Contents
Hello, dear readers of the site! Agoraphobia (demophobia, ochlophobia) is the fear of crowds or large open spaces. Today we will look at why it is the same phobia, as well as the symptoms, causes, and treatments.
What is it like?
Agoraphobia is a fairly complex type of mental disorder. Since it causes a lot of inconvenience, unpleasant experiences, and in general, it does not give the opportunity to relax for a minute.
And it is developing quite rapidly. One has only to experience a panic attack once in, say, a public place where there are a lot of people, and then every time at the thought of having to go there again, anxiety will arise. After all, will it all happen again?
With a mild course of the disease, the person simply tenses up when he gets into stressful conditions. At the same time, she retains the ability to lead an active social life, move up the career ladder and build a family.
Also visit shopping centers, shop and even travel. Only now the crowds are forced to internally shrink and be on the alert. Few things can happen.
But this fear is quite rational, especially considering the fact that terrorist attacks take place where there are large crowds of people. Yes, and at any moment there can be a stampede.
But, unfortunately, the most common is the average form of agoraphobia. Then the person tries to avoid crowded places. Therefore, his life becomes quite limited.
He cannot go out of town, take a walk in the forest, go to a birthday celebration in a fairly popular place, and much more.
But the worst thing is the severe form of the disorder. In which a person closes at home and does not go anywhere, does not communicate with anyone.
If she has close people who are able to take care of her, then the chances that one day she will be able to return to her usual, normal way of life are quite high.
If there is no one to wait for help, then she may simply run out of food, medicines and other household items, hygiene, and so on. And this, you know, what threatens.
In general, this is an extremely complex condition that provokes the emergence of a number of other mental illnesses.
Symptoms
Any attempt to leave your home threatens to end in a panic attack. When the pulse rises, chaos is created in thoughts due to excessive anxiety and even «colitis» in the heart.
There is not enough air, which causes thoughts of imminent death from suffocation or a heart attack. An excess of oxygen against the background of rapid shallow breathing leads to loss of consciousness.
Blood pressure also rises, which can subsequently cause headaches, nausea, and even vomiting. Living irrational fear affects the stomach. There are colic, in some cases diarrhea.
Hands and feet are cold, shaking with excitement. Excessive sweating is observed, even if the person at that moment is outside at sub-zero temperatures.
The perception of the surrounding reality becomes so limited that a person sometimes does not understand at all where he is at the moment and what kind of people surround him.
If this frightens him even more, then convulsions and hysteria may well arise, because of which he risks harming his health, both his own and those who rush to save him.
Having experienced such a state at least once, the agoraphobe tries in the future, if he is still able to leave the house, to plan his route in such a way that hospitals, pharmacies and clinics are sure to be on the way, at worst.
At the moment of the attack, he turns to passers-by and asks for help to bring him to a place where he feels safe. Or where he can get medical help.
Still, the symptoms of manifestation of a phobia of open space cause discomfort, like any other disease.
Situations that trigger a panic attack
Basically, the agoraphobe experiences anxiety when he finds himself alone, and even in unfamiliar conditions. Since he believes that if something happens to him, there will be no one to wait for help from. Plus, it is not known where to run for salvation.
Each person with this type of phobia has his own individual list of places that he is afraid to visit and situations in which he categorically does not want to be. But most often attacks occur when he is:
- In the park during a walk, training;
- At the stadium, when there is a football match, a concert;
- In the queue, it doesn’t matter, to the clinic or to public transport. The key nuance is a large number of people, both in front and behind;
- In a cafe, especially if it is open, street and passers-by walk by. It seems that someone will now attack from the back, crash into the table and so on;
- In the countryside, that is, in the field, in the forest. The condition is aggravated if there is no one nearby;
- In deserted places. It can be abandoned construction sites, landfills, completely empty tracks.
By the way, some people cannot fall asleep and stay calmly in the room if they know that the windows are open and the doors are not closed.
Causes
Life
The risk zone includes individuals who live in megacities and are exposed to daily stress at work due to deadlines and high competition.
Lack of sleep, unhealthy eating, and even irrational, plus negative habits — it’s all combined and causes agoraphobia.
By the way, it is the tendency to addictions that is the most likely factor in the development of the disorder. For example, under the influence of drug intoxication, a person observes hallucinations that frighten him very much.
