The Fear Of Not Being Able To Escape: Understanding Agoraphobia
What do psychologists mean when we talk about agoraphobia?
Actually, we use this word to describe a type of anxiety through which The person avoids places and circumstances because they fear they will not be able to escape from themsince she believes that she may feel embarrassed in these situations, be unprotected or suffer very unpleasant anxiety symptoms.
For these people, the fact of thinking that they cannot escape causes them a lot of anxiety, which is why they often need to be accompanied by people they trust and who can help them get out of these situations.
On the other hand, it usually happens to them that if they are with people with whom they do not have that trust, their discomfort intensifies due to the fear of having to explain how they are, of having their discomfort noticed, or of making a fool of themselves.
Each person can refer different things; However, one of the most common forms of onset is that agoraphobia begins when typical feelings of strong anxiety are experienced in situations that do not involve objective danger or high risk (although in many cases, they do not know what they are). These sensations are usually dizziness, nausea or tachycardia that the person associates with a specific place and where they have the feeling of having to flee. He wants to leave that place.
The typical thoughts of “I have to run away”, “I’m going to faint” or “I’m going to lose control and do something crazy” may also appear, which in turn generate more anguish because they are believed by the person, who note you have to leave that place as soon as possible.
After that, the person wants to prevent those sensations from occurring again and, to do this, stop going to those places where you have felt that way, inadvertently restricting the places that are part of your comfort zone.
As time goes by, the problem becomes more generalized and the person ends up greatly limiting the places where they are safe, even ending up locked in her own homebeing the only place where he feels safe.
It may also happen that the person does not feel safe in their own home if they are alone, for fear that something will happen to them: they will faint or something else will happen and there will be no one to help them.
The feeling of “you can’t”
In many cases, the person who suffers from this has the feeling of having lost self-confidence by not being able to do the things they usually did and sees that everyone continues doing them.
In the end It is a loop that the person enters little by little.on many occasions, later manifesting other mood symptoms, which in many cases meet the criteria for depression and which also complicate treatment.
Where does it usually occur?
algans Typical circumstances in which agoraphobia symptoms manifest are:
And in any place or circumstance where they do not feel they can leave if discomfort appears.
What happens if it is not treated?
Agoraphobia needs treatment carried out by specialized professionals. Allowing too much time to pass without going to therapy can result in the person seeing their life as very disabled, leading in the worst cases to being totally isolated in their home.
That is, the person may find their comfort zone increasingly restricted, becoming increasingly limited and feeling that they cannot cope with everyday situations.
Difficulties in therapy
Online therapy is a great alternative for these people, since they can begin to have the first guides and tools in a more accessible way, obtaining efficiency exactly the same as in person. In many cases, the problem is that the person does not feel prepared or cannot go to the consultation.
One of the difficulties most often mentioned by people who are undergoing therapy and have agoraphobia is that they have to continually face anxiety-inducing situations, which requires a fairly large effort of energy that leaves the person exhausted. Calibrating well the effort that the patient is going to make is importantsince it really is one of the keys to therapy.
On the other hand, it is a mistake not to understand the objectives of therapeutic prescriptions. It is important that the person understands why they do each thing.
Finally, It is also important that the person feels supportedsince many times he does not receive that understanding from the environment, since others do not really understand what he is experiencing and suffering inside, which in the end produces more anguish, pressure and feelings of loneliness.
Although many people think that it is very important to go to the origin, really work in therapy begins with the present. We first treat the symptom, that is, the manifestation of anxiety that we are suffering at the current moment.
We want to reduce symptoms and provide the person with the necessary tools to be able to manage those moments of great discomfort.
However, behind the symptom there is more work to do. Generally, there are deeper feelings of lack of protection and abandonment that will have to be investigated when the treatment is further advanced and the person’s symptoms are more subdued.
From our psychology consultation we treat these types of problems with special care, serving all those people who need it, both online and in person in Valencia.
