MedWorm Tags: agoraphobia

Introducing Panic About Anxiety

World of Psychology — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 14:34:41 +0100

Lots of people experience panic attacks. For some people, it can get so bad that they also get agoraphobia — the fear of leaving one’s house. So I’m happy to introduce Panic About Anxiety with Summer Beretsky, a blog that will explore panic, agoraphobia and even topics about general anxiety in upcoming entries. If you’re not familiar with Summer, you can check out her archives at the World of Psychology blog. She is a graduate of the University of Delaware, where she received her Master of Arts degree in Communication. She enjoys writing about her experiences with anxiety, panic, and Paxil. She contributes to the World of Psychology blog here on PsychCentral and has written for the Los Angeles Times. You can follow her on Twitter @summerberetsky. You can read more about her here. W...

Online CBT Effective for Panic, Agoraphobia?

World of Psychology — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 16:05:38 +0100

In the first phase of the Internet in the 1990s, we witnessed how it broke down mental health barriers by providing individuals with information about mental disorders and treatment options. Before 1990 or so, the only way to look up the “official” symptoms for a disorder was either to get to a local library that had a copy of the diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, or ask a mental health professional or advocacy group about the symptoms (and hope they don’t leave out anything). But the Internet broke down the arbitrary wall — that this information was somehow “special” and shouldn’t be given to people directly. People suddenly could learn about depression, or anxiety, or ADHD on their own without ever leaving their home. With gr...

One Life. Live it. Dare!

The Art of Being Asperger Woman — Sun, 30 May 2010 17:11:00 +0100

Because of a weak balance/bad locomotion I have not dared to cycle for about 13 years. Every time I tried, it turned out to be a drama. While busy expanding my views on fear during my treatment against agoraphobia, I suddenly got the motivation to cycle again. So, I now daily practise the art of cycling for about 10 minutes every time. It is important only to do exercises which will go ok, this in order to increase self confidence. A bad experience now, like falling of my bike or so, might expand my fears. So, in the middle of this tiny little village cycle. Among the famous Dutch meadows with that special sunlight and clouds things. It is so great to be able to cycle again. So far, I can make it till the end of the street...Every little step counts. You only have one life. Don't let...

Self Training on Agoraphobia (2)

The Art of Being Asperger Woman — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 18:36:00 +0100

Yes, I did it again!! Just got home, it's half past eight in the evening here. I went for a short walk round. Did not take the same route as yesterday, well when you live in a 4 street village, you sometimes come across the same streets ;-)). I noticed again that keeping my tongue up improves my ability to walk in a line straight ahead. The tongue feels like a central point in my body. The tongue becomes the major centre of stability, instead of my feelings or thoughts (brain). I noticed other things around here than yesterday. I am so proud of myself.A kind of adrenaline stuff comes up, feels like heaven! It is almost addicting, as this brand new feelings are much stronger than the fears. The fears seem to have been defeated by a relaxing kind of mood things. Yes, I can!! (Source: The Art...

Self Training on Agoraphobia(1)

The Art of Being Asperger Woman — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 16:48:00 +0100

Because you have only one life to live, and sooner or later one must battle against the monsters of terror created by your own mind, I decided to start doing some exercises to defeat agoraphobia. Some years ago I attended some seminars given by Pieter Frijters, a well known Dutch counsellor who has created his own method to fight fears and phobias.His site http://www.mindtuning.com/ says it all. Ofcourse this man has written a book about his method. During the last weeks the fears got that worse that I hardly could see any light at the end of the agrophobia tunnel. Medicine, more medicine, no, I do not want to ease my pain that way. So I told myself, "OK, Aspie Bird, it's all in your hands now, you have to be your own coach, let's start today, just what Peter Frijters writes in his book, ...

