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Agoraphobia is an anxiety disorder characterized by an abnormal, debilitating fear of being caught in a place or situation from which escape might be difficult or embarrassing during a panic attack. It also refers to fear of being trapped in circumstances in which medical help might not be available during such episodes. Like other phobias, agoraphobia involves irrational, involuntary fears of ordinary situations and things.

People with agoraphobia frequently avoid any situations or places in which they might experience these feelings. Examples of such scenarios might include:

• Being outside of the home alone
• Being in a crowd of people, or standing in a line
• Traveling in cars, buses, trains or airplanes
• Being on a bridge
• Being in an elevator

Agoraphobia is closely linked with panic disorder, another type of anxiety disorder in which a person regularly experiences panic attacks – sudden episodes of fear and anxiety that usually last for between 10 and 30 minutes and cause symptoms such as racing heartbeat, heavy sweating, chest discomfort, shortness of breath, nausea and fear of dying. In many cases, panic disorder is actually the cause of agoraphobia. In other cases, people have agoraphobia without the presence of panic disorder, although they usually experience some panic-related symptoms (e.g., excessive sweating or racing heartbeat).

The hallmark of agoraphobia is avoidance. A person with agoraphobia avoids any potentially threatening circumstance that could cause a panic attack or other panic-inducing symptoms. For example, if a panic attack occurred in a shopping mall, the person avoids malls and perhaps other crowded areas as well.

Agoraphobia should be differentiated from several other phobia categories. A specific phobia refers to fear of a certain object or situation (e.g., a person who fears dogs avoids all dogs). Social phobia involves fear of social situations because of embarrassment or humiliation, not because of panic symptoms.

Agoraphobia tends to begin in a person’s 20s. Women are affected more often than men. The condition can substantially hamper a person’s quality of life. Some patients are able to endure certain potentially threatening situations (e.g., traveling) if they are accompanied by another person. Others may not be able to withstand threatening situations under any circumstances. Patients may find it difficult to work, socialize, travel or perform important daily tasks such as grocery shopping. People with agoraphobia may eventually experience much less anxiety by limiting their exposure to potentially threatening situations.

The term “agoraphobia” includes the Greek word “agora,” which referred to the open spaces of the ancient marketplace. Today, it can refer to any place in which anxiety or panic symptoms occurred and the person now tries to avoid.