How common is agoraphobia in the United States?
536030
3.2 million American adults ages 18 to 54, or about 2.2 percent of people in this age group have agoraphobia.
119718
I'd have to say extremely widespread. Not just in the workplace or politics, either, but also in the school systems here where I live. Also on the local police force. It's a real problem because NO ONE will acknowledge that such a thing exists.
180996
I dont think it is that common but then again it all depends on your lifestyle, ie smoking,drinking,drugs, stress etc. I think a good level of excercise and good diet is definitly required and then look at your work/homelife and cut out stress.
382417
The American Heritage Dictionary on Yahoo! defines phobia as\n"A persistent, abnormal, and irrational fear of a specific thing or situation that compels one to avoid it, despite the awareness and reassurance that it is not dangerous." It is a form of anxiety disorder.\n\nAn American study by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) found that between 8.7% and 18.1% of Americans suffer from phobias. Broken down by age and gender, the study found that phobias were the most common mental illness among women in all age groups and the second most common illness among men older than 25.\n\nThere are three types of phobias:\n\n* social phobia - fear of other people or social situations;\n\n* specific phobias triggered by a specific object;\n\n* agoraphobia or fear of everything. \n\nI have a fear of heights which developed at an early age.
337888
I never used to have any fears when i was young.  As im getting older i seem to have loads.  I tend to be too overcautious with life nowadays!  It seems mad but crossing a bridge and looking over the wall to see the ducks in the rivers water is more of now a nail-biting experience.  The only thing i can suggest is a slow step, by step to conquer the fears.  It hasn't yet worked for me, the river that is by that bridge i dread, brings alot of insecurities for me.  A friend died near their from hypertherma and think its a case for me digging up the griefing part of things..  You never know but there could be a reason behind the lift you dread to take to fifth floor.  Theres a lot of emotional tree branches that our brain tend to keep a lock onto...!  Release the locks with the keys you hold in your hand.
916204
u can look it up on www.phobialist.com. i has a LONG list of phobias.
71602
I don't know what the least common is, but here are some phobias: batrachophobia (amphibians), pogonophobia (beards), teratophobia (deformity), keraunothnetophobia (fall of satelites), ophthamophobia (being stared at), pteronophobia (tickling with feathers), optophobia (opening one's eyes), xenoglossophobia (foreign languages), doraphobia (the skins of animals), scorodophobia (garlic), barophobia (gravity), and atelophobia (imperfection)
392058
He/She may have an anxiety disorder, specifically social anxiety disoder or agoriphobia.  It's actually a common problem.\n\nSocial anxiety disorder is a condition in which a person feels extremely anxious in certain social situations.\n\nPeople with agoraphobia – which is Greek for “fear of the marketplace” – typically avoid any situations in which they might experience these feelings. As a result, many patients spend increasing amounts of time at home and in other sheltered situations, significantly hampering their ability to work, travel, perform daily tasks and maintain interpersonal relationships.\n\nAgoraphobia tends to begin in a person’s 20s. Women are affected more often than men. Patients with agoraphobia have several treatment options. In the majority of cases, a combination of psychotherapy and anti-anxiety and antidepressant medications is the most effective treatment.\n\nThe only way to really find out if your friend has a problem is to having him/her see a psychiatric nurse, psychologist or psychiatrist.
