The Facts
Agoraphobia, meaning "fear of the marketplace" in Greek, is a type of anxiety disorder. It's a condition where a person feels intensely anxious about being trapped in certain situations from which they can't easily escape. The result is a feeling of panic. Movie theaters, long lineups in banks or stores, and buses or subways are examples of places feared by people with agoraphobia. They often end up avoiding these situations or only going with someone with whom they feel "safe." In extreme cases, they may end up housebound, terrified to go anywhere in public. Agoraphobia affects 3.8% of women and 1.8% of men in any given six-month period.
Causes
In many cases, agoraphobia develops after a person has experienced a panic attack (panic disorder). This involves feelings of intense, overwhelming terror along with physical symptoms such as sweating, dizziness, a pounding heart, and shortness of breath. Although panic attacks are unpredictable, the person learns to avoid the situation that seemed to trigger the episode for fear of having another one. Others may just feel uncomfortable in agoraphobic situations without ever having had, or going on to have, panic attacks. A few will go on to develop full-blown panic disorder. Agoraphobia is more common than panic disorder, which only affects about 1% of the population.
