WEBVTT - BrainStuff Classics: How Does Agoraphobia Work?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff production of I Heart Radio. Hey

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<v Speaker 1>brain Stuff, I'm Lauren Vogelbaum, and this is a classic

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<v Speaker 1>episode from our archives and from erstwhile host Christian Sager.

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<v Speaker 1>This one deals with what agoraphobia is and what it isn't.

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<v Speaker 1>We wanted to share this episode because with many of

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<v Speaker 1>us continuing isolation to help curb the spread of COVID nineteen,

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<v Speaker 1>prevent our hospitals from getting overwhelmed and thus save both

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<v Speaker 1>lives and money in the long run, we're all feeling

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<v Speaker 1>a little hold up and anxious about going out around people,

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<v Speaker 1>and agoraphobia isn't quite the right label for that, but

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<v Speaker 1>people with this condition may be struggling with it. Right now.

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<v Speaker 1>I'll let Christian explain. Hey brain Stuff, it's Christian Sager.

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<v Speaker 1>Doesn't it seem like some people aren't afraid of anything?

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<v Speaker 1>But you know what, those people their phonies because they're

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<v Speaker 1>scared of chainsaw clowns just like everybody else. They're just

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<v Speaker 1>better at hiding it. Everybody had as fears, but not

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<v Speaker 1>everybody has a phobia. Medically recognized phobias are different from

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<v Speaker 1>normal fear in that they provoke a very intense reaction.

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<v Speaker 1>They are unreasonable or unwarranted. For instance, being intensely afraid

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<v Speaker 1>of a guy with a shotgun and a ski mask.

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<v Speaker 1>While that kind of makes sense, but being intensely afraid

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<v Speaker 1>of balloons doesn't so much. And finally, they can interfere

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<v Speaker 1>with a person's ability to live their life. But there

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<v Speaker 1>are other anxiety disorders that, while very real and potentially

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<v Speaker 1>very disruptive of a person's life, are far more insidiously vague,

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<v Speaker 1>and agoraphobia is one of them. According to the d

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<v Speaker 1>s M five, every year one point seven percent of

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<v Speaker 1>adolescence and adults will be diagnosed with agoraphobia. So what

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<v Speaker 1>is it? Well, a lot of people have heard the

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<v Speaker 1>term and have a vague idea of what it means,

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<v Speaker 1>but a lot of these ideas are wrong, or at

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<v Speaker 1>least they don't tell the whole story. So, for instance,

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<v Speaker 1>some things that agoraphobia are not are a fear of crowds,

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<v Speaker 1>a fear of wide open spaces, or a fear of

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<v Speaker 1>being outside. Though all of these may be a manifestation

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<v Speaker 1>of actual agoraphobia, agoraphobia is actually a broader complaint that

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<v Speaker 1>will often include some or all of the fears previously listed,

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<v Speaker 1>so for some general layperson definitions to help you get

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<v Speaker 1>the gist of it, here we go. Agoraphobia is a

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<v Speaker 1>type of anxiety disorder in which you fear and often

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<v Speaker 1>avoid places or situations that might cause you to panic

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<v Speaker 1>and make you feel trapped, helpless, or embarrassed. That's from

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<v Speaker 1>the Mayo Clinic. Or Agoraphobia is an intense fear and

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<v Speaker 1>anxiety of being in places where it is hard to

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<v Speaker 1>escape or where help might not be available. Agoraphobia usually

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<v Speaker 1>involves fear of crowds, bridges, or of being outside alone.

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<v Speaker 1>That's from the National Library of Medicine at the National

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<v Speaker 1>Institutes of Health. One more, agreaphobia is a fear of

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<v Speaker 1>being in situations where escape might be difficult or help

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<v Speaker 1>wouldn't be available if things go wrong. That's from the

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<v Speaker 1>National Health Service in the UK. So really, agoraphobia is

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<v Speaker 1>more broadly the fear of being trapped in a vulnerable situation,

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<v Speaker 1>especially when exacerbated by an existing predisposition to panic disorder.

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<v Speaker 1>Very often, the person with agoraphobia specifically dreads experiencing a

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<v Speaker 1>panic attack or other panic like symptoms in a situation

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<v Speaker 1>where such an experience would be especially in opportune according

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<v Speaker 1>to the d s M five and this is the

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<v Speaker 1>latest edition of the Professional Diagnostic Handbook for Mental Health Professionals.

