Agoraphobia Disorder Treatment Options
Agoraphobia Disorder is a common disorder that effects many people and can last a life time if it is not properly treated. Agoraphobia is an intense fear of a place or environment with other people, especially when there is no place for a person to escape if they need to. According to www.nimh.nih.gov, in one year’s time approximately 1.8 million American adults age 18 and over have agoraphobia without a history of panic disorder. Eventually untreated cases of agoraphobia disorder sometimes lead to people having panic disorder, which is why it is important for people to seek out treatment.
How does agoraphobia affect People?
Agoraphobia disorder treatment can save you from further problems.
Agoraphobia affects people in various ways. The reason for this is because the symptoms of agoraphobia are so severe that they can lead a person to develop other disorders and ailments. For example, if a person has developed a severe case of agoraphobia they may not ever leave their house, which in return limits them to sunshine, socialization, and exercise. This isolation can lead to a person developing manic depression, mental disorders, and suicidal thoughts or actions.
The world can be a cruel place that puts an intense amount of pressure on people, when people feel overly judged and expectations run too high people tend to isolate themselves from the world. Most people have experienced this in their life at some point, but some people begin to have anxiety and panic attacks when they feel too much pressure or judgment, or when they feel a though there is no escape from the environment that they are in. Once this occurs people fear the anxiety and will try to avoid places that will make them feel like that again. This is how agoraphobia begins to develop and with some people it goes away while others have to deal with it for the rest of their life.
Treatment Options
There are different ways in which people seek help for agoraphobia disorder; one of the most common ways is through behavioral therapy or psychotherapy. Working out their issues and talking to another person about their fears tends to help some people overcome their phobia. Behavioral therapy typically takes a more hands on approach and slowly introduces an individual suffering from agoraphobia back into social situations, this takes time but has proven to be effective.
Another common way that agoraphobia disorder is treated is by medicine. Agoraphobia is linked to anxiety and depression and therefore anxiety and depression medications tend to help those people who suffer from the disorder. This is not always effective but it does help many people to feel less anxious in social situations and helps them to conquer their fears one step at a time. Eventually though, a person should slowly come off of the medication and be able to go into social situations without the medication. This is why even on medication it is a good idea for a person to also take some type of therapy to help them conquer their agoraphobia disorder without medication involvement.
