Agoraphobia Panic Attacks 

Agoraphobia is a fear of being in places or situations from which escape might be difficult (or embarrassing) or in which help may not be available in the event of having an unexpected or situationally predisposed panic attack or panic-like symptoms. Like panic disorder, agoraphobia is one of several anxiety disorders. Agoraphobia may occur with or without panic disorder, but it is most frequently seen with panic disorder.

Panic disorder progresses to agoraphobia for about one-third of the people with panic disorder, according to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). If treated quickly and properly, panic disorder may not progress to agoraphobia. Once the condition progresses, it is all the more difficult to treat.

Most people with agoraphobia develop the disorder after first suffering a series of one or more panic attacks. The attacks occur randomly and without warning, and make it impossible for a person to predict what situations will trigger the reaction. This unpredictability of the panic causes the person to anticipate future panic attacks and, eventually, fear any situation in which an attack may occur. As a result, they avoid going into any place or situation where previous panic attacks have occurred. People with the disorder often become so disabled that they literally feel they cannot leave their homes. Others who have agoraphobia, do go into potentially "phobic" situations, but only with great distress, or when accompanied by a trusted friend or family member. Persons with agoraphobia may also develop depression, fatigue, tension, alcohol or drug abuse problems, and obsessive disorders, making seeking treatment crucial.

Agoraphobia may begin after the very first panic attack. A typical scenario is in an automobile on a crowded highway. The person experiences the first "out of the blue" panic attack and has no idea what caused it or even what it was. Many people end up in the emergency room after the first attack, believing they have had a heart attack. If, after the first attack, no diagnosis is made and/or (more importantly) no treatment is begun, the person often comes to the conclusion that something about driving on the highway caused the attack. Or the person decides that the last place to be if he or she has another attack is trapped alone in a car on a crowded highway. The panic attack was so horrible that the person continues to think about it and worries about having another attack. Eventually, the person may worry about having panic attacks in other places besides the car and so begins to avoid those places, even if he or she hasn't had an attack there. References

Updated Thursday, October 12, 2006