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  • Q&A with Australian Health Practitioners

    What is agoraphobia?

    Related Topics
    Anxiety Mental Health
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    Marianne Gabriel

    Psychologist

    Marianne has 15 years private practice experience providing psychological services to people for depression, anxiety, substance use, trauma, life changes, parenting, post natal depression, physical … View Profile

    Agoraphobia is basically a fear of being in a public space and very much worrying that if anything happens, they're not going to be able to get help and/or escape from a situation they find personally threatening. It quite often occurs initially when a person experiences something and then has a heightened anxiety episode, a panic attack, or nearby when a robbery or a terrible car accident happens. Then they internalize that anxiety and fear and almost can experience a post-traumatic stress response from that experience. Any unpleasant physiological experiences that relate to anxiety or panic become intolerable, and so then they develop an avoidance strategy, as a way to preventing anything else from happening. At its level when it's most severe, they will not leave their home. Even sometimes people won't even go into their yard. The house becomes the only safe place for them to reside.

    The other thing that happens in our modern times is it's quite easy for a person who suffers from agoraphobia to have all the services that they need come into the house so they can have food delivered. They can order everything they need online. In a way, the services that are provided now almost contribute to the person's agoraphobia coping a lot better than they would have in the past.

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    Anthony Berrick

    Psychologist

    In short, it's a fear of being away from a 'safe' place (e.g. home) and not being able to cope with feelings of anxiety/panic.

    It commonly develops after someone has experienced one or more panic attacks and becomes very fearful of having another panic attack somewhere where they can't 'escape'.

    Treatment involves learning skills to cope with the uncomfortable thoughts and feelings of a panic attack, and 'exposure' to the sensations, situations, and places that trigger anxiety.

     

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