Agoraphobia is a type of anxiety where you feel very scared about being in places or situations where escaping might be hard or where you might not get help if you have a panic attack.
Because of this fear, you avoid these places or situations. If you do end up in one of these situations, you feel very anxious. Sometimes, you can handle being in these scary places if you are with someone you trust.
For some people, avoiding certain places because of agoraphobia can cause a lot of stress and make it hard to do everyday things like work, travel, go to school, or spend time with family and friends.
There are actually two parts to Agoraphobia: the panic and the agoraphobia
But agoraphobia can happen with or without a history of panic disorder.
Panic disorder involves sudden and repeated panic attacks. These attacks are very frightening, and people often worry about when the next one will happen. They might also fear the results of these attacks, like thinking they might die, lose control, go crazy, or faint. Because of this fear, they might change how they act to feel safer or to try to stop future attacks.
A panic attack is a sudden burst of intense fear or discomfort, with many physical symptoms. These attacks can come out of nowhere or be triggered by a stressful situation. Panic attacks can happen at any time, even during sleep. The fear and discomfort usually peak quickly, often within minutes, but sometimes they build up more slowly, and the physical symptoms take
longer to go away.
