Do I Have Agoraphobia
I often get letters from people asking if they have agoraphobia. Which is fine but I thought I needed a section to help those who think they have agoraphobia and better explain in great detail why they may have agoraphobia.
Agoraphobia Is A Broad Term:
Having agoraphobia isnt like having a disease or illness because you dont really "have" anything. What you have is anxiety. You may have read this on every website youve been on and you may be thinking 'Ive been alive for 45 years and havent had this problem before' and even though it is seen more in younger adults and especially teens who have that natural high energy, for whatever reason, you could have been able to suppress the anxiety with drugs or alcohol for years or just simply been able to handle it for all those years who knows, you probably know why. So, like I said above, you dont have anything but anxiety.
People get so caught up in 'Do I have agoraphobia?' that they dont hardly pay attention to the fact of whats causing it. It is hard to believe that something as simple as anxiety can cause you to think a certain way, even after years of thinking the "normal" way.
So, if you have a fear of going outside and it doesnt matter for what reason you could be scared a dog may bite you or the sky may fall, who knows even though it is mostly fear of panic and Ive never heard of anyone having a fear that the sky will fall if they step outside but it is possible and if they do fear that then it is also probably just anxiety.
Your Signs:
This leads me to what are the signs of agoraphobia. As mentioned above its a fear of when you step outside something bad will happen. Now, for a while I was able to drive short distances which is outside but I was unable to go into stores or drive long distances ect so I still had agoraphobia. I consider what I have now as full blown agoraphobia because I can hardly step outside without panic. There arent strict rules to what agoraphobia is or what exact fears you have to have when you get get into panicky situations. So, heres a small list of things that may help guide you to helping you decide if you have agoraphobia or not.
If when youre in a public situation (car, store, work, back yard, front yard, ect) and you feel ________ then you may have agoraphobia.
Panicky
Feeling like youre having a heart attack
Dying
Going Crazy
Unrealization
Dread
Scary Thoughts
What Ifs
Those really are just a few, but it can be a fear of anything. Like I said above, it can be a fear that a lawn mower will run over you or the sky will fall but these are very uncommon because usually the fear is something that you have to do like having to drive a far distance so your fear would be what if I get half way there and cant make it back or I have to call 911 to get me a ride home. Or if your fear is a store then it could be what if I go into the store and I go to the back of the store and panic and cant make it out of the store and people laugh or call 911 or think Im some weirdo. Those are the typical fears so dont think if you have agoraphobia then tomorrow youre going to think the sky will fall. I used those type of thoughts to show it is possible to think the "craziest" of things but it is all anxiety.
Also, dont think because I havent talked about your specific "thought" or anxiety that youre in the clear. Agoraphobia is simply a irrational fear that something bad will happen in a public setting or even in your own home.
Some people think public is a room full of people in a social setting and that is true but it can be in a car by yourself or with your husband or wife. It can happen suddenly or as soon as you step outside. The thoughts can start even before you step outside or the thoughts can happen just as youre "facing" your fear (store, car, work ect)
Think Of It This Way:
Ill give you two examples of why you may or may not have agoraphobia. Have you ever hear someone say they are scared of spiders or clowns or bridges and laugh to yourself and think theyre "crazy" well lets look at why theyre scared and why they think that way and this will help you understand that agoraphobia is just like the fear of clowns or spiders but in an agoraphobics case they face it everyday but a person that has a fear of clowns (Coulrophobia) or spiders (Arachnophobia)and lastly, bridges (Gephyrophobia) which if you notice all these have "phobia" at the end which is no different than agoraphobia, that it is just a fear and not an illness.
First off lets take on bridges. Usually a person who is fearful of bridges may only panic once they hit the bridge or knowing they have to cross a bridge ect and even if that person knows it wont fall down they still panic and thats why we think theyre crazy because we know thats irrational and chances are that wont happen but it is in there sub-concious mind and once it reconizes the bridge as a fear you panic. Its no different than seeing a burning house and your mind keeps you safe by telling you dont go in there or youll die! Your mind will also tell you dont go over the bridge or it may fall. Now in reality the bridge could fall but is unlikely but this "what if" thinking is what causes the person to have doubt or think to themselves well this could be the time not to mention the anxiety and panic they feel just thining about it, let alone doing it.
Clown fears are usually a little different because they usually stem froma bad experience as a kid being around clowns and your mind associates the clown as bad even as an adult. I think the fear that most people dont care to have is the spider phobia because theyre gross and ugly and we can understand why theyd fear them. But why fear going outside? Why fear going in the store after doing it for years? Well a snake handler can handle snakes for years but if he gets bitten once and told you he isnt touching another snake again youd understand why. If a person steps outside or in there car or at work and they feel like theyre having a heart attack or dying or just going crazy then why is it so hard to understand why theyd not want to put themselves in that situation again?
That section will be the most helpful to you because it is sometimes easier to understand anothers problem but not our own. Remember, these phobias including agoraphobia is built on fear. As time goes on the fear can grow, meaning one day you may be able to go into stores but driving kills you, well overtime your anxiety can carry over from the car into the store and then youll panic there and then you may think to yourself 'oh my god now I panic in the store' then you go home and dwell on it and replay how it made you feel over and over and guess what happens the next time you have to go to the store? You replay how that made you feel over and over and by the time you get to the store youre trying so hard to be "normal" that you crack and panic.
This is a very real scenario and I bring it up not to scare you but if youre at this point or getting there then you can reconize it and maybe do something about it. Agoraphobia is %100 curable and some chronic cases need medication to help relieve anxiety but it can be done.
I Say This To Everyone:
Anyone who ever writes me I say the same thing. If you can get to a doctor then do so. If you think you can make it without panic or even if you dont care if you panic as long as you get help then do so. More than likely this will not just pass or is just a phase. If youre looking it up on the internet then theres your first sign that youre concerned. I did try and get help the next day after panicking but had another bad panic attack while in the doctors office and it was a year and a half later before I got the nerve to try again. Educate yourself, learn all you can about anxiety and how it makes you think and youll learn you are your anxietys friend because you feed your anxiety because after a while it becomes second nature to do so, you train the mind to think negative and the worse.
Conclusion:
If youve concluded you have agoraphobia then dont focus on the word agoraphobia, focus on anxiety. Because it is your anxiety that causes you to have agoraphobia. The only real treatment for agoraphobia is to treat anxiety because like I always say, agoraphobia is an offspring of anxiety. Educate, educate, educate the mor eyou learn about your anxiety the better it will help you cope so when you think youre going to die or go crazy you can say to yourself your fine and its just your anxiety. Also, just because agoraphobia isnt an illness doesnt mean we dont suffer, it eefects us everyday in every way. Agoraphobia can slow a persons life down to a crawl and if you or someone else shows signs of or has agoraphobia please dont belittle it. If youre still unsure please feel free to write me.
Im no doctor and these are my opinions and if youre unsure you need to speak witha medical professional. This page is meant to help guide you to your right path and not to diagnose anyone.