| |
Agoraphobia - Agoraphobia Symptom, Cause, Treatment
The Agoraphobia patient has anxiety about being in a place or situation from which either or both escape was difficult or embarrassing or If a panic attack occurred, help might not be available
The Agoraphobia patient should
- Avoids these situations or places (restricting travel) or
- Endures them, but with material distress (a panic attack might occur) or
- Requires a companion when in the situation
Other mental disorders don't explain the symptoms better.
More info on Agoraphobia
By itself, agoraphobia is not a codable DSM-IV diagnosis. Criteria for it (and, below, panic attack) are presented to help clarify the picture of this common clinical condition.
Agoraphobia Without History of Panic Disorder
- The patient has agoraphobia related to the fear of experiencing panic-like symptoms.
- The patient has never fulfilled criteria for Panic Disorder (page 215).
- The symptoms are not directly caused by a general medical condition or by substance use, including medications and drugs of abuse.
- If the patient does have a general medical condition, the fears clearly exceed those that usually accompany it.
|
|
|