552150
FEAR OF SPEAKING IN PUBLIC.  This was really bad - I was even afraid of interviews (that's only one person), so I guess I was afraid of strangers, especially a whole bunch of them in an audience.  Yes, I conquered it. How?  I tried just trying to relax, think of the audience as just some people similar to me (didn't work for me.)  I was a basket case, couldn't even SIT in class and take my turn reading something out loud. Tried a tranquilizer too.  You can't fool your defense mechanism, and after a couple of years I discovered that what I was afraid of was being nervous and obvious, like shaking head, hands, weak legs, hard to talk, so that made me nervous and therefore afraid.  I went to a seminar designed to bully you into ridding your fear.  Long story short, I joined a Toastmasters' Club, shook with nervousness the first time the Table Topics leader called on me to give an opinion on the day's topic, I was so embarrassed.  But I went to all the meetings, did my speaking assignments, and overall it worked great, took about a year to gain the confidence I needed.  Won some speech contests beyond the club setting, held office in the club, and even became president.  My phobia stemmed from childhood feelings of inadequacey, inferiority, being afraid whether my mother approved of what I did.  Well, we're adults now, and have to just go forward.  Yes, I'm sure I'm not still bugged by it, because I've had plenty of experience in not being afraid. But I know what you mean.  In the beginning even after successes, I'd always think, "What if I'm afraid again?"  I would think of my successes, no matter how big or small.  Then I decided, "Well, if I do, I'll just speak anyway, the nervousness will go away and not be noticeable."  I also learned that when extremely nervous, we try to hold ourselves stiff so as not to shake, especially the head and neck.  We don't breathe enough, and that makes it worse.  Long winded, aren't I?  Just wanted to help.
977026
A psychologist specializing in phobias and anxiety treatment can help you. The condition is almost always curable.\nBest of luck.
896885
No, it is more common than people realize. It is part of a closure process
848225
(m)\n\nAgoraphobia is a fear of open spaces. It is also a fear of having a panic attack in a public place, of losing control in an area from which escape may prove difficult or embarrassing.\n\nSocial Phobia is an irrational anxiety brought forth by exposure to certain social situations, leading to avoidance behaviour.\n\nSpecific Phobia is a persistent and irrational fear in response to some specific stimulus, which commonly results in avoidance of/withdrawal from that stimulus. It could be triggered by an insect or animal (zoophobia), by a situation like being trapped in an enclosed space (claustrophobia) or it could be a fear of disease (pathophobia).\n\nFear of heights is one of the most widespread of fears. In some situations a fear of heights is quite appropriate and a matter of common sense. According to psychologists, there are only two natural fears – fear of loud noises and fear of heights.\n\nHowever, a morbid fear of high places, which is the definition of acrophobia, can be very bad for you. If you found yourself in a "high" situation, it would be much better for you to have your wits about you. Feeling an intense fear while inside a safe environment such as a skyscraper is not an appropriate response.\n\nAs with many fears, acrophobia often goes hand in hand with other phobias, a fear of flying in particular. As it is a fairly common phobia, many sufferers choose to live with it rather than try to get help, accommodating their lifestyle to the limitations. This can prove crippling to many aspects of life from holidays to accommodation, even limiting your possible career options.\n\nThe best methods for curing acrophobia involve gradual desensitisation, slowly exposing the sufferer to ever-greater heights while teaching them relaxation techniques that will enable them to maintain their presence of mind. Some of the methods that work best are NLP and timeline therapy.
