Have you ever felt that you are afraid to leave the house or be among people you do not know in large, open places?

What is agoraphobia?

Fear of open spaces, known as agoraphobia, is a form of anxiety disorder. It makes the patient feel intense, irrational, and without realistic fear of situations in which he is forced to deal with strange people or attend gatherings in large places.

The patient justifies his fear by saying that he may be exposed to an embarrassing situation or need help and will not be able to escape or get that help, so he refuses to be in markets or among crowds. He is also afraid to use public transportation and stay in closed places, and he may refuse to leave the house at all.

What are the symptoms of agoraphobia?

When the patient knows that there is a social occasion or a reason that makes him have to leave his house, he feels many strong emotions that express his fear and tension. They appear in the form of symptoms that are classified as follows:

Physical symptoms

These symptoms appear as soon as you think about the disturbing situation. Among them:

• Rapid heartbeat and palpitations.
• Not being able to breathe normally.
• The patient may suddenly feel that the temperature has risen.
• The body shakes strangely and causes tremors.
• The patient may complain of feeling down or feel like he will faint.
• Feeling upset stomach or feeling nauseous.
• The patient acts as if he has received bad news, feeling a loss of control and that the situation will collapse severely.

Cognitive symptoms

It is a group of symptoms that appear with physical symptoms when thinking about the situation in which the patient needs to go out. Among them:

• Fear of being exposed to an embarrassing situation or having a panic attack in front of others.
• Feeling of loss of control and inability to control oneself during the situation.
• The patient may describe feeling like he or she will need immediate help or a safe escape but will not find it, because a sudden problem will occur.
• Exposure to negative thoughts and frightening and disturbing mental images, such as imagining what will happen on that occasion.

Behavioral symptoms

Of course, different behaviors result from the previous symptoms experienced by the patient, especially since he feels extreme fear. ومن أهم هذه الأعراض ما يلي:

• At first, the patient's daily activities become disturbed, because he begins to give up things that were previously important due to his fear of interacting with people or being alone outside.
• As things get more severe, the person becomes more isolated until he reaches a point where he does not leave the house at all.

He prefers to avoid all situations that may not make him comfortable or make him anxious, and thus over time he refuses any social event that he is suggested to attend. He approaches a person and gives him his trust so that he can depend on him in any situation in which he needs to leave his house or go to places where there are strangers, which makes him lose his independence and become dependent.

Causes of outdoor phobia

The causes of agoraphobia are linked to many factors that may lead to the occurrence of this disorder, The most prominent of these reasons are the following:

• Exposure to previous panic attacks or frightening situations that lead to fear of agora as a form of caution against repeating that attack again.
• Having a family history of anxiety disorders in general or agoraphobia in particular.
• Suffering from a defect in the neurotransmitters that regulate the way a person responds to feelings of anxiety and fear.
• The body reacts strongly to triggers of the fight or flight response, making the person feel fear at a higher level than normal.
• Going through a painful life experience, such as the death of a close person, psychological trauma, or exposure to violence.
• Severe psychological stress resulting from problems, difficult circumstances, or toxic relationships.
• Living with someone with agoraphobia for a long time may make you more likely to subconsciously imitate them.
• Spending childhood with people who do not establish the principle of developing independence in their children and provide excessive protection, or use intimidation methods to keep their children away from dealing with strangers.

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Complications resulting from agoraphobia

Stress and agoraphobia result in severe complications, Most notable are the following:

• Social isolation and refusal to attend any social situation, which reduces presence among family members and friends.
• Decreased ability to perform well professionally or academically, leading to a general decline in the professional, educational, and skill level.
• The injured person becomes more dependent on others, and asks them to serve him in any matter that requires leaving the house, such as shopping or obtaining the required documents and papers, etc.
• Depression and other psychological problems due to lack of control over feelings of anxiety, shame, and growing feelings of guilt resulting from failure.
• The affected person may turn to alcohol or drugs to escape fear.
• The general health condition deteriorates due to sleep disorders, chronic fatigue, etc.
• With being confined to home due to fear and not treating the phobia, the patient may reach the point of thinking about suicide.

