c:\fakepath\ap psych project agoraphobia
DESCRIPTION
Agoraphobia ProjectTRANSCRIPT
Agoraphobia
Conner McMann
A.P. Psych
1st period
Definition!!!
• Agoraphobia is an anxiety disorder, traditionally thought to involve a fear of public places and open spaces.
Important info!
• However it is said that this disorder comes from the complications of panic attacks.
• This disorder may arise by the fear of having a panic attack.
Cont’d
• Most people who suffer from this disorder hardly come into physical or social contact with any other human beings.
• They pretty much shield themselves from society.
Fun Facts!*!*!
• Approximately 3.2 million adults in the United States between the ages of 18 and 54, or about 2.2% suffer from Agoraphobia.
• Agoraphobia occurs twice as commonly among women than it does in men.
• The gender difference may be attributable to social-cultural factors that encourage, or permit, the greater expression of avoidant coping strategies by women.
Cont’d
• Other theories say that women are more likely to seek help and therefore be diagnosed.
• Men are more likely to abuse alcohol as a reaction to anxiety and be diagnosed as an alcoholic.
Causes
• The causes of Agoraphobia are currently unknown.
• It has been linked to the presence of other anxiety disorders, a stressful environment or substance abuse.
Factors
• Chronic use of tranquilizers and sleeping pills such as benzodiazepines have been linked to causing Agoraphobia.
Diagnosis
• Most people who present to the mental health specialists develop agoraphobia after the onset of a panic disorder.
• Agoraphobia is best understood as an adverse behavioral outcome of repeated panic attacks and subsequent anxiety and preoccupation with these attacks that leads to an avoidance of situations where a panic attack could occur.
Treatment
• Exposure treatment can provide lasting relief to the majority of patients with panic disorder and agoraphobia.
• Systematic desensitization may also be used.
Alternative Treatments
• Eye movement desensitization and reprogramming has been studied as a possible treatment for agoraphobia, with poor results.
• EMDR is only recommended in cases where cognitive-behavioral approaches have proven ineffective or in cases where agoraphobia has developed following trauma.
More treatments
• Many people with anxiety disorders benefit from joining a self-help or support group.
• Sharing problems and achievements with others as well as sharing various self-help tools are common in these groups.
Characteristics
• People develop anxiety when thinking about being in a situation out of their comfort zone.
• They try to avoid these types of situations which bring them anxiety or panic.
People with this disorder
• Howard Hughes the well known and respected aviator and billionaire bought himself a hotel and lived out his life in seclusion.
• According to historians, he suffered from anxiety panic attacks and a phobia of germs.
Howard Hughes
Kim Basinger
• As a child, Kim Basinger seemed so withdrawn her parents asked doctors if she had autism or some other psychiatric disorder, but tests revealed nothing.
Cont’d
• By high school, she had developed a self-deprecating sense of humor that helped her make friends.
• She was divorced twice and bought the entire town of Braselton, Georgia for 20 million dollars.
Conclusion
• Agoraphobia 100 years ago would have been devastating.
• The technology today is making the disease is making it less devastating on peoples lives and it is making it easier to live with.