LIVING WITH AGORAPHOBIA ================== Most people think of agoraphobia as the fear of leaving one’s home. In fact, agoraphobia involves the fear of being in a place from which a person cannot escape, or in which help might not be available. This fear often develops after an individual has a panic attack in a public place, and then feels unable to get out of the situation or to get help. The person begins to avoid any situation that might repeat this experience. Usually, this means avoidance of leaving home, being in small, crowded places (elevators or small rooms), traveling by car, being in a crowd, or simply being alone outside the home. The effects of agoraphobia on a sufferer’s life can be devastating. Work, social life, and mobility become severely restricted, and basic activities such as grocery shopping may become impossible without the assistance of a companion. Unfortunately, this increasing isolation does not allow the sufferer to face the feared situations often enough to learn that they are, in, fact, safe. Treatment for agoraphobia usually involves helping the person to experience the feared situations in a controlled, deliberate manner. First, the individual is taught to use relaxation techniques, which enable them to be gradually exposed to feared situations while keeping their anxiety at a low level. Sufferers of agoraphobia are also taught to examine their thinking patterns. People with agoraphobia often engage in “catastrophic thinking,” wherein they imagine all the terrible things that could happen to them in their most feared situations. Therapists teach them to recognize their catastrophic thinking, and to replace it with realistic, fact-based thinking. This helps to reduce their anxiety level, freeing them to experience without panic those situations that they had previously feared. Medications, such as certain antidepressants, are sometimes used to help manage agoraphobic symptoms. However, these work best when used in conjunction with the therapeutic interventions described above. Source: onlinetherapyconsult/living-with-agoraphobia/
Posted on: Thu, 13 Jun 2013 14:53:40 +0000
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