Agoraphobia

What Is Agoraphobia?

Agoraphobia is a rare type of anxiety disorder. If you have it, your fears keep you from getting out into the world. You avoid certain places and situations because you think you’ll feel trapped and not be able to get help.

For example, you might worry or panic when you are in:

Public transportation (buses, trains, ships, or planes)
Large, open spaces (parking lots, bridges)
Closed-in spaces (stores, movie theaters)
Crowds or standing in line
Being outside your home alone

You may be willing to go just a handful of places, or you may even dread leaving your house.

Agoraphobia Causes and Risk Factors

Doctors aren’t sure what causes agoraphobia. They think it runs in families. You may get it if you have a lot of panic attacks. That’s when you have bursts of fear that come out of the blue and last for a few minutes. These happen when there’s no real danger.

Less than 1% of people in the U.S. have agoraphobia. Women are two to three times more likely to have it than men, and it’s more common in teenagers and young adults.

A few other things that can raise your chances of it include having:

Panic disorder, especially if it’s not treated
Other phobias
A family member who has agoraphobia
A history of very stressful or traumatic events read more

HERE’S EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT DEALING WITH ANXIETY ATTACKS

“Let it go, let it go. Can’t hold it back anymore.” Okay, to most wide-eyed children, Elsa from Disney’s Frozen is just this super-cool, kind of complicated snow queen with a great singing voice and a killer side braid. But if you really boil it down, the character is oh-so-relatable to the adult set, too. Think about it: She spends most of her life hiding from the outside world. She’s so worried about what might happen that she secludes herself from all of it. Beyond withdrawing from her family and friends, she avoids her problems instead of accepting or dealing with them. And not to get all clinical, but might it be possible that Elsa was suffering from some pretty intense anxiety while she was refusing to build a snowman with sweet Anna?

Sure, it’s a cheeky comparison, but in today’s ever-busy, always-working, rise-and-grind #hustleculture, all people are practically wired for anxiety. We may not have to worry about dudes trying to steal our castles and family fortune (probably), but the demands of life today are no joke, whether you’re a successful CEO, an analyst by day and yoga instructor by night, or a living-paycheck-to-paycheck recent grad trying to figure out WTF to do next. So, in the event your worries ever percolate into anxiety-attack territory, here’s what to do. more

Teen opens dialogue on mental illnesses

The challenges presented by the prevalence of mental illness in society are numerous and complex. Victoria St. Jean, a senior at Pilgrim High School, is trying to make a difference by opening a door to conversation about the subject – from people who personally experience varying degrees of mental illnesses or disorders themselves.

“I think this is a topic that needs to be talked about more in society, because even though it’s 2019, with a lot of people it’s a touchy subject and they really don’t seem to want to talk about it,” St. Jean said. “It’s like any other disorder. Just because you can’t always see it on the outside, doesn’t mean it doesn’t matter as much.” more

Psychologists Agree: There’s No Need to Panic Over a Panic Attack

In other words, don’t panic.

Panic attacks typically occur when a person is under stress. The stress can be physical, like being run down, or emotional, like a significant life change.

Panic attacks are a relatively common experience with as many as one in sevenpeople experiencing them at least once. A little more than half of those people will have repeated panic attacks.

Our understanding of panic attacks has changed over time, but we’ve now come to a good understanding of what panic attacks are and how we can help those who experience them.

It’s important to understand that panic attacks are a physiological expression of anxiety, and not intrinsically dangerous. The symptoms are the body’s natural way of coping with perceived threats. more

These Women Treated Their Anxiety and Depression with Food. Here’s What They Ate

Science agrees that food can be a powerful tool for people dealing with depression and anxiety.

When Jane Green was 14 years old, she was walking offstage from a tap dance competition when she collapsed.

She couldn’t feel her arms, her legs, or her feet. She was hysterically crying, and her whole body was hot. She was gasping for breath. She blacked out for 10 minutes and when she came to, her mom was holding her. It took 30 minutes for her heart rate to calm down enough so she could breathe.

