Hey there.
This is BrainStuff, and I'm Josh Clark, and this is the BrainStuff where I explain to
you what agoraphobia is.
So, you know those people out there who say they're not afraid of anything?
Those people are phonies.
Because we shall all know fear when the time comes for us to kneel before the, say, buzzing
chainsaw.
There are normal fears and there are abnormal fears, and we call abnormal fears "phobias."
And phobias are different from normal fears, in that they evoke a really pronounced response
in the person suffering that fear.
So much so that it makes it difficult for them to live their life normally.
And, the other thing about phobias is that they're unreasonable, as far fear goes.
For example, it's perfectly reasonable to be afraid of men in ski masks wielding shotguns.
That's a normal fear.
Being afraid of party balloons is kind of an unreasonable fear.
Some phobias are extremely specific, almost exquisitely so.
For example, cremnophobia is a fear of cliffs or shear dropoffs (which I kind of get, actually).
And then there's scriptophobia, which is a fear of writing in public.
And then there's phobias that are the opposite of exquisitely specific.
They're maddeningly vague.
And they tend to make diagnosing them really really difficult.
And probably chief among these very vague phobias is what's called agoraphobia.
I'll bet you have heard of agoraphobia before, but I will also go double-or-nothin' that
what you heard is wrong.
Agoraphobia is not a fear of crowds, it's not a fear of wide open spaces, it's not a
fear of being closed in.
In fact, it's none of those things, but it can involve all of those things.
Allow me to explain.
The definition of agoraphobia is "a fear of being in a situation or a place where you
may experience panic - or some other kind of debilitating episode, like public incontinence
- and as a result, will feel trapped, helpless, or embarrassed.
This may be the queen-mother of all phobias.
Now, there's criteria to an agoraphobia diagnosis.
You have to have at least two or more of the following fears: You have to be afraid of
enclosed spaces, like, for example, movie theaters.
You have to be afraid of open spaces, like a parking lot or a beach.
You have to be afraid of standing in line, or being in a crowd.
You have to be afraid of being outside of your house, without help.
And you have to be afraid of using shared transportation of any kind.
And there's criteria to these criteria.
You have to experience panic-like symptoms (things like shortness of breath, dizziness,
nausea, trembling, that kind of stuff) for at least 6 months.
And you have to basically experience these kind of symptoms every time you're presented
with the situation or the place that strikes this fear in your heart.
And, perhaps most troubling at all, this has to all impact your life so much that you're
not capable of living it normally.
That last part is particularly saddening because as much of 1/3 (or more) of people with agoraphobia
are housebound and unable to work.
And that number may be even higher.
That's because agoraphobia is notoriously difficult to diagnose.
For example: is the patient afraid of flying because they're aviophobic (they have a fear
of flying) or is it because they're afraid of being on an airplane, cut off from help,
and being afraid of either panicking or some other horrible situation, and feeling embarrassed,
or helpless, or trapped as a result (which would make it agoraphobia)?
You can see how this would confuse the diagnostician.
Because the basis, typically, of agoraphobia, is a fear of having a panic attack, it very
often develops out of a panic disorder that already exists.
Take, for instance, having a panic attack in an elevator.
Well, you will learn very quickly to avoid those hanging boxes of death.
And as a result, you will develop agoraphobia at the thought of being in an elevator trapped,
cut off from help, and experiencing some sort of horrible episode.
There is, however, reason for hope.
It turns out that medications in conjunction with cognitive behavioral therapy can work
wonders for people with agoraphobia.
So, if you or someone you know is suffering from agoraphobia, seek help, because there
is help.
If you have agoraphobia or someone you know or love does, let us know about it in the
comments section below.
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