163960
http://www.phobia-fear-release.com/bogyphobia.html\n\nMaybe that will help with something
943597
Probably some anxiety and maybe some obsessive complusive disorder (OCD). Here's some info on anxiety disorders and OCD. \n\nAnxiety disorders are the most prevalent group of psychiatric disorders in the United States. Approximately 27 million Americans--nearly 15 percent of the population--will suffer from an anxiety disorder at some point in their lives.\n\nAnxiety disorders are most often characterized as having an element of fearfulness involved. According to Dr. Steve Dager, University of Washington associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Harborview Medical Center, these disorders come about as a kind of impairment or over-reactivity of the normal "flight or fight" response.\n\nAlthough these disorders are amenable to treatment, the majority of sufferers don't receive appropriate care. Most often, people with anxiety disorders will seek relief from the physical symptoms, such as rapid heart rate, respiratory distress or nausea, and may not be aware or may not want to admit that there are emotional causes for the symptoms.\n\n"People worry about being labeled 'crackpots' if they admit to overwhelming anxiety or fear," says Dager. "But there is evidence that these symptoms are the result of healthy coping mechanisms gone awry. And worrying about them tends to exaggerate their effects."\n\nThere are several different types of anxiety disorders. The most common are:\n\nGeneralized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), exaggerated tension without apparent cause, can be debilitating but doesn't usually cause people to avoid certain situations. People with GAD often seem unable to relax or fall asleep and may experience lightheadedness, shortness of breath, nausea, trembling, muscle tension, headaches, irritability, or sweating. \n\nPanic Disorder (PD) causes people to feel terror suddenly and unpredictably. PD can become disabling when people avoid situations they fear may bring on an attack. Panic attack symptoms include rapid pulse, chest pains, shortness of breath, dizziness, nausea, numbness, trembling, and a fear of going crazy or dying. Depression or alcoholism often accompanies PD. Panic disorder is probably the best studied and understood of the anxiety disorders. \n\nAgoraphobia, the most disabling anxiety disorder, is diagnosed when panic attacks cause people to increasingly refrain from normal activities. As such people avoid situations where they fear an attack may occur -- in crowds and stores and on bridges and public transportation -- they become so restricted, they may not leave their homes. \n\nSocial Phobia (SP), an intense fear of humiliation in social settings, may cause sufferers to avoid parties, public speaking, eating out, or even signing a check in public. Unlike shyness, those with SP can feel at ease around others, yet particular situations, like walking down an aisle, cause intense anxiety. SP disrupts relationships and careers as sufferers avoid certain situations. \n\nObsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is characterized by rituals, such as washing hands or checking things repeatedly (compulsions), or persistent, unwelcome thoughts, such as fears of committing violent acts, of performing sexual acts repugnant to the person, or of thoughts contrary to the person's religious beliefs (obsessions). Compulsive activities consume an hour or more each day and interfere with daily life. \n\nPost-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) can result after a terrifying event, causing sufferers frightening thoughts and memories. Anniversaries of the incident can be difficult and ordinary events can trigger flashbacks or intrusive images. Sufferers may become easily irritated or have violent outbursts. Depression, substance abuse, or anxiety may accompany PTSD. \nIf\n you feel that your life is being ruled by anxiety and fear, and that your symptoms are having an impact on your relationships and daily life, you can find help. There's no need to live in fear
104243
I think as Americans we are all scared. Scared to leave our homes unlocked in broad daylight, scared to go out at night, scared of terrible disseases, and much more. The media makes it sound like the BIG BAD BUGS will all get us. I think it's a propaganda of fear. Check out my recent quesions and you will see I have been asking similar questions of people and they concure. Its not just germs we're scared of...
1163111
You're referring to agoraphobia.  Read more about it here:\n\nhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agoraphobic
971852
I had a real problem with Agoraphobia.  I couldn't even look out any of the windows in the house.  I kept my indoor world dark and comfy.\n   I finally started forcing myself to get up in the mornings and open 'a' curtain. Then later I was opening all of the curtains in one room.  After awhile I was really wanting to go out on the front porch.  Everytime I tried and started opening the door I would hear a car coming and slam it shut.\n    It was awful.  \n Eventually I would make it out to the porch and stand there and look at the roses and smell the beautilful air...and run back in.\n  It has been a year and a half now.  I was stuck in here for 2 yrs. \nNow I have a car and actually go places by myself.\nIt was rough at first with the car.  I would drive around and not get out. I remember having to go to the bathroom really very badly and 'scared' to stop somewhere.  I ended up driving over 70 miles before I couldn't take it anymore and found a rest area on the interstate.\n   Yep, definately 'baby steps' is the way to go.\nI wish you or whoever it is all of the 'oomph' in the world!\n  You WILL make it ...it's not so bad out here...AND.... I know that I can always come home and  'cave-out' if I feel like I need to.\n     Good luck and be strong! ~wink, wink~