Self Training on Agoraphobia

The Art of Being Asperger Woman — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 16:48:00 +0100

Because you have only one life to live, and sooner or later one must battle against the monsters of terror created by your own mind, I decided to start doing some exercises to defeat agoraphobia. Some years ago I attended some seminars given by Pieter Fryters, a well known Dutch counsellor who has created his own method to fight fears and phobias. www.mindtuning.nl says it all. Ofcourse this man has written a book about his method. During the last weeks the fears got that worse that I hardly could see any light at the end of the agrophobia tunnel. Medicine, more medicine, no, I do not want to ease my pain that way. So I told myself, "OK, Aspie Bird, it's all in your hands now, you have to be your own coach, let's start today, just what Peter Fryters writes in his book, start doing t...

Panic Disorder

Inside Surgery — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 01:16:30 +0100

Pathophysiology 1) episodic, unpredictable attacks of intense fear, agitation, and discomfort (especially agoraphobic) 2) onset must occur over a 10 minute period 3) attacks generally occur for < 1 hour 4) exact cause is unknown, but genetic predisposition occurs Signs and Symptoms presence of at least four of the following during attack – 1) tachycardia/palpitations 2) trembling/shaking 3) sweating 4) shortness of breath 5) dizziness 6) chest pain 7) choking sensation chills or hot flushes 9) abdominal pain or diarrhea 10) sense of impending doom or death 11) feelings of anxiety Biochemistry 1) altered autonomic functioning 2) increased noradrenergic discharge from locus ceruleus Inheritance/Epidemiology onset is usually in late adolescence to early adulthood Treatment 1) SSRIs (se...

What are Phobia’s?

Recovery Is Sexy.com — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 15:11:04 +0100

Fear of Caves is one phobia Phobia’s A specific phobia is a fear of a particular object or place which is so severe that it affects your way of life. It is possible to develop a phobia for almost anything, but some of the most common phobias are fear of heights, fear of spiders or mice, fear of enclosed spaces (known as claustrophobia) and fear of blood or injections. Many of us feel some anxiety about these things, perhaps realistically since if we did not fear heights, for example, we might have more accidents! But there is a difference between this ordinary reaction and a phobia, which results in a person going to extreme lengths to avoid the object or situation they fear. For example, if you have a phobia for injections rather than just a natural dislike of them, you might be unable ...

Snow, Cold and Love

The Art of Being Asperger Woman — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 16:26:00 +0100

It seems the winter could last long this year. It has been 20 years since the snow and the frost lasted this long. The white cover makes the world beautiful. It's so nice to feed the birds now. Watching them from inside is so relaxing. This weekend I was planning to visit my boyfriend, but due to the weather alarm I stayed home. Other parts of Europe has been given more snow! It's OK here. No complaints. A lot of changes come up. The company who provides my caregiver has decided to quit the care given to support people living by themselves with autism. That means that I have to change coach. I must say goodbye to my coach for 2 years. That's a pity. She knows me well and we can get along well. During the past weeks we have been busy selecting a new caregivers agency. Now I have found coac...

Not Going Out

Bipolar: A Way of Life — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 20:13:00 +0100

Mood Rating: 6/10I've been feeling a little on the low side today. I was due to take my dog to the groomer's today, but I found that I just couldn't. Fortunately, my mum stepped in and took her for me. My mum's an absolute star. She comes round everyday to keep me company for a few hours - I could never tire of her presence.All I've managed to do today is pack my husband's Christmas stocking, put the dishwasher on and build the fire. I feel so lazy at times, but I just don't have the energy to do anything about it.As always, work is playing on my mind. I'm ticking off the days until I'll have to start again, and I'm dreading every minute of it already. I'm still trying to get hold of my GP to get her to backdate my sick note, but it's proving a tough job.I'm also disgusted with my niece. S...

