Agoraphobia

1. Agoraphobia Presented by Zeena Assaf

2. What is a phobia? • An irrational fear • Akind of anxiety disorder in which the sufferer has a relentless dread of a situation, living creature, place or thing

3. What is agoraphobia? • Afear of being outside or being stuck in a situation where one cannot escape or where escaping would be difficult or humiliating.

4. Diagnostic symptoms Fear of • Using public transportation, such as a bus or plane • Being in an open space, such as a parking lot, bridge or large mall • Being in an enclosed space, such as a movie theater, meeting room or small store • Waiting in a line or being in a crowd • Being out of your home alone

5. Diagnostic symptoms • Fear or anxiety that usually results from exposure to a situation • Avoidance of the situation, needing a companion to go with you or endurance of this situation with extreme distress • Fear or anxiety that's out of proportion to the actual danger posed by the situation • Significant distress or problems with social situations, work or other areas in your life caused by the fear, anxiety or avoidance • Persistent phobia and avoidance, usually lasting six months or longer

6. Biological Level of Analysis • Family history/genetic inheritance • Malfunction in areas of the brain that respond to fear • Flight-or-fight response (Release of adrenaline and other hormones) • The fear network (The brain is wired differently) • An imbalance in levels of neurotransmitters in the brain which can affect mood and behavior

7. Cognitive Level of Analysis • A previous history of mental illnesses, such as depression, anorexia orbulimia • See situations as always potentially dangerous • Completely frightened

8. Sociocultural Level of Analysis • Atraumatic childhood experience, such as the death of a parent • Experiencing a stressful event, such as divorce or losing your job  • Alcohol misuse or drug misuse • Being in an unhappy relationship, or in a relationship where your partner is very controlling

9. Treatments • Cognitive behavioral therapy • Psychotherapy that focuses on decreasing negative, anxiety-provoking, or other self-defeating thoughts and behaviors • Highly effective, even for many people when they receive it over the Internet • Self-Exposure therapy • One either imagines or puts themselves into situations that cause increasing levels of agoraphobic anxiety, using relaxation techniques in each situation in order to master their anxiety • As people gain access to the Internet, there is increasing evidence that exposure therapy can also be done effectively through that medium. • Medical therapy • Usually treated in connection with panic disorder • Commonly, members of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) and the minor tranquilizer (benzodiazepine) groups of medications are used in treatment. • The possible side effects of SSRI medications can vary greatly from person to person and depend on which of the drugs is being used. • Panic disorder and phobias are sometimes treated with drugs in a medication class known as benzodiazepines. This class of medications causes relaxation but is used less often these days to treat anxiety due to the possibility of addiction, increasing need for higher doses, and overdose

10. Thank you 