All of these complications stop when you take a real step and contact Al-Mousa Specialist Hospital to seek treatment. Our psychological department is advanced and based on the expertise of the best psychiatrists who are able to deal with cases of agoraphobia and treat them radically.

How is agoraphobia diagnosed?

With our experts specializing in mental health, agoraphobia is diagnosed using official criteria carried out by a mental health specialist. The diagnosis is made according to the following steps:

1. Ask about the symptoms, the timing of their onset and severity, and whether they recur or not, taking into account whether these symptoms affect daily life or not.
2. Formal diagnostic criteria begin to apply, which include feelings of fear that lead to avoidance of frightening situations.
3. Ensure that symptoms persist for a period of no less than six months, while ruling out any other possible causes to ensure the correct diagnosis.
4. Use other psychological assessment tools such as self-assessment questionnaires and the Oxford Agoraphobic Avoidance Scale, which determines the extent to which certain situations are avoided due to fear.
5. Verifying previous experiences that opened the way for the emergence of this phobia.

When agoraphobia is proven, the doctor begins to develop a complete treatment plan within a specific period of time, after which you can restore your normal life without any problems.

Methods of treating agoraphobia

This type of anxiety disorder is treated through a group of methods that seek to improve the psychological state and provide comprehensive social support, The most important treatment methods are the following:

العلاج الدوائي

Doctors prescribe drug treatments to improve mood, especially if there are disturbances in brain chemistry. The most prominent of these medications are SSRIs or SNRIs, according to the doctor’s opinion. Some cases require other medications such as Benzodiazepines or alternatives to antidepressants, especially those with severe panic attacks or who cannot use regular antidepressants.

Psychotherapy

Cognitive and behavioral therapy involves identifying the negative thoughts that dominate your mind, then gradually changing them to realistic and positive thoughts. After that, you are exposed to some situations specifically designed to test your response, with the aim of teaching you how to deal with them and reduce fear of them. Breathing and muscle relaxation techniques are also used that alert the mind and reinforce positive thoughts, which reduces stress and helps control fear.

Social support

At the beginning of the treatment stage, it depends on a trusted person, then it develops to include moral support groups that help you see what you can achieve if you fail to persevere in treatment, and what you can achieve in the near future by making effort and trying.

Change in lifestyle

Lifestyle change therapy helps you feel better and integrate into social life, so our specialist doctors recommend it to you. One of the most prominent lifestyle change procedures is helping you sleep well and regulating your diet, in addition to engaging in sports activities with a small number of people.

The doctor also advises you to avoid alcohol or drugs, because they make the condition worse and do not relieve it as expected. In addition, stimulants and stimulant drinks should be reduced or avoided.

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Can agoraphobia be prevented?

Although agoraphobia cannot be 100% preventable, there are some steps and actions that can be taken to prevent it from getting worse or reduce its severity, The most important of these steps are:

• Early attention to negative symptoms and thoughts, whether within yourself or among family members when you notice them.
• Raising awareness of this type of phobia and knowing how to differentiate between normal fear and pathological anxiety.
• Encourage talking freely about feelings and not making fun of anyone in the family's expression of feelings or belittle their fear.
• Resorting to early psychological treatment before the disease develops, and developing the motivation to resist and not give up in oneself since childhood.
• Strengthening children’s skills in dealing with others and dealing with the feeling of fear in particular.
• Maintaining a healthy lifestyle includes a healthy social aspect and exercise Sports regularly.
• Avoid social isolation and try to include different social activities in the weekly agenda.

Frequently asked questions

Below we present to you a number of the most frequently asked questions about agoraphobia, With the answers provided by the specialists:

What is the agoraphobia test?

The PAS scale helps measure the severity of an anxiety disorder that may include phobia. It includes subscales that measure the degree of developing different types of anxiety and the extent of willingness to avoid social situations because of them.

Is anxiety disorder the same as agoraphobia?

No, because agoraphobia is one of the anxiety disorders that is considered a higher level of anxiety and stress diseases, as the anxiety disorder manifests itself in the form of severe symptoms and disturbed feelings.

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ختامًا Agoraphobia is an anxiety disorder that negatively affects life, but by communicating with us at Al Mousa Specialist Hospital You can get rid of this problem and restore psychological stability, so you should Contact us Immediately to obtain reliable and highly efficient service.