Abstract: Genetic and environmental influences on the co-morbidity between depression, panic disorder, agoraphobia, and social phobia

Latest entries from www.anxietyinsights.info — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 08:52:00 +0100

Conclusion: MD, PD, AG, and SP strongly co-aggregate within families and common genetic factors explain a moderate proportion of variance in these four disorders. The high genetic correlation between PD and AG and the increased odds ratio for PD and AG in siblings of those with AG without PD suggests a common genetic etiology for PD and AG. (Text has been reformatted for online visual clarity; ed.) Source... This article is a US Government work and, as such, is in the public domain in the United States of America. | Copyright © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc., A Wiley Company (Source: Latest entries from www.anxietyinsights.info)

Abstract+: Agoraphobia: combined treatment and virtual reality

Latest entries from www.anxietyinsights.info — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 08:32:00 +0100

CONCLUSIONS: Agoraphobia combined treatments including paroxetine, venlafaxine and cognitive-behavioral therapy (with or without VRET) seem to have clear benefits for the patients. VRET seem to be a possible and effective treatment for agoraphobic patients, especially for those with chronic agoraphobia. (Text has been reformatted for clarity; ed.) Source... Full text... () (Source: Latest entries from www.anxietyinsights.info)

Can a Computer Replace a Therapist?

World of Psychology — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 21:10:30 +0100

In this study, Panic Online [the online treatment computer program] (whether supported by eTherapists or face-to-face GPs) led to significant improvements in panic attack frequency, depression, anxiety, stress, anxiety sensitivity, agoraphobia avoidance, and quality of life. Improvements were maintained at follow-up[…] I say “not surprising” because as usual with research that has no control group, you’re only showing what hundreds of other studies have shown — that any type of treatment is usually better than no treatment at all. The individual attention given to a person by another human being (and other nonspecific factors) have a huge therapeutic effect in and of themselves. If you had them sitting in front of a computer reading about panic disorder (or ...

Abstract: Agoraphobia: combined treatment and virtual reality

Latest entries from www.anxietyinsights.info — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 08:43:00 +0100

CONCLUSIONS: Agoraphobia combined treatments including paroxetine, venlafaxine and cognitive-behavioral therapy (with or without VRET) seem to have clear benefits for the patients. VRET seem to be a possible and effective treatment for agoraphobic patients, especially for those with chronic agoraphobia. (Text has been reformatted for clarity; ed.) Source... (Source: Latest entries from www.anxietyinsights.info)

Abstract: Agoraphobia between panic and phobias

Latest entries from www.anxietyinsights.info — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 08:37:00 +0100

Compr Psychiatry. 2008 May-Jun;49(3):313-8 Agoraphobia between panic and phobias: clinical epidemiology from the Sesto Fiorentino Study Faravelli C, Cosci F, Rotella F, Faravelli L, Catena Dell'osso M. Department of Neurology and Psychiatry, University of Florence, Florence 50134, Italy; Department of Psychology, University of Florence, Florence 50137, Italy In the last few decades, there has been a long debate on the existence of agoraphobia (AG) without a history of panic attacks (PAs). In the present study, the problem of the relationships between AG and PAs is addressed through a reevaluation of the cases who had been diagnosed with AG in the community survey of Sesto Fiorentino. Forty-one of the 75 subjects who met the criterion of AG in the Sesto Fiorentino Study were reinterviewed b...

Agoraphobia is a distinct disorder

Latest entries from www.anxietyinsights.info — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 08:02:00 +0100

A epidemiological study conducted by Hans-Ulrich Wittchen and colleagues at the University of Dresden has found that agoraphobia is a distinct disorder independent of panic disorder. The aim of this study was to prospectively examine the 10-year natural course of panic attacks, panic disorder and agoraphobia in the first three decades of life, their stability and their reciprocal transitions. The syndromes were assessed in a 10-year prospective-longitudinal community study of 3,021 subjects aged 14-24 years at the beginning of the study. At the end of the study, incidence patterns for panic attacks (9.4%), panic disorder (with and without agoraphobia: 3.4%) and agoraphobia (5.3%) revealed differences in age of onset, incidence risk and gender differentiation. Temporally primary panic attac...