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<v Speaker 1>According to that to meet the diagnostic criteria for agoraphobia,

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<v Speaker 1>you must have quote market fear or anxiety about two

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<v Speaker 1>or more of the following scenarios standing in line or

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<v Speaker 1>being in a crowd, being outside of the home alone

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<v Speaker 1>using public transportation, being in open spaces, or being in

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<v Speaker 1>enclosed spaces. So the d s M five reports that

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<v Speaker 1>the person with a gooraphobia fears or avoids these situations

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<v Speaker 1>because of thoughts that escape and might be difficult or

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<v Speaker 1>might not be available in the event of developing panic

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<v Speaker 1>like symptoms or other incapacitating or embarrassing symptoms. What physically

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<v Speaker 1>happens is the following. According to the U S National

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<v Speaker 1>Library of Medicine, these symptoms show up when you're experiencing

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<v Speaker 1>a gooraphobia, chest pain or discomfort, choking or shortness of breath,

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<v Speaker 1>dizziness or fainting, nausea, rapid heartbeat, sweating, and trembling. Also,

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<v Speaker 1>according to the d s M five, you can only

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<v Speaker 1>meet the criteria for diagnosis if you always are almost

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<v Speaker 1>always have the fear response to these situations, You actively

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<v Speaker 1>avoid these situations or require the help of a companion

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<v Speaker 1>in the level of fear you feel is disproportionate to

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<v Speaker 1>the threat represented. This condition lasts for six months or more.

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<v Speaker 1>The fear, anxiety, or avoidance causes quote clinically significant distress

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<v Speaker 1>or prevents you from living a normally functional life, and

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<v Speaker 1>the suite of symptoms you experience is not better grouped

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<v Speaker 1>under another diagnosis. For example, if your fear only occurs

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<v Speaker 1>because you fear people's reactions to perceive flaws in your

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<v Speaker 1>physical appearance, this might be a body dysmorphic disorder instead

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<v Speaker 1>of general agoraphobia. So if you have intense, persistent, debilitating

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<v Speaker 1>fear that you'll begin to have a panic attack or

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<v Speaker 1>another embarrassing or incapacitating episode while you're stuck in a

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<v Speaker 1>place or situation you can't get out of or where

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<v Speaker 1>you can't find help, you might have agoraphobia. That's a

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<v Speaker 1>long one, and this can have some really serious consequences.

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<v Speaker 1>For example, more than one in three people with agoraphobia

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<v Speaker 1>are completely homebound and unable to work, and sometimes people

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<v Speaker 1>inappropriately self medicate with the abuse of drugs and alcohol.

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<v Speaker 1>Agoraphobia often develops out of an existing panic disorder. For example,

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<v Speaker 1>if a person experiences a panic attack in a particular

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<v Speaker 1>type of place, say, for example, like an airplane or

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<v Speaker 1>an elevator, he or she might start to avoid ever

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<v Speaker 1>being in that situation again. Over time, this can develop

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<v Speaker 1>into full blown agoraphobia. Something like agoraphobia can sometimes be

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<v Speaker 1>difficult to accurately diagnose, since it's associated with something like

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<v Speaker 1>panic disorder, and also because the functional symptoms may resemble

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<v Speaker 1>those of problems with different causes. For example, you may

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<v Speaker 1>dread and avoid flying in airplanes because of agoraphobia, or

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<v Speaker 1>maybe simply because you fear death by plane crash. The

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<v Speaker 1>situational phobia is outwardly similar, but it happens for very

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<v Speaker 1>different reasons. All right, So maybe you're wondering, if I've

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<v Speaker 1>got a gonophobia, how do I treat it well? The

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<v Speaker 1>most common treatment responses are a combination of cognitive behavioral

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<v Speaker 1>therapy and antidepressant medication. Cognitive behavioral therapy is basically a

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<v Speaker 1>common form of psychotherapy where the therapist helps the patient

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<v Speaker 1>talk through thought processes and common behaviors and then replaces

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<v Speaker 1>those bad thoughts and behavior patterns with better ones. Antidepressant

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<v Speaker 1>medication could also include drugs such as selective serotonin reuptake

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<v Speaker 1>inhibitors or ss R eyes or serotonin neuro epinephrine reuptake inhibitors.

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<v Speaker 1>So if you or someone you know are suffering from agoraphobia,

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<v Speaker 1>there's help out there. All you have to do is

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<v Speaker 1>seek it out. Today's episode was written by Joe McCormick

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<v Speaker 1>and produced by Tyler Playing. For more on this and

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<v Speaker 1>lots of other topics, is it How Stuff Work? Stop Calm?

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