Agoraphobia: Fear of the Unknown

When I first started having symptoms of agoraphobia I was totally in the dark and didn't know what was wrong with me. Like many people who first start experiencing panic attacks, I thought there was something wrong with my physical body. I thought something might be wrong with my heart or lungs because of the rapid hearbeat and smothering sensations that go along with hyperventilation during a panic attack.

The physical symptoms of panic and anxiety that are part of agoraphobia really scared me. I had one of my first major panic attacks during a class in high school and just thought I was getting really sick or something. When I went to a doctor and couldn't figure out what was wrong, I went back to school. That was because I had been feeling better while at home. When I went back to school, however, all the panic symptoms came back and I thought I was sick again. Since the doctor couldn't tell me what was wrong, I started to fear the unknown which only heightened the panic and anxiety.

Long story short, it took me about a year to figure out that I had a known psychological disorder called agoraphobia for which I could get help. During that year, I was terrified about what might be wrong with me and kept seeing doctors who couldn't help. Meanwhile, the agoraphobia fed off my fear of the unknown, took root in my life and built a strong foundation.

Needless to say, identifying your disorder is key if you have agoraphobia. It is much harder to overcome if you go a year in the dark like I did and let the fear build. In my next life I will be sure to know about agoraphobia before I get it so I can nip it in the bud. In this life, I guess I will just work at helping others gain an awareness, to try and save them the time and fear I went through during my dreadful first year with agoraphobia.