Green was having a panic attack — her first one, but not her last. Her parents took her to the doctor, who diagnosed her with anxiety and depression, and handed her a prescription for an antidepressant. more

Head Over Feels: The anxiety of dating with a mental illness

In the fourth grade, I had my first panic attack—at least, the first one I remember. It happened at a softball game. I worked myself up to the verge of tears because of some irrational fear of becoming sick. I had no reason to be so distressed, but I was. Since then, I’ve experienced panic attacks and anxiety triggered by almost anything, even something as illogical as potentially falling ill in the future.

According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, approximately one in five adults in the U.S. suffer from a mental illness. My mental illness never impacted me on an interpersonal level until I started dating my high school boyfriend, Brian.

However, I have never dated a person with a mental illness like mine.

I didn’t receive an official diagnosis of generalized anxiety disorder or take prescribed medication until age 18. more

Here’s why anxiety in boys can look like anger, and how some famous role models can help them get through it

The movie theater is sold out, and Jalen Moore has folded his 6-foot-8-inch frame into a mid-row seat.

Confinement alone makes this a stressful situation for Moore, who might still be playing in the National Basketball Association if not for the anxiety attacks that began last spring, while he was belted into a stuffy cabin seat on a plane before a game.

What’s worse, the movie he and his girlfriend are watching is “A Quiet Place.” The screen shows a post-apocalyptic world where anyone who makes the slightest sound is set upon by man-eating demons.

Moore feels hot, and begins to sweat. Instinctively, he looks for the exits, and he knows his girlfriend will understand if he decides to leave the theater. It’s happened before. more

Kevin Love raises mental health awareness with ‘Locker Room Talk’ website series

Kevin Love can’t remember being this freshly shaven, gliding his fingers over his smooth cheeks and chin while glancing at a large mirror.

The reflection doesn’t pain him anymore.

From the outside, the Cleveland Cavaliers’ All-Star forward appears to have it all: A model’s striking looks, a multi-million dollar contract and dream job. At 30, he’s in the prime of his career, and maybe for the first time, truly happy.

“I’m getting there,” he said, his voice conveying determination. “It’s still a work in progress.”
Nearly a year ago, Love suffered a panic attack during a game against Atlanta. The desperate, life-altering event eventually led to revealing his long-term battle with anxiety and depression.

Now Love is hoping to break down stigmas about men’s mental health. He has partnered with Shick Hydro on a website series called “Locker Room Talk”, holding candid conversations with Olympic gold-medal swimming icon Michael Phelps, former Boston Celtics star Paul Pierce and Cavs teammate and close friend Channing Frye.

No topic is off limits. more

Everything You Should Know About Thanatophobia

What is thanatophobia?

Thanatophobia is commonly referred to as the fear of death. More specifically, it can be a fear of death or a fear of the dying process.

It’s natural for someone to worry about their own health as they age. It’s also common for someone to worry about their friends and family after they’re gone. However, in some people, these concerns can develop into more problematic worries and fears. more

The courageous fight to fix the NBA’s mental health problem

It was hardly an ideal environment to broach such a sensitive, personal topic as mental health, but Cavaliers forward Kevin Love had hinted three weeks earlier in Cleveland that he might be ready to share. At that time, I was interviewing Channing Frye in the Cavs’ locker room regarding his depression following the deaths of his parents, while Love, sitting at the adjacent locker, listened intently to our conversation.

“We all go through something,” Love said, cryptically, as I stood up to leave.

Now Love was perched on a dais in a ballroom at Staples Center in front of a long, flowing black curtain, fielding innocuous questions regarding his workout regimen. I navigated my way to the front of the pack and lofted Love a couple of warm-up questions regarding Frye. Once Love acknowledged that Frye’s candor was “an important step” toward putting a face on mental health, I had my opening. more