Fear Of The Outside World: Symptoms Of Agoraphobia

Agoraphobia is one of the most common anxiety disorders. Affected people can suffer from psychological and physical symptoms. You can learn more about this topic in today’s article.

Agoraphobia  is a complex anxiety disorder that manifests itself in certain situations in which people feel they are losing control. They have extreme fear in places or situations where they feel helpless, ashamed, or think they cannot escape. In general, these are open spaces and places where there are many people, for example on public transport.

The symptoms of this fear of the outside world vary greatly, as different anxiety disorders sometimes  overlap. Today we’re going to explain the most important things you should know about agoraphobia.

The symptoms of agoraphobia according to DSM-V

The DSM-V Diagnostic Manual, last updated in 2013, is an important tool that psychologists and psychiatrists use to identify various pathologies. This guide also mentions the most common symptoms of agoraphobia:

• Fear in places where people feel it is difficult to escape or where they are ashamed. Patients can experience an anxiety crisis, which makes the situation worse, because they fear it will happen to them in a situation where no one can help them. You feel uncomfortable away from home, especially in busy places such as grocery stores or on public transport.
• Fear leads those affected to develop avoidant behaviors. One symptom of agoraphobia is therefore, for example, the fear of getting on a bus. Because of this, patients avoid this situation. They change their habits to prevent an anxiety crisis.
• Agoraphobia is diagnosed  when panic attacks recur and when people are very concerned about their fear. They feel authentic panic because they think they may have another attack or that their behavior may change.

When diagnosing, other mental disorders are excluded, which is not always easy. Because different anxiety disorders sometimes have similar symptoms and can be mixed up. For example the social phobia.

Examples of typical symptoms of fear of the outside world

The symptoms of agoraphobia vary widely. People often suffer from anxiety when they are in open spaces, especially when they are not accompanied by anyone. However, the problems can also occur in closed rooms, for example in the cinema or theater.

Fear is also typical in embarrassing situations, for example if the person concerned stumbles and falls in public or suffers a panic attack in front of others. The fear  is usually very intense.

This anxiety disorder has a very negative impact on patients’ lives. They develop avoidant behaviors, as we mentioned earlier. If a concerned person has a fear of public transport, it can affect their life if they rely on it to get to work or visit other places in their free time.

Other aspects to consider in angoraphobia

An article published in the journal Farmacia Profesional  suggests that symptoms of this anxiety disorder tend to appear in late adolescence and early adulthood. In most cases, those affected withdraw more and more and only leave the house when absolutely necessary.

Women suffer from it more often than men. In many cases, this anxiety disorder is also associated with depression, obsessive thoughts, and social phobia.

If people do not receive therapy, the situation becomes progressively worse and can make them unable to carry out normal activities. In addition, it must be taken into account that it is an anxiety disorder that can also trigger physical symptoms.

An article in the journal Psicopatología y Psicología Clínica states that a panic attack  increases the heart rate and people often feel as though they are suffocating. You sweat more, feel uncomfortable, and feel uncomfortable pressure on your chest. In extreme cases, dizziness and fainting also occur. Fear makes those affected feel like they are losing control. In some cases, they are also afraid of death.

Final note on agoraphobia

This very complex anxiety disorder manifests itself in different ways. People are afraid in certain situations,  for example when they take public transport or when they are in places where no one can help them in the event of a panic attack.

Therefore, psychological support and therapy is essential  so that they can continue to carry out their daily activities. If this anxiety disorder develops chronically, it can dominate the lives of those affected and make normal everyday life impossible.