Agoraphobia Center - Cambridge, MA
Cambridge Psychiatrist Doctors for AgoraphobiaType of Physician: Psychiatrist What is a Psychiatrist? A certification by the Board of Psychiatry & Neurology; practitioners are skilled in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of mental, addictive and emotional disorders. He or she is trained to understand the biological, psychological and social components of illness and is qualified to order diagnostic laboratory tests and to prescribe medications, as well as to evaluate and treat psychological and interpersonal problems. The psychiatrist is also prepared to intervene with individuals and families who are coping with stress, crises, and other problems in living. Specialty: Psychiatry Common Name: Psychiatrist Doctors in Cambridge * Drs Ornstein Sherry & Telingator MD  Drs Ornstein Sherry & Telingator MD  Drs Ornstein Sherry & Telingator MD  Linden J Cassidy MD & Stephanie Engel MD  Linden J Cassidy MD & Stephanie Engel MD  Cary D Friedman MD  James P Frosch MD  Stuart M Kameny MD  Sarah A Birss MD  Ann Epstein MD  Arnold Robbins MD  Andrew L Stoll MD  Michael Braverman MD  Warnie L Webster MD & Kara Feldberg MD  Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates Behavioral Health  Stephen E Sternbach MD  Warnie L Webster MD & Kara Feldberg MD  Winter Street Health Center  Patricia A Rea & Celia Jones MDs  Patricia A Rea & Celia Jones MDs  Patricia Potter MD  North Charles Institute  Two Brattle Center PC  Michael Chalfin MD  Central Street Health Center  Carolyn E Ise MD  Barrie S Greiff MD  Donald J Meyer MD  Christopher B Bullock MD  Robert F Kenerson MD  William S Appleton MD  Michael S Caplan MD  Paul David MD  David J Fishbein MD  Mark R Gloss MD  Bruce Hauptman MD  Howard M Katz MD  Kenneth Levin MD  Daniel S Mollod MD  Martin J Pildis MD PC  Cathy Ragovin MD  Robert Weiner MD  Howard Wishnie MD  E Joanne Angelo MD  Ramona Dvorak MD  George Klavens MD  Carl Salzman MD  Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Psychiatry  Stephanie Smith MD  George E Vaillant MD  Andrew S Winneg MD  Alvin Kahn MD  East Cambridge Health Center  Henry Friedman MD  Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Psychiatry  Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Behavioral Neurology & Psychiatry  Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Psychiatry  Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Psychiatry  Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Psychiatry  Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Psychiatry  Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Psychiatry  Children's Hospital Boston Adolescent & Young Adult Medicine  Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Behavioral Neurology & Psychiatry  Mount Auburn Hospital Outpatient Psychiatry  Children's Hospital Boston Psychiatry  Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center  Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Behavioral Neurology & Psychiatry  Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Psychiatry  Gary N Goldsmith MD  Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Psychiatry  Fenway Community Health Center  Peter B Jeney MD  Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Psychiatry  Children's Hospital Boston Psychiatry  South End Associates of Fenway  Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Behavioral Neurology & Psychiatry  Frederick Meisel MD  Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Psychiatry  Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Psychiatry  Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Behavioral Neurology & Psychiatry  Children's Hospital Boston Genetics & Metabolism  Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Behavioral Neurology & Psychiatry  Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Psychiatry  Lee Rosenbaum MD & John M Dundas MD  Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Psychiatry  Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Psychiatry  Children's Hospital Boston Adolescent Substance Abuse  Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Psychiatry  Roy M Shulman MD  Nam Soo Song MD  Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Behavioral Neurology & Psychiatry  Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Psychiatry  Mount Auburn Hospital Outpatient Psychiatry  Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Psychiatry  Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Psychosocial Oncology  Joslin Diabetes Center Inc Psychiatry  Miriam Freidin MD  Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Psychiatry  Joslin Diabetes Center Inc Psychiatry  Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Psychosocial Oncology Cambridge, MassachusettsUpcoming Local Events2012-05-19
