Agoraphobia & Panic Attacks

If you suffer from agoraphobia you may avoid shops, public transport and crowds, not because of their inbuilt features but because these are situations from which escape might be difficult or embarrassing. Your fear of embarrassment plays an important part of your agoraphobia.

People who have this problem are afraid of having panic attacks but what other people will think, should they be seen having a panic attack.

It is common for the agoraphobic to avoid a variety of situations. Some of the more common ones include :

- Crowded public places such as supermarkets, shopping centres and restaurants
- Enclosed or confined places such as tunnels, bridges or the hairdressers chair
- Public transport such as trains, buses, underground trains or planes
- Being away from home alone

Perhaps the most common feature of this problem is anxiety about being far away from home, or far from a 'safer person' (usually your spouse, partner, a parent, or anyone to whom you have an attachment).

Because of the severe restrictions in your activities and life, you may be depressed. Depression arises from the feeling in the grup of a condition over which you have no control over or that you are powerless to change.