Agoraphobia, development and causes

There are different ways of externalizing anxiety: generalized anxiety disorder, panic attack, social anxiety, separation anxiety ... and agoraphobia. In agoraphobia, the person feels afraid of being outside their home or in public places: open spaces, driving, using public transport, at the movies, etc. Faced with the expectation of being alone outside the home, or in certain places, the person experiences a increased anxiety and sometimes panic attacks.

Sometimes agoraphobia develops after a panic attack or traumatic experience in an outer space. The person is afraid of re-living the unpleasant experience or reliving the symptoms of a panic attack in a place where they feel exposed, such as the street.

All this ends up causing the person to avoid these situations and isolate himself more and more at home, with the consequence of deteriorating his family relationships, friendship relationships, and even work. So it is common that in addition to experiencing fear and anxiety, you feel loneliness, insecurity, isolation... what can end up causing low self-esteem and depressive disorders. In extreme cases, total isolation occurs at home, sometimes in the company of people with whom they feel safe, such as family, friends or partner.

Another associated consequence is that a emotional dependence so that a trusted person accompanies the person suffering from agoraphobia at all times. It is also common to resort to the use of drugs in order to face the feared situation.

Some of the most common causes of having developed agoraphobia include:

• • Fear of experiencing a panic attack alone or in an unfamiliar space.
  • Having had traumatic experiences.
  • Go through stressful situations maintained over time.
  • Having a generalized anxiety disorder.
  • Having a depressive disorder.
  • Living in vital situations with important changes: going through a duel, divorce, change of place of residence, work, etc. Psychotherapy is very suitable for people who suffer from an anxiety disorder. In general, anxiety is a symptom that alerts us that something in our life is not going as well as we would like. Through anxiety our mind can warn us that there are emotions that we find difficult to elaborate.

During the psychological treatment You can learn to manage the symptoms of anxiety, as well as develop the emotions associated with it, gaining autonomy and self-esteem.