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AgoraphobiaRead the Agoraphobia article » What is agoraphobia?A phobia is generally defined as the unrelenting fear of a situation, activity, or thing that causes one to want to avoid it. The definition of agoraphobia is a fear of being outside or otherwise being in a situation from which one either cannot escape or from which escaping would be difficult or humiliating. Phobias are largely underreported, probably because many phobia sufferers find ways to avoid the situations to which they are phobic. The fact that agoraphobia often occurs in combination with panic disorder makes tracking how often it occurs all the more difficult. Other facts about agoraphobia include that researchers estimate it occurs in less than 1 percent to almost 7 percent of the population and that it is specifically thought to be grossly underdiagnosed. What causes agoraphobia?There are a number of theories about what can cause agoraphobia. One hypothesis is that agoraphobia develops in response to repeated exposure to anxiety-provoking events. Mental-health theory that focuses on how individuals react to internal emotional conflicts (psychoanalytic theory) describes agoraphobia as the result of a feeling of emptiness that comes from an unresolved Oedipal conflict, which is a struggle between the feelings the person has toward the opposite-sex parent and a sense of competition with the same-sex parent. Although agoraphobia, like other mental disorders, is caused by a number of factors, it also tends to run in families and for some people, may have a clear genetic factor contributing to its development. What are the symptoms of agoraphobia?The symptoms of agoraphobia include anxiety that one will have a panic attack when in a situation from which escape is not possible or is difficult or embarrassing. The panic attack associated with agoraphobia, like all panic attacks, may involve intense fear, dis... Recommended Reading Related to AgoraphobiaWhat are panic attacks?Panic attacks may be symptoms of an anxiety disorder. These attacks are a serious health problem in the U.S. At least 20% of adult Americans, or about 60 million people, will suffer from panic attacks at some point in their lives. About 1.7% of adult Americans, or about 3 million people, will have full-blown panic disorder at some time in their lives, twice as often for women than men. The peak age at which people have their first panic attack (onset) is 15-19 years. Another fact about panic is that this symptom is strikingly different from other types of anxiety; panic attacks are so very sudden and often unexpected, appear to be unprovoked, and are often disabling. Childhood panic disorder facts include that about 0.7% of children suffer from panic disorder or generalized anxiety disorder and that although panic is found to occur twice as often in women compared to men, boys and girls tend to experience this disorder a... Other Related Agoraphobia ArticlesEmergency Contact for Cambridge
Nearby Cambridge Hospitals *Cambridge Hospital Youville Hospital and Rehabilitation Center M I T Medical Arbour HRI Hospital Mount Auburn Hospital Somerville Hospital Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Massachusetts Eye & Ear Infirmary Massachusetts General Hospital Children's Hospital Boston Dana Farber Cancer Institute Shriners Hospitals for Children Boston Burn Hospital Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital Brigham & Women's Hospital Franciscan Hospital for Children Kindred Hospital Boston Caritas St Elizabeth's Medical Center New England Baptist Hospital Tufts New England Medical Center Boston Medical Center VA Boston Healthcare System Jamaica Plain Campus Radius Specialty Hospital Boston Arbour Hospital Lawrence Memorial Hospital Whidden Memorial Hospital Lawrence F Quigley Memorial Hospital Lemuel Shattuck Hospital Faulkner Hospital Massachusetts Mental Health Center Hebrew Rehabilitation Center for the Aged McLean Hospital Bournewood Hospital Caritas Carney Hospital Melrose Wakefield Hospital Winchester Hospital VA Boston Healthcare System West Roxbury Campus HEALTHSOUTH New England Rehabilitation Hospital Newton Wellesley Hospital Milton Hospital Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital Needham Quincy Medical Center Lahey Clinic Medical Center North Shore Medical Center Braintree Rehabilitation Hospital Westwood Lodge Hospital Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial Veterans Hospital Kindred Specialty Hospital Natick MetroWest Medical Center Leonard Morse Hospital Massachusetts Hospital School Caritas Norwood Hospital Kindred Hospital Boston North Shore Salem Hospital & the Birthplace North Shore Children's Hospital Emerson Hospital Shaughnessy-Kaplan Rehabilitation