Abstract: A pilot study of sensation-focused intensive treatment for panic disorder with moderate to severe agoraphobia

Latest entries from www.anxietyinsights.info — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 08:07:00 +0100

This report presents results of a treatment for panic disorder with moderate to severe agoraphobia (PDA-MS) called sensation-focused intensive treatment (SFIT). SFIT is an 8-day intensive treatment that combines features of cognitive- behavioral treatment for panic disorder, such as interoceptive exposure and cognitive restructuring with ungraded situational exposure. SFIT focuses on feared physical sensations as well as agoraphobic avoidance. Preliminary data support the utility of SFIT in improving PDA-MS. The goal of this exploratory study was to further investigate the effectiveness of SFIT and evaluate factors related to treatment outcome, including severity of panic symptoms, gender, comorbidity, self-efficacy, and place of residence (local vs. remote). SFIT was found to be effective...

Abstract: Agoraphobia and panic

Latest entries from www.anxietyinsights.info — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 07:08:00 +0100

Conclusions: Differences in incidence patterns, syndrome progression and outcome, and syndrome stability over time indicate that AG exists as a clinically significant phobic condition independent of PD. The majority of agoraphobic subjects in this community sample never experienced PA, calling into question the current pathogenic assumptions underlying the classification of AG as merely a consequence of panic. The findings point to the necessity of rethinking diagnostic concepts and DSM diagnostic hierarchies. (Text has been reformatted for clarity; ed.) Source... Copyright © 2008 S. Karger AG, Basel (Source: Latest entries from www.anxietyinsights.info)

What are Phobias?

Recovery Is Sexy.com — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 13:37:25 +0100

Phobias A specific phobia is a fear of a particular object or place which is so severe that it affects your way of life. It is possible to develop a phobia for almost anything, but some of the most common phobias are fear of heights, fear of spiders or mice, fear of enclosed spaces (known as claustrophobia) and fear of blood or injections. Many of us feel some anxiety about these things, perhaps realistically since if we did not fear heights, for example, we might have more accidents! But there is a difference between this ordinary reaction and a phobia, which results in a person going to extreme lengths to avoid the object or situation they fear. For example, if you have a phobia for injections rather than just a natural dislike of them, you might be unable to go on holiday o...

What is anxiety?

Recovery Is Sexy.com — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 13:30:28 +0100

Many people in recovery suffer strong reactions to anxiety especially alcoholics. Anxiety can be described as a feeling of discomfort or unease. Anxiety which continues for a long time can have a serious effect upon your ability to cope with everyday life. You may not be able to identify a specific cause of your anxiety, although feelings of anxiety are often associated with particular places or events. How do you know if you are anxious? The easiest signs of anxiety to recognise are physical changes, such as sweating, a racing heart, palpitations, or rapid breathing. These changes are caused by an increase in adrenaline, the substance which is released by your body to help you get ready to deal with danger or escape from something. It is quite normal to feel anxious when you a...

Abstract: Agoraphobia and Panic

Latest entries from www.anxietyinsights.info — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 06:58:00 +0100

Abstract: Effectiveness of a brief CBT for panic disorder with agoraphobia and the impact of partner involvement

Latest entries from www.anxietyinsights.info — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 07:31:00 +0100

Behav Cogn Psychother 2007;35:613-629 Effectiveness of a Brief Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Panic Disorder with Agoraphobia and the Impact of Partner Involvement Marchand A, Todorov C, Borgeat F, Pelland ME. Université du Québec à Montréal, Canada; Fernand-Seguin Research Centre, Montréal, Canada; Université du Québec à Montréal, Canada A brief treatment for panic disorder with agoraphobia (PDA) supported by self-help materials may be an alternative choice to standard CBT: this type of program may also help to overcome some of the cost-benefit limitations of standard cognitive behavioural therapy. The aim of this study was to test the efficacy of a brief cognitive behaviour therapy (7 weeks) for PDA, with and without partn...