Stop An Anxiety Attack!

About 31 million Americans suffer from phobias, which have been called the disease of the decade. “What schizophrenia was to the 1960’s, what depression and burnout were in the 1970`s, phobias are to the l980’s, and beyond” said Newsweek in its April 23, 1984, issue. Of the several different classifications of phobias, agoraphobia, is first in terms of the number of people who have it. Fully 70 percent of all phobics have agoraphobia.

Contrary to the definitions you might find in a dictionary, agoraphobia is not a fear of the outdoors or of open places. Agoraphobia is simply the fear of fear. Agoraphobics are so afraid that they will have another panic attack that they avoid going to the place where they had the first one. As they continue to have anxiety symptoms, they gradually eliminate more and more places, until at last they are confined to their “safe place,” usually their home.

The second most common classification is simple phobias, which involve fear and avoidance limited to one or two situations. You may experience such terrifying panic

when you ride an elevator that you start walking up ten flights of stairs instead. You may so fear flying in a plane that you waste precious hours riding buses and trains across the continent. Bridges may seem so scary that you have to tum the driving of your car over to someone else whenever you approach one.

Animal phobias, the next most prevalent classification, are a fear of bugs, snakes, dogs, and other creatures. Usually these phobias begin in childhood and simply continue into adulthood. Social phobias are the fear of such situations as public speaking or eating alone in a restaurant. Whether you have any one of these phobias or slight anxiety symptoms, you can benefit by learning the same techniques to get over agoraphobia.

Tags: Getting Rid of Panic //