Hospital Kindred Specialty Hospital Braintree New England Sinai Hospital & Rehabilitation Center South Shore Hospital MetroWest Medical Center Framingham Union Hospital Tewksbury Hospital Beverly Hospital Kindred Specialty Hospital Stoughton Caritas Good Samaritan Medical Center Isham Health Center Signature Healthcare Brockton Hospital Boston VA Healthcare System Brockton Saints Medical Center Lowell General Hospital HC Solomon Mental Health Center UMass Memorial Marlborough Hospital Lawrence General Hospital Baldpate Hospital Whittier Rehabilitation Hospital Westborough Caritas Holy Family Hospital and Medical Center Pembroke Hospital Featured Articles*Provider Directory Terms of Use: The WebMD 'Provider Directory' is provided by WebMD for use by the general public as a quick reference of information about Providers. The Provider Directory is not intended as a tool for verifying the credentials, qualifications, or abilities of any Provider contained therein. Inclusion in the Provider Directory does not imply recommendation or endorsement nor does omission in the Provider Directory imply WebMD disapproval. |
Suggested Reading on Agoraphobia by Our Doctors
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Related Diseases & Conditions
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Anxiety
- Anxiety is a feeling of apprehension and fear characterized by physical symptoms. Anxiety disorders are serious medical illnesses that affect approximately 19 million American adults.
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Panic Attacks
- Panic attacks are sudden feelings of terror that strike without warning. These episodes can occur at any time, even during sleep. A person experiencing a panic attack may believe that he or she is having a heart attack or that death is imminent. The fear and terror that a person experiences during a panic attack are not in proportion to the true situation and may be unrelated to what is happening around them. Most people with panic attacks experience several of the following symptoms: racing heartbeat, faintness, dizzyness, numbness or tingling in the hands and fingers, chills, chest pains, difficulty breathing, and a feeling of loss or control. There are several treatments for panic attacks.
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Alcoholism
- Alcoholism is a disease that includes alcohol craving and continued drinking despite repeated alcohol-related problems, such as losing a job or getting into trouble with the law.
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Stress
- Stress occurs when forces from the outside world impinge on the individual. Stress is a normal part of life. However, over-stress, can be harmful. There is now speculation, as well as some evidence, that points to the abnormal stress responses as being involved in causing various diseases or conditions.
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Depression
- Depression is an illness that involves the body, mood, and thoughts and affects the way a person eats and sleeps, the way one feels about oneself, and the way one thinks about things. The principal types of depression are major depression, dysthymia, and bipolar disease (also called manic-depressive disease).
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Suicide
- Suicide is the process of intentionally ending one's own life. Approximately 1 million people worldwide commit suicide each year, and 10 million to 20 million attempt suicide annually.
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Phobias
- Phobias are unrelenting fears of activities (social phobias), situations (agoraphobia), and specific items (arachnophobia). There is thought to be a hereditary component to phobias, though there may be a cultural influence or they may be triggered by life events. Symptoms and signs of phobias include having a panic attack, shaking, breathing troubles, rapid heart beat, and a strong desire to escape the situation. Treatment of phobias typically involves desensitization, cognitive behavioral therapy, and medications such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and beta blockers.
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Mental Health
- Mental health is an optimal way of thinking, relating to others, and feeling. All of the diagnosable mental disorders fall under the umbrella of mental illness. Depression, anxiety, and substance-abuse disorders are common types of mental illness. Symptoms and signs of mental illness include irritability, moodiness, insomnia, headaches, and sadness. Treatment may involve psychotherapy and medication.
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Anxiety
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Medications
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