Agoraphobia Causes Include Genetics And Traumatic Experiences

What agoraphobia causes result in patients who are afraid to go to the shopping mall or drive on the freeway? Actually, researchers are not completely sure. Often the condition is linked to panic attacks, which are intense moments of fear that arise without warning. The sufferer goes on to avoid similar situations in the hope that they will avoid future panic attacks.

At least that is the most prevalent theory of the causes of agoraphobia. The condition often runs in families, so there is likely to be a genetic component. Some researchers believe that agoraphobia is at least partly caused by internal emotional conflicts. It can also be aggravated by traumatic experiences.

Panic disorders like agoraphobia are more common among women than among men, and often develop in middle age. These facts indicate that hormonal imbalance could be an agoraphobia cause.

One theory that deserves more attention is the idea that people who have agoraphobia tend to have problems with spatial orientation. Most people are able to keep their balance by combining visual input, what they see, with vestibular information, what they feel in their body. People with agoraphobia often are less sure of the vestibular information, and become disoriented or feel like they are out of control when the visual signals are confusing.

For instance, they may get disoriented in a busy shopping mall because of all the lights, signs, colors, and sounds. The activity may cause them to get lost and begin to feel panicky. Panic attacks often include feelings of being out of control or feeling helpless. The person may begin to avoid shopping malls, both because they don't want to be embarrassed by
a panic attack and because they don't want the feeling of an attack.

There is a wide array of treatment options for people interested in overcoming phobias. Some of the best results have been from the use of cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT. CBT is a type of talk-therapy that seeks to find practical things the client can do to begin to overcome the fear.

Medications can help, but they can also be part of the problem. It has been found that a common class of medicine known as benzodiazepines can actually cause agoraphobia as a side effect. These drugs are known
to be addictive and to sometimes require increasingly larger doses to keep working for the individual. People who develop agoraphobia often have
a history of drug or alcohol abuse.

Desensitization is another way of overcoming phobias. In this therapy,
a person approaches the feared situation in increasingly closer ways.
For instance, if they fear freeway driving, they may begin with riding as
a passenger on the freeway, then driving in a less demanding place, and work up to more intense driving.

Whatever the causes of agoraphobia, it is a serious disorder because it limits a person's life. For those who push through and endure the fears instead of avoiding them, agoraphobia makes their lives very difficult and uncomfortable.

Often the first step in overcoming a disorder is knowing why it happens. That is why it's important to be aware of any agoraphobia causes in one's own life.