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AGORAPHOBIA A third type of phobia is agoraphobia, a Greek name that literally means
“fear of the marketplace.” It is the fear of being in a place or situation from which escape
is difficult or impossible if something should go wrong (American Psychiatric Associa-
tion, 2013). Furthermore, the anxiety is present in more than one situation. Someone is
diagnosed with agoraphobia if they feel anxiety in at least two of five possible situations
such as using public transportation like a bus or plane, being out in an open space such
as on a bridge or in a parking lot, being in an enclosed space such as a grocery store or
movie theatre, standing in line or being in a crowd like at a concert, or being out of the
home alone (American Psychiatric Association, 2013).If a person has agoraphobia, it might be difficult to even go to
work or to the store, right?Exactly. People with specific phobias can usually avoid the object or situation with-
out too much difficulty, and people with social phobias may simply avoid jobs and situa-
tions that involve meeting people face to face. But people with agoraphobia cannot avoid
their phobia’s source because it is simply being outside in the real world. A severe case of
agoraphobia can make a person’s home a prison, leaving the person trapped inside unable
to go to work, shop, or engage in any kind of activity that requires going out of the home.PANIC DISORDER Fourteen-year-old Dariya was sitting in science class watching a film. All
of a sudden, she started feeling really strange. Her ears seemed to be stuffed with cotton and
her vision was very dim. She was cold, had broken out in a sweat, and felt extremely afraid
for no good reason. Her heart was racing, and she immediately became convinced that she
was dying. A friend sitting behind her saw how pale she had become and tried to ask her
what was wrong, but Dariya couldn’t speak. She was in a state of panic and couldn’t move.
Dariya’s symptoms are the classic symptoms of a panic attack, a sudden onset of
extreme panic with various physical symptoms: racing heart, rapid breathing, a sensa-
tion of being “out of one’s body,” dulled hearing and vision, sweating, and dry mouth
(Kumar & Oakley-Browne, 2002). Many people who have a panic attack think that they
are having a heart attack and can experience pain as well as panic, but the symptoms
are caused by the panic, not by any actual physical disorder. Psychologically, the person
having a panic attack is in a state of terror, thinking that this is it, death is happening, and
many people may feel a need to escape. The attack happens without warning and quite
suddenly. Although some panic attacks can last as long as half an hour, some last only a
few minutes, with most attacks peaking within 10 to 15 minutes.
Having a panic attack is not that unusual, especially for adolescent girls and young
adult women (Eaton et al., 1994; Hayward et al., 1989, 2000; Kessler et al., 2007). Research-
ers have also found evidence that cigarette smoking greatly increases the risk of panic
attacks in adolescence, young adulthood, and middle adulthood (Bakhshaie et al., 2016;
Johnson et al., 2000; Zvolensky et al., 2003). Regardless, it is only when panic attacks occur
more than once or repeatedly and cause persistent worry or changes in behavior that they
become a panic disorder. Many people try to figure out what triggers a panic attack and
then do their best to avoid the situation if possible. If driving a car sets off an attack, they
don’t drive. If being in a crowd sets off an attack, they don’t go where crowds are.GENERALIZED ANXIETY DISORDERWhat about people who are just worriers? Can that become
a disorder?Remember free-floating anxiety? That’s the kind of anxiety that has no known spe-
cific source and may be experienced by people with generalized anxiety disorder, in which
excessive anxiety and worries (apprehensive expectations) occur more days than not for atagoraphobia
fear of being in a place or situation
from which escape is difficult or
impossible.
panic attack
sudden onset of intense panic in
which multiple physical symptoms
of stress occur often with feelings
that one is dying.
panic disorder
disorder in which panic attacks occur
more than once or repeatedly, and
cause persistent worry or changes in
behavior.
generalized anxiety disorder
disorder in which a person has
feelings of dread and impending doom
along with physical symptoms of
stress, which lasts 6 months or more.