What is Agoraphobia?
Panic Disorder is diagnosed with or without Agoraphobia. Agoraphobia is the fear of being in places or situations (e.g., in public alone, in an automobile, or in crowds) because if one has a Panic Attack or panic-like symptoms it would be embarrassing, difficult to escape, or help may be unavailable. As a result, people will either avoid these situations, require someone to accompany them, or endure these situations with intense discomfort and fear about having a Panic Attack. Unlike a specific phobia where people will avoid particular feared situations (e.g., public speaking, riding in an airplane, entering the crawl space where spiders may be lurking), a person with agoraphobia will avoid numerous situations, including leaving the house all together. People with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder often avoid specific stimuli that are associated with a particular stressor (e.g., war movies, in the case of combat-related PTSD, or parking garages, if someone was assaulted in a parking garage
