Agoraphobia is the fear of being in places or situations from which it would be difficult, impossible or embarrassing to escape. This fear will often result in severe anxiety as well as panic attacks. It can rule the lives of those who suffer from it as they will often avoid places and situations in order to avoid a repeat of their anxiety.
There are several therapy choices for agoraphobia sufferers seeking help with their condition. There are conventional methods such as medication and psychotherapy and there are also complementary and self help therapies.
Psychotherapists will usually treat agoraphobia with CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy). The reason CBT works as an agoraphobia cure is because it helps to reduce the negative thoughts and behaviours that trigger the anxiety.
There are some great self help programs available online that will help show you how to reduce your anxiety so that you don't experience any more panic attacks. Eventually with repeated exposure to anxious situations your panic will simply fade away.
You could try a self help therapy called EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique). EFT works a bit like acupuncture but you use your fingertips to tap meridian points to release emotional stress. The theory behind EFT is that the tapping helps release emotional stresses that are causing the phobia.
Exposure Therapy is another therapy that can help people with agoraphobia. Relaxation techniques are taught and the person imagines themselves in situations that would cause them to feel anxious. They then learn to bring their anxious feelings under control using the relaxation techniques that they have been taught. The person will then have to venture out and experience anxiety causing situations and apply the relaxation techniques they have learned.
People with agoraphobia have also been helped with hypnosis. With hypnosis you either have the option of visiting a professional hypnotherapist or you can listen to recorded hypnotherapy sessions either on CD, DVD or MP3 downloads. These are available for all types of anxiety and phobias including agoraphobia.
Herbal anxiety remedies and flower essences can give temporary support and are a safe alternative to prescription drugs. You can buy herbal products already formulated for panic and anxiety. These will usually contain Valerian, Lavender or Passion Flower. The “Rescue Remedy” Bach Flower Essence is available in health stores and is very good for restoring calm.
The alternative to natural therapies is medication. The medications used for agoraphobia are anti-depressants and sedatives. Unfortunately these are likely to cause unpleasant side effects such as drowsiness. Prescription drugs only suppress symptoms of anxiety and do not heal the cause of the problem. Unless the root cause of the problem is treated then there is not going to be a long term cure.
If you are an agoraphobia sufferer who finds it difficult or impossible to leave your own home that shouldn't be a barrier to you getting help. There are so many things that you can do to help yourself from within your own home thanks to the internet. Self help programs and hypnosis recordings are all available to download directly to your computer.
For more information about agoraphobia treatment please visit www.saybyetopanic.com
My name is Mike Sanderson and I lived many years of my life with agoraphobia. I never thought that I would get over it. But I did, and that means you can too.