Agoraphobia Recovery: What Does Love Have to Do With It?

Actually, love has a lot to do with recovering from agoraphobia and there may be a biological basis for this. In a book entitled "A Complete Guide to Your Emotions and Your Health," Emirika Padus and the editors of Prevention Magazine suggest that when you feel loved, you experience a healthy biological reaction in your body's cells, similar to the effect of a good diet or exercise.

Dr. Bernard Siegel, who wrote "Love, Medicine, and Miracles," was quoted as saying "I am convinced that unconditional love is the most powerful known stimulant of the immune system. The truth is, love heals." Dr. Siegel is talking here about two kinds of unconditional love - both self-love and the love of another person. He believes that if you love yourself and are in a strong loving relationship, your chances of recovery are better and you can get through almost anything.

If you are a support person for someone with agoraphobia, your unconditional love may be the most powerful gift you can give someone who suffers from this dreadful psychological ailment. I am writing to encourage you by letting you know that your love and acceptance of a person with agoraphobia is vital.

As someone who recovered from agoraphobia, I know this firsthand. My parents, who were the support people who loved me through my disorder, were at times the only people I had contact with and my only link to the world outside the dark, isolated environment of the bedroom I hid in for the better part of two years.