Has anyone ever heard of a phobia called AGORAPHOBIA? Any good websites on this?!
Question: I do not know of any websites, but I do have experience of Agoraphobia. I have a phobia of open spaces, large parks, driving through fields with nothing either side are not my idea of fun. It got to the point of my being panicked crossing a road when I was stuck in the middle waiting for a car to pass. Anyone with agoraphobia will understand that I had to hold myself back from running in front of it to get to the other side!!!
The best way to deal with it is to face it. The main part of agoraphobia is the avoidance of the situation which causes the panic to the extent that some people just stay in their home to avoid things. The thing with avoiding is that it makes it WORSE. Confront the situations,although I found that by really freaking myself out it made it harder. There are two ways people go about confronting, one is to gently confront situations and the other is "flooding" where you go into a situation which is about as panic inducing as you can imagine. The panic does not last and although it may feel as if you will die, it passes.
Short story, don't avoid but confront "feel the fear and do it anyway" and it will get better and it is frustrating that as phobias are not rational others quite often do not "get it".
Good luck, although skydiving is not something I will be ever doing, I don't have panic attacks (some anxiety) now walking over a field (within reason) much less crossing the road, but it does not stop me from carrying on with my life. Good luck.
Answers: I do not know of any websites, but I do have experience of Agoraphobia. I have a phobia of open spaces, large parks, driving through fields with nothing either side are not my idea of fun. It got to the point of my being panicked crossing a road when I was stuck in the middle waiting for a car to pass. Anyone with agoraphobia will understand that I had to hold myself back from running in front of it to get to the other side!!!
The best way to deal with it is to face it. The main part of agoraphobia is the avoidance of the situation which causes the panic to the extent that some people just stay in their home to avoid things. The thing with avoiding is that it makes it WORSE. Confront the situations,although I found that by really freaking myself out it made it harder. There are two ways people go about confronting, one is to gently confront situations and the other is "flooding" where you go into a situation which is about as panic inducing as you can imagine. The panic does not last and although it may feel as if you will die, it passes.
Short story, don't avoid but confront "feel the fear and do it anyway" and it will get better and it is frustrating that as phobias are not rational others quite often do not "get it".
Good luck, although skydiving is not something I will be ever doing, I don't have panic attacks (some anxiety) now walking over a field (within reason) much less crossing the road, but it does not stop me from carrying on with my life. Good luck.
www.agoraphobia.ws
Agoraphobia is an anxiety disorder precipitated by the fear of having a panic attack in a setting from which there is no easy means of escape. As a result, sufferers of agoraphobia may avoid public and/or unfamiliar places. In severe cases, the sufferer may become confined to their home, experiencing difficulty traveling from this "safe place."
Yep. it's when you're scared of wide open spaces or even leaving your house. It can hit anyone anytime. Check out Wikipedia or just Google it.