He experiences very real feelings, so in the future he is simply no longer able to distinguish whether it was a fantasy or it really happened.
You will learn more about what addictions are from the article dedicated directly to this topic.
Traumatic situation
Fear of large spaces threatens to arise if a person had to endure violence that took place on the street.
For example, he was attacked by hooligans when he was returning home. Or they stole valuables while walking around the mall on a day off.
Even if he had an accident, he will gradually come to the conclusion that everything outside the house is not safe.
And it’s better to sit in your room watching other people’s lives on TV than to risk being a victim of circumstances again.
By the way, daily viewing of the news only convinces him of the correctness of the decision.
Genetic code
A large amount of information was passed on to us by our ancestors with the help of the so-called genetic code. So conceived by nature, so that experience, knowledge of how to survive, are passed on to descendants in order to preserve intelligent life on earth.
So, in the open space earlier, a person could easily become a victim of a predator. And a large crowd of people in one small area, for example, in a cave, led to death.
Predisposition
If a close relative had a mental illness in the family, then there is a high probability that at some point you will also have it.
This usually happens after severe stress, the body can not cope with the surging feelings and fails. In addition to any somatic, chronic diseases, a phobic disorder can also begin its development.
Character traits
By the way, obsessive fear appears most often in people who are inherently suspicious, sensitive and anxious. The slightest difficulty seems to them a tragedy. Why is lived through intense feelings.
And this gradually loosens the nervous system. Which in an instant and fails in the form of a mental disorder, in this case, ochlophobia.
In general, in more detail about what are the main causes of occurrence, you will learn from this article. There, by the way, you will get information on how to cope with a panic attack.
Treatment
As soon as you notice the first signs of agoraphobia, immediately contact a specialist. Until your life has changed dramatically. And not for the better.
Initially, you will need a psychotherapist, next to whom you can understand the causes of agoraphobia.
You will try to deal with internal conflicts, because of which it is not always possible to fulfill your needs, which is why the accumulated stress makes itself felt in the form of nervous breakdowns, depression, exhaustion and, of course, mental disorders.
Group work is possible, when people with similar problems gather in one space and share their life history with each other.
And recommendations that helped them get rid of at least partially the fear of open spaces. Or take it under control, timely recognizing the onset of a panic attack.
Yes, and simply provide support with their presence. Since the understanding that I am not the only one, that there are people in this world with similar experiences, reduces the level of anxiety at least about the feeling of being abnormal.
It also does not hurt to visit a psychiatrist so that he prescribes medication. This does not mean that you will be admitted to a psychiatric clinic.
No, you will simply take medications that will help you sleep, get rid of excessive anxiety and finally find peace.
Most people are frightened by the very word «psychiatry», they believe that they will be diagnosed and everyone will know about it, they will start to shun it, and so on.
But it’s not. Psychologists often work with psychiatrists to ensure that the treatment is comprehensive and really brings the expected result.
Recommendations
- If you have a drug, alcohol or nicotine addiction, be sure to try to deal with it. If at first, thanks to, say, marijuana, it will be easier for you to achieve peace, then believe me, there will come a moment when you literally “fall through” into a state of anxiety that will not leave you for a minute. And no drugs will be able to cope with it.
- Go in for sports, at least yoga, meditation. So you get rid of unnecessary stress and, in general, emotions that have accumulated. And also switch your attention from the object of fear to your own body, sensations.
- Lead a healthy lifestyle. High-quality nutrition, good sleep, exercises in the morning are all a guarantee of not only physical, but also mental health.
- And be sure to follow the recommendations of specialists, the treatment plan.
Completion
By the way, an interesting fact is that demophobia occurs twice as often in women than in men. The peak of activity of this disease falls on the age of 20 to 40 years.
In total, people who experience panic horror in front of open spaces are about 5% of the world’s population. And this is a lot, compared with other types of phobias.
And that’s all for today, dear readers! Subscribe to site updates and you will find out the name of, for example, the fear of touch, how to get rid of obsessions and why people are wary of indoor flowers.
Take care of yourself and be happy, and, of course, calm!
The material was prepared by a psychologist, Gestalt therapist, Zhuravina Alina