How to Treat Agoraphobia
Agoraphobia sufferers have several choices when it comes to deciding what kind of therapy they wish to receive to help with their phobia. There are conventional methods such as medication and psychotherapy and there are also complementary and self help therapies.
Psychotherapists will usually treat agoraphobia with CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy). The reason CBT works for treating phobias is because it helps to reduce the negative thoughts and behaviours that trigger the anxiety.
You can buy some excellent panic attacks self help guides online that teach you how to overcome your agoraphobia. These will teach you how to control your anxiety so that it never reaches the level where it causes a panic attack. Eventually with repeated exposure to anxious situations your panic will simply fade away.
Another form of self help therapy that can help with agoraphobia treatment is EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique). EFT is emotional acupuncture; the person taps meridian points with their fingertips to release emotional blockages. The theory behind it is that it removes the emotional stress that has accumulated that causes panic and anxiety.
Exposure Therapy can be used to treat 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. They then learn to bring their anxious feelings under control using the relaxation techniques that they have been taught. The next step of the therapy is to then expose themselves to real situations and to apply what they have learned.
People with agoraphobia have also been helped with hypnosis. With hypnosis you either have the option of visiting a professional hypnotherapist or you can listen to recorded hypnotherapy sessions either on CD, DVD or MP3 downloads. These are available for all types of anxiety and phobias including agoraphobia.
Flower essences and Herbal anxiety remedy products can provide support during situations that cause anxiety. There are ready made herbal products specifically created for aiding 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.
Medication is the alternative to natural therapies. Anxiety and panic disorder such as agoraphobia are treated with sedatives and anti-depressants. Unfortunately these are likely to cause unpleasant side effects such as drowsiness. 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. Most of the self help programs and hypnosis recordings can be downloaded straight onto your computer.
To learn more about the help available for agoraphobia sufferers please click the link below…
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