The fear of not being able to escape: understanding agoraphobia

These are the characteristics of agoraphobia, and what makes it a very harmful disorder.

What do we psychologists mean when we talk about agoraphobia?

Actually, we use this word to describe a type of anxiety through which person avoids places and circumstances because he/she fears that he/she will not be able to escape from them.They believe that they may feel embarrassed in those situations, be unprotected or suffer very unpleasant anxiety symptoms.

For these people, the fact of thinking that they cannot escape generates a lot of anguish, so they often need to be accompanied by people they trust and who can help them to get out of these situations.

On the other hand, it usually happens to them that if they are with people with whom they do not have that confidence, their discomfort is intensified by the fear of having to give explanations about how they are, of their discomfort being noticed or of making a fool of themselves.

How does agoraphobia begin to develop?

Each person may refer different things; however, one of the most common forms of onset is that agoraphobia begins when they experience typical sensations of strong anxiety in situations that do not involve objective danger or high risk (although in many cases, they do not know what they are). These sensations are usually dizziness, Nausea or tachycardia that the person associates with a particular place and has the feeling of having to flee.. They want to leave that place.

The typical thoughts of "I have to run away", "I'm going to faint" or "I'm going to get out of control and do something crazy" may also appear, which in turn, generate more distress because they are believed by the person, who notices that he/she has to leave that place as soon as possible.

After that, the person wants to prevent these sensations from occurring again and, to do so, stops going to that and, to do so, stops going to those places where he/she has felt this way, unwittingly restricting the places that are part of his/her comfort zone.

As time goes by, the problem becomes more generalized and the person ends up limiting the places where he/she feels safe, even ending up locked in their own home, the only place where they can feel safe.The only place where he/she feels safe.

It may also happen that the person does not feel safe in his own home if he is alone, for fear that something may happen to him: he may faint or something else may happen and there is no one to help him.

The feeling of "can't."

In many cases, the person who suffers from this has the feeling of having lost self-confidence by not being able to do the things that were usually done and sees that everyone else is still doing.

In the end it is a loop in which the person enters little by little, in many occasionsIn many occasions, manifesting later other symptoms of the state of spirit, that come to fulfill criteria of the depression in many cases and that also complicate the treatment.

Where does it usually occur?

Alganos typical circumstances in which the symptoms of the agoraphobia are manifested are:

• In crowds, agglomerations where you are afraid of attracting everyone's attention or making a fool of yourself if you faint.
• In queues, restaurants and places where you have to stay for a certain period of time and from which you have no possibility to escape if you feel unwell and need to leave.
• In places far away from home, where getting back is more complicated if you feel unwell.
• In cars, in case the trip is longer, for fear of getting dizzy and that something happens while driving.

And in any place or circumstance where they do not feel they can leave if they feel unwell.

What happens if it is not treated?

Agoraphobia needs treatment carried out by specialized professionals.. Allowing too much time to pass without going to therapy can result in the person's life being severely handicapped, in the worst cases becoming totally isolated at home.

That is to say, the person can see more and more restricted his zone of comfort, remaining more and more limited and feeling that he cannot face daily situations of the day to day.

Difficulties in therapy

The therapy online is a great alternative for these personsThe online therapy is a great alternative for these people, since they can begin to count on the first guides and tools in a more accessible form, obtaining an effectiveness exactly the same as the presential one. In many cases, the problem is that the person does not feel ready or can not go to consultation.

One of the difficulties most often mentioned by people who are in therapy and have agoraphobia is that they have to be continuously facing anxiogenic situations, which involves a fairly large effort of energy that leaves the person exhausted. Calibrating the effort to be made by the patient is important, as it is really one of the keys to the therapy.It is really one of the keys to therapy.

On the other hand, it is a mistake not to understand the objectives of the therapeutic prescriptions. It is important that the person understands why he/she is doing what he/she is doing what he/she is doing.

Finally, it is also important that the person it is also important that the person feels supported.This is because many times they do not receive this understanding from their environment, since others do not really understand what they are experiencing and suffering inside, which in the end produces more anguish, pressure and feelings of loneliness.

What is behind the symptom?

Although many people think that it is very important to go to the origin, actually the work in therapy begins with the present. We first treat the symptom, that is, the manifestation of anxiety that we are suffering at the present moment.

We want to reduce the symptoms and provide the person with the necessary tools to be able to manage these moments of great discomfort.

However, behind the symptom there is more work to do, behind the symptom, there is more work to be done.. Generally, there are deeper feelings of helplessness and abandonment in which it will be necessary to investigate when the treatment is more advanced and the symptoms of the person are more muted.

From our psychology office we treat with special care this type of problems, attending to all those people who need it, both online and in person in Valencia.