There is hardly another feeling out there that compares to the very feeling that your own four walls give you. After a walk back home in the cold, there is nothing more rewarding than returning into a warm cozy house with all of your personal belongings and your loved ones. However, for some people, their own house can turn into a cage.
Agoraphobia has to be one of the scariest forms of phobia out there. It excludes you from the rest of the world. It sends you into isolation, so much that in some cases, affected people can’t even leave their rooms, let alone their houses.
Agoraphobia is the fear of any kind of attention, public places and in general situations that let them feel “trapped”. This can be triggered by traumas in which at any point in life, the affected individual had the feeling of losing control over his or her own life.
To them, trivial things like a simple subway ride, grabbing a meal out with friends or grocery shopping are real challenges, sometimes even insurmountable challenges. Symptoms include palpitations, dizziness, sweating, cramps and the fear of suffocation. The imminent danger of those symptoms heighten the stress levels in the body and, which causes the symptoms to even worsen. A vicious circle.
For some, our home, sweet home isn’t only a safe haven; it is what keeps them sane.
