Agrophobia, symptoms of agrophobia, treatment of agrophobia
Agoraphobia
It is a type of phobic anxiety disorder. Everyone who suffers from agoraphobia is afraid of being in public places, among a crowd, this type of phobia is the hardest and most restrictive of all phobias. (The word comes from the Greek root Agora, meaning market square).
People often get this disease in their 20 years of life, usually after a traumatic accident. It is more frequent in women - women account for two-thirds of those who suffer from it. It is spread in approximately 6% of the population. Interestingly, it is rare for children to get this disease.
Intense fluctuation may occur throughout life, periods relatively free of fear, compared to more difficult periods, which may lead to symptoms of depression, alcohol consumption or quarrels with family members; In fact, marital problems are sometimes the reason for seeking treatment. People with agoraphobia try to hide this, or provide justification by listing realistic reasons - for example, fear of an attack. But in themselves, many of them think that they are losing their minds.
Agrophobia symptoms
Fear of acrophobia is from every public place - cinema, theater, public transportation, supermarkets, crowded streets and more. Sometimes it begins with a panic accident, which occurred in a specific situation, after which a person tries to avoid the same place in which the accident occurred. Panic incidents in different places may lead to an attempt to avoid those places, and even to avoid places that remind them of the same circumstances - thus gradually increasing the number of places that they avoid until reaching the stage of not leaving the house.
About 50% of those with agoraphobia develop panic attacks. They visualize different fears - fear of suffocation, having a heart attack, needing to help others, to escape, or fear of being lost, falling, going crazy and more; Sometimes they leave their homes, despite fear - so staying outside is accompanied by feelings of distress, anxiety, an increased heart rate, a feeling of suffocation and that something terrible is going to happen.
Agrophobia treatment
The treatment of agoraphobia depends on the administration of anti-depressants (especially in cases with panic attacks), conversations - especially behavioral therapy that rely on developing the ability to tolerate situations of concern, by learning how to control appropriately. There are simple methods that will facilitate the patient's life - walking with the help of a pet, a walking stick or an umbrella, a baby cart or a shopping cart; There are those who use sunglasses or prefer to go out after dark, and sometimes taking sedative tablets has the effect of reducing fear. Treatment sometimes leads to a cure, but it is more common to result in an ongoing depression. There is a belief that continuous psychological treatment leads to the complete disappearance of symptoms of the disease.
