Agoraphobia is one of the more well-known mental health problems, but often people have misconceptions about what the symptoms of it actually are. It is commonly believed that sufferers of agoraphobia are afraid to leave their houses and, whilst this can be true, this is just one of the ways in which it can affect your wellbeing. There are a whole host of other symptoms associated with agoraphobia.
Whilst fear of leaving the house is an important part of agoraphobia, it can also develop further and become a fear of even leaving a specific room, with sufferers terribly restricted in terms of what they can achieve. They fear unfamiliar places and going out in public and often this fear can lead to anxiety and panic attacks. Suffering from such an attack in a public place then, unfortunately, leads to further anxiety and panic and creates a cycle that is very difficult to break out of. People will avoid situations that previously caused them anxiety, and in this way their wellness becomes severely affected and they close off whole sections of the world to themselves.
Social anxiety can lead to agoraphobia, as part of the damaging cycle. It can also lead on from some form of post-traumatic stress disorder, where someone suffers from severe anxiety following a traumatic event in their lives. Shutting themselves off from the world can sometimes seem like the only way to regain control over life.
Agoraphobia can sometimes develop into obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) as it is another way of attempting to regain control.
Sufferers of agoraphobia may experience panic attacks, a fear of being in a public space, an obsessive need for routines, various fears or phobias, dependency on a close relative, tension and muscle pain, restlessness and an avoidance of social situations.
Agoraphobia can be treated, when the sufferer seeks help, and often there are ways to go about this without resorting to medication.
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