Can you imagine being afraid to go out alone? Experiencing constant worry and fear about the possibility of suffering an anxiety attack? Being unable to take a bus to work or go to a shopping center to buy your child a gift?
Well, this is what a person who suffers from agoraphobia can be like on a daily basis.
What is agoraphobia?
Agoraphobia, according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V), is the appearance of anxiety in places or situations where it is very difficult to escape or where you cannot receive help in the event of an anxiety crisis.
The situations before which this fear or intense anxiety appears may be:
The Malaga psychologist Ana Claudia Alda, from the Málaga PsicoAbreu Psychologists office, points out that the fear that appears in agoraphobia is not a specific fear of situations, but rather a fear of fear. That is, it is the fear of experiencing the symptoms of anxiety and its possible consequences.
Therefore, the fear and anxiety that appears is disproportionate and excessive compared to the real danger posed by these situations.
Guys
Agoraphobia can appear in the following ways:
What are the characteristic symptoms?
The most common symptoms of agoraphobia are the following.
On a physiological level changes appear such as:
On a cognitive level anticipations appear related to the possible appearance of an anxiety crisis, as well as concerns about its possible physical consequences (heart attack, not being able to breathe, etc.), mental (loss of control, going crazy, etc.) and social ( that others think the person is crazy).
At a behavioral level, the person tends to avoid feared situations or face them, but with high emotional discomfort. It is common to find safety behaviors that help to endure the discomfort, such as, for example, going with someone, taking medication or always carrying water with you.
Vulnerability and maintenance factors
There are different variables that are related to the development and maintenance of agoraphobia that facilitate the understanding of this phenomenon.
Vulnerability factors
Maintenance factors
Do you have treatment? What is the most appropriate intervention?
Cognitive-behavioral psychological treatment has been highly effective becoming the main line of intervention.
There are two intervention programs within the cognitive-behavioral trend that have obtained great results. Both use very similar cognitive and behavioral techniques, but they differ in their conceptualization of the problem.
1. Clark Panic Disorder Cognitive Therapy Program
This program It is based mainly on the idea that the main factor that maintains the problem is the catastrophic interpretation of bodily sensations. All the techniques used in this program aim to restructure the catastrophic beliefs that exist about physical sensations.
2. Barlow’s Panic Control Treatment Program
In this case, habituation to interoceptive sensations is prioritized to eliminate interoceptive conditioning existing through exhibitions. Like the previous one, it also works on the restructuring of catastrophic beliefs based on the presentations made.
- American Psychiatric Association (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Washington DC: American Psychiatric Association.
- Barlow, D. H., & Cerny, J. A. (1988). Psychological Treatment of Panic. New York: Guilford Press.
- Barlow, D.H., & Craske, M.G. (1989). Mastery of your anxiety and panic. Albany, New York: Graywind Publications.
- Barlow, D.H., & Craske, M.G. (2007). Mastery of your anxiety and panic (Workbook) 4th edition. USA: Oxford University Press.
- Clark, D. M. (1989). Anxiety states: panic and generalized anxiety. In K. Hawton, PM Salkovskis, J. Kirk AND DM Clark (Eds), Cognitive therapy for psychiatric problems: a practical guide. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
- Salkovskis, P.M., & Clark, D.M. (1991). Cognitive therapy for panic disorder. Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy, 5, 215-226.
- Vallejo, M.A. (2016). Behavior therapy manual. Madrid: Dykinson.
Use this citation format to reference the article clearly and help readers find the original source.
PsychologyFor. (2024). Symptoms of Agoraphobia (physiological, Cognitive and Behavioral). PsychologyFor. https://psychologyfor.com/symptoms-of-agoraphobia-physiological-cognitive-and-behavioral/