Fear of open or crowded spaces
Agoraphobia is a fear that effects many people, and it does so in numerous and various ways. For some it may mean avoiding large open spaces, for others it may mean avoiding crowded places. It isn’t uncommon for people to also have claustrophobia, compounding the problem.
The cause may not be the open or crowded space itself, it could be that the space is public. This fear stems from the possibility of having a panic attack, feeling nauseous, and not being able to leave the public space before the attack takes place. In most cases the underlying problem is a panic disorder triggered by the associated fear of being in that space. This can be very detrimental to the quality of life for those suffering from agoraphobia as everyday tasks such as going to school, work or the shops is a huge task. It also affects socialising, going to the cinema, meeting friends at a shopping centre or going to concerts. As all these things seem more and more daunting, sufferers of agoraphobia will venture out less and stay in their “safe” place which creates a vicious cycle of worry to cause a panic attack and staying inside.
Hypnotherapy used as a complementary treatment will help alleviate the problems. Common treatments use several tools such as relaxing breathing and muscle control, calm thinking to stop overestimating and catastrophising (Thinking worse things will happen than in reality and imagining that the worst will happen in every eventuality), using flash cards with the real implications of having a panic attack or feeling nauseous and facing up to your fears. These are some of the techniques that may be utilised if you book a consultation with one of Sheila Granger’s Practitioners.
