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Before diagnosing agoraphobia, a physician should perform a complete physical examination and compile a thorough medical history to rule out any potential physical cause. If a mental disorder is suspected, the patient will be referred to a psychiatrist, psychologist or other mental health professional.

Agoraphobia will be diagnosed if the patient has symptoms consistent with agoraphobia that are not caused by another mental condition. Other mental conditions that may present with symptoms similar to those of agoraphobia include:

• Obsessive-compulsive disorder
• Post-traumatic stress disorder
• Separation anxiety disorder
• Social phobia
• Specific phobia

Agoraphobia frequently occurs with another condition called panic disorder. Many patients share at least some of the symptoms of both of these conditions. Patients may be diagnosed as having either panic disorder with agoraphobia or agoraphobia without history of panic disorder.

The criteria used to diagnose these two conditions are virtually identical. However there is one key exception: agoraphobia without history of panic disorder is diagnosed if the patient’s fear is focused on the potential for experiencing incapacitating or embarrassing, panic-like symptoms or attacks with limited symptoms. For example, the patient may fear having heart-related symptoms and not being able to get help. This differs from panic disorder with agoraphobia, in which the patient’s fear is centered on the possibility of full-blown panic attacks, after experiencing panic attacks. In essence, patients who are diagnosed with agoraphobia without history of panic disorder do not have a history of recurrent panic attacks.