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What is Agoraphobia?

Agoraphobia literally means the fear of open spaces. Clinically it is an anxiety disorder where there is a feeling of helplessness and being trapped in crowded areas. This leads to avoidance behaviours that vary from person to person and typically includes distancing yourself from open spaces, transportation and large crowds. Additionally, many people with agoraphobia are fearful of having panic attacks in places where no one would be available to help them. Avoidance behaviours greatly limit your quality of life.

People who have developed Agoraphobia fear leaving home or need a companion while going out. It is possible for these fears and avoidance behaviours to become so extreme that you become completely home bound out of fear.

How common is agoraphobia?

Up to 2 people in 100 have a panic disorder. Unfortunately about a third will go on to develop agoraphobia unless they have an Agoraphobia therapy treatment.

Agoraphobia is twice as common in women as men and usually starts between the ages of 18 and 35.

Until now, there has been no authentic evidence of the reasons behind developing Agoraphobia or other panic disorders.

Genetics and family history or environmental factors are said to be responsible for this panic disorder.

How to Recognise Agoraphobia

Whether you feel you could have agoraphobia or you believe a friend or loved one has this anxiety disorder it can be extremely frightening and even debilitating.

Some of the signs and symptoms of agoraphobia can include:

Avoiding certain places or situations that trigger their fear.

Using avoidance strategies, having someone else go to the store or making excuses not to attend places or events that trigger the fear.

Experiencing stress or discomfort when leaving the house or being in certain situations.

Someone with agoraphobia will experience a sense of fear that’s far more pronounced than the situation calls for.

People with agoraphobia will try and avoid the the places and situations that cause them fear, if they do encounter them they can often become upset or have extreme anxiety.

Physical symptoms of intense anxiety and panic can include sweating, problems breathing, trembling, chest pain and dizziness.

How to help people with Agoraphobia

Practice Patience

No one wants to experience an anxiety disorder like agoraphobia. You may not be able to relate to what they are feeling, however you can still show a sense of understanding. It’s often traumatic and overwhelming for them and as a friend or loved one, a sense of patience will help.

Don’t trivialise their feelings and experiences

Often people with mental health disorders are being told to just get over it, or to toughen up. Agoraphobia symptoms aren’t in the control of someone with the disorder and it’s not a weakness or a personal failure.

Trivialising it or marginalising someone with Agoraphobia and the symptoms they are feeling will only increase their stress and sense of hopelessness or worthlessness.

Help Your Friend Create An Anxiety Plan

An organisation called Anxiety Canada has a concept called My Anxiety Plan (MAP). The process for creating a MAP relies on creating a set of steps and strategies that can be used to deal with symptoms of anxiety disorders.

Be a Support System

Let your friend know that you are there for them to listen and have them share what they are feeling. People with anxiety disorders often value having a strong support system. Create a judgement-free environment to help them with feelings of shame or embarrassment.

Regularly Check-In

Even when their not in a situation where they are fearful, or they aren’t experiencing acute symptoms of agoraphobia, it can be helpful for them to know you care.

Encourage Them to Seek Professional Treatment

Agoraphobia is a serious, debilitating condition for many people who live with it. Encourage your friend to get professional help, such as hypnotherapy for Agoraphobia to improve their quality of life and avoid complications resulting from letting their disorder go untreated.

It’s not up to you to treat your friend or loved one’s agoraphobia, however you can be supportive and help encourage them to seek treatment and volunteer to drive them to their first appointment.

Of course you can’t force a person into treatment, however if you show that you’re willing to help them, it can serve as a form of encouragement.

Sydney Phobia Therapy has an online therapy for Agoraphobia.

We currently use a 3rd generation version of social phobia therapy based on the original Fast Phobia Cure initially created by Richard Bandler and John Grinder in the 1970’s.

Now when I say fast, I mean typically one session only, no homework and its content free.

Content free means you don’t talk about, and you certainly don’t tell me, because I don’t want it either. You’re seeing me online, so stay in the comfort of your own space and no travel time, to have it removed, not to see if we can talk it to death.

