorder and agoraphobia?
The exact causes of panic disorder are still unclear but there is some evidence of a family tendency to nervousness and a link with major life events and stresses. What this means is that if a member of the family has suffered from panic, there is an increased risk of you suffering from it, especially when you are stressed. Often people with panic disorder have always thought of themselves as 'worry worts' or sensitive but this may not always be the case.
Read more on Department of Health website
Panic disorder information | myVMC
Panic disorder is a psychological anxiety disorder characterised by acute anxiety to triggers, and often agoraphobia, the fear of being alone outdoors.
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Tool Kit: Panic Attacks
A self-help resource to help people experiencing panic attacks
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Panic disorder - myDr.com.au
Those affected by panic disorder can experience feelings of panic out of the blue and for no apparent reason.
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CCI - Panic Disorder Self-Help Resources
Self-help resources for panic, written by clinical psychologists.
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Agoraphobia | CRUfAD
CONTACT US URGENT CARE About Us Our Research For Patients For Clinicians Select Page Agoraphobia Panic disorder and Agoraphobia Pages 246-257 from the Management of Mental Disorders, published by World Health Organization, Sydney
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Psychological therapies for the treatment of panic disorder with or without agoraphobia | Cochrane
Many people suffer from panic disorder. Panic disorder can occur on its own or with agoraphobia. People with panic disorder experience recurring panic attacks. During a panic attack people feel the sudden onset of intense fear alongside a series of bodily symptoms such as a racing heart, chest pain, sweating, shaking, dizziness, flushing, stomach churning, faintness and breathlessness. People with agoraphobia feel an intense fear of developing a panic attack in situations where escape might be difficult or embarrassing. This fear often leads to the avoidance of such situations.
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Psychotherapy combined with antidepressants for panic disorder | Cochrane
Psychotherapy plus antidepressant treatment were compared with each of the two individual treatments alone for panic disorder. At the end of the acute phase treatment, the combined therapy was superior to psychotherapy or antidepressant treatment alone. After termination of active treatment, the combined therapy was superior to antidepressants alone and was as effective as psychotherapy alone. Either combined therapy or psychotherapy alone may be chosen as first line treatment for panic disorder with or without agoraphobia, depending on patient preference.
Read more on Cochrane (Australasian Centre) website
Psychotherapy and a benzodiazepine combined for treating panic disorder | Cochrane
Panic disorder is characterised by the repeated occurrence of unexpected panic attacks, during which the individual experiences a strong fear with anticipation of death. These attacks are often accompanied by somatic symptoms such as palpitations, dyspnoea or faintness. Those suffering from panic disorder have persistent anticipatory fear of recurrent attacks and feel anxious even while they have no occurrence of panic attacks for a certain period. Panic disorder is strongly associated with an increased risk for agoraphobia and depression. The prevalence of panic disorder is reported to be around 2 to 3 percent in the general population. Two broad categories of treatment have been shown to be effective in treating panic disorder, one being pharmacotherapy with antidepressants or benzodiazepines, the other being psychotherapy. These treatments are often combined, yet the efficacy of combining psychotherapy and benzodiazepine for panic disorder is unclear, despite its widespread use. This review included randomised controlled trials comparing the combination of psychotherapy and a benzodiazepine with either the psychotherapy or the benzodiazapine alone for people with panic disorder. We were able to include only three trials in this review. Two could be used in the comparison of the combination of psychotherapy and benzodiazepine versus psychotherapy alone and one in the comparison of the combination with benzodiazepine. These comparisons involved just 166 patients and 77 patients, respectively. These small numbers make it difficult to detect any differences between combination treatments and either treatment alone. The trials which compared the combination of treatments with psychotherapy alone (both using behaviour therapy) indicated no differences in response between the two approaches, either during the intervention, at the end of the intervention, or at the last follow-up time point. The trial which compared the combination of treatments with a benzodiazepine alone demonstrated no differences in response during the intervention. Although the combination of treatments appeared to be more effective than the benzodiazepine alone at the end of treatment, no significant differences were observed at the 7-month follow-up. Before evidence-based treatment recommendations are possible, more randomised controlled trials are required, comparing the combination of psychotherapy and benzodiazepines with either treatment alone, and involving enough people to be able to detect a true difference between the treatments if one exists.
Read more on Cochrane (Australasian Centre) website
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Social Phobia
Social phobia, the fear of being judged negatively, is often not recognised because patients do not like to talk about their fears. It is also not recognized because clinicians either confuse it with shyness, or judge the secondary depression or substance dependence to be the primary disorder.
Read more on CRUfAD – Clinical Research Unit for Anxiety and Depression website
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