One of the effects of chronic panic attacks is agoraphobia. It makes sense. You fear the onset of another panic attack to such a degree that, in the end, it’s easier just to stay at home. That way there will be no embarrassing episodes in shopping malls or cinemas. Besides, these days, who needs to leave home to do the shopping or watch a movie? Ordering online comes with home delivery and it’s more comfortable to watch films on your home cinema with the fridge just a few steps away.
Well, that’s fine if this is a choice you are making voluntarily. Ordering online saves loads of time and a film at home is very convenient but going out is fun too. Dressing up, meeting friends and changing your surroundings for a while is relaxing and refreshing. So, if you stay at home all the time because you dread going out of your front door, then your life is not as full as it could be and you are missing out.
Agoraphobia is defined as excessive worry about having a panic attack in a public place. The word ‘agora’ in Greek means market place and ‘phobia’ means fear so the word literally means fear of the market place. It is not limited to supermarkets of course. Any public place, usually crowded, such as sports events or public transport, can trigger fear and panic and thus become places to be avoided at all costs.This avoidance behavior then impacts all aspects of life – not only socially but also professionally and personally. There are cases of people being totally housebound for years, completely dependent on others for their daily needs. Obviously, this is no way to live and the good news is that agoraphobia can be treated successfully.
There are very few cases of agoraphobia that are not preceded by a panic disorder. Therefore, treatment for the former is firstly treatment of the latter. Similarly, treatment of panic disorder will prevent agoraphobia from developing. If you find yourself starting to avoid certain situations for no good reason, don’t. Make yourself go there, if not alone then with someone you trust. The more you shun a place or situation, the more you imagine it to take on qualities it simply does not have.
If it’s already too late for that, then there are treatment options. There is no general panacea as everyone has arrived at their panic disorder via different routes so the best bet is a treatment plan designed for the individual. While there are disagreements as to which course is best, it is generally believed that a combination of medication, psychotherapy and diet and lifestyle changes are the most effective.
