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.
And while you're down there, go ahead and
subscribe.
And for more stuff that's really great like
this, go to HowStuffWorks.com.