The fear of animals called zoophobia. It typically arises from a negative experience from childhood. It could have been a personal experience being scared by a dog or watching a parent run away from a spider. This fear can dissipate over time or in extreme cases last a lifetime, in which case you may need an animal phobia therapy.

Some animal phobias are more common than others, however they generally fall into a few common groups, predators, disgusting animals and superstition fears

Predators

Commonly feared animals eg dogs, bears and sharks etc fall into the predator category. These fears commonly come from our basic survival skill inherited from our ancestors. In those past times these animals either competed with us for food, water and shelter, commonly they are large, carnivorous or venomous. While it is wise to use caution around these animals, when the response goes way beyond a normal healthy reaction to a sense of panic then it has turned to a phobia.

Disgusting Animals

Typically disgusting animals included cockroaches and the like, research performed at the University of Queensland (Australia) in 2008, now includes snakes and spiders in this category. This may be because we tend to focus on creatures we perceive as disgusting even if they are predatory in nature.

Superstitious Fears

Throughout history, various animals have played a role in superstitions, legends, and in religious beliefs. Snakes feature heavily in lore, ranging from the Biblical Garden of Eden to voodoo practices. Some birds are even portrayed as an omen of death. Superstitious fears and religious beliefs generally focus on what the animal represents rather than the animal itself.

Other Causes

Of course, not all animal phobias fall into the above categories. You may have simply trained yourself to have this fear by watching TV or films such as Jaws, Anaconda, Snakes on a plane, or The Fly, or even the nightly news can sometimes contribute to the development of phobias.

Symptoms that a fear has turned to a animal phobia

Excessive or irrational fear of a specific object or situation

extreme avoidance of the feared animal or enduring it with great distress

interference with normal activities because of fear of the animal

excessive anxiety and feelings of doom

Physical symptoms of anxiety or a panic attack, such as a pounding heart, nausea or diarrhoea, sweating

Anticipatory anxiety, which involves becoming nervous ahead of time about being in certain situations or coming into contact with the object of your phobia

You can reduce your phobia by following these 10 steps using the Desensitising Technique

1/ Identify your phobia

The first step in overcoming a phobia is to identify the object or situation you fear.

2/ Talk about what you fear

Talking about your fears with other people in a therapy or group has many benefits and that helps you in your improvement.

3/ Create a hierarchy of fears

I am sure that within your phobia there are different situations that generate more or less anxiety.

What this is intended to achieve is that you reduce your fear to smaller fears to which it is easier to face you at first.

4/ Relax

Doing some kind of relaxation exercise can help you deal with your phobia.

5/ View

At this point you must grasp your hierarchy of fears and expose yourself to the different situations in your imagination, visualising them progressively.

6/ Generate positive thoughts

Thoughts have a great power to make you feel in one way or another. If we modify the thoughts that generate anxiety, insecurity and fear, it is likely that those emotions change to  more positive ones.

7/ Point out your fears

You should begin to expose yourself to your fears in a progressive way, for the situation that has the least anxiety. Do not force yourself, there is no hurry. Slow and steady exposure is preferable to rapid and inadequate exposure.

8/ Have Healthy Habits

Regular exercise, healthy eating, rest, and avoiding consuming toxins, all have repercussions on your well-being.

9/ Beware of drug use

Many doctors and psychiatrists prescribe benzodiazepines and antidepressants to relieve the symptoms of some phobias. These can quickly cause dependency and other health problems and should only be used carefully and  for a very short time.

10/ Be Patient

With patience, effort and desire, you can overcome all your fears.

There is a better way at Sydney Phobia Therapy, where we do animal phobia therapy

We currently use a 3rd generation version of animal phobia therapy based on the original Fast Phobia Cure initially created by Richard Bandler and John Grinder in the 1970’s.

Now when I say fast, I mean typically one session only, no homework and its content free.

Content free means you don’t talk about, and you certainly don’t tell me, because I don’t want it either. You’re seeing me online, so stay in the comfort of your own space and no travel time, to have it removed not to see if we can talk it to death.

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