How to Treat Agoraphobia
Thursday, July 2nd, 2009 Subscribe To Our Feed
Agoraphobia sufferers have several choices when it comes to deciding what kind of therapy they wish to receive to help with their phobia. Conventional medical alternatives are medication and psychotherapy or there are complementary and self help therapies.
Psychotherapists will usually treat agoraphobia with CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy). CBT works by reducing the negative thinking and behaviour that cause the anxiety.
You can buy some excellent panic attacks self help guides online that teach you how to overcome your agoraphobia. By teaching you to be in control of your anxiety these self help programs will help you eliminate panic attacks. With repeated exposure to anxious situations and using these techniques you will overcome your agoraphobia.
You could try a self help therapy called EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique). EFT is emotional acupuncture; the person taps meridian points with their fingertips to release emotional blockages. The theory used to explain EFT says that the emotional stress causing anxiety is released by tapping on the meridian points.
Exposure Therapy is another therapy that can help people with agoraphobia. It works by teaching the sufferer relaxation techniques and then gets them to imagine that they are in a situation in which they have previously experienced panic. When they feel anxious they can then apply the relaxation techniques to control their feelings of anxiety. The person will then have to venture out and experience anxiety causing situations and apply the relaxation techniques they have learned.
Agoraphobia sufferers can also be helped with the aid of hypnotherapy. Hypnosis can either by given by a professional hypnotherapist or the person can buy a recorded hypnosis DVD, CD or download an MP3. If you shop around you will find hypnosis recordings for all types of phobias and anxiety including agoraphobia.
Herbal anxiety remedy and flower essences are safe natural remedies that can relieve anxiety in stressful situations. You can buy herbal products already formulated for panic and anxiety. These will usually contain Valerian, Lavender or Passion Flower. Most health stores sell a Bach Flower Essence called “Rescue Remedy” which is great for restoring calm if you start to feel anxious.
The alternative to natural therapies is medication. The medications used for agoraphobia are anti-depressants and sedatives. Medication should be avoided unless absolutely necessary as it can cause severe and unpleasant side effects. Prescription drugs only suppress symptoms of anxiety and do not heal the cause of the problem. Unless the root cause of the problem is treated then there is not going to be a long term cure.
It may be difficult for an agoraphobia sufferer to seek help if it’s not possible for them to leave their home; but there is much that can be done. Thanks to the internet all of the information needed to learn to overcome agoraphobia can be found online. Self help programs and hypnosis recordings are all available to download directly to your computer.
Click the link below for more information about overcoming agoraphobia…
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