Agoraphobia Center - Lowell, MA
Lowell 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 Lowell * Miguel A Verdaguer MD  New England Neurological Associates PC  Neelam Sihag MD  Chand Bhan MD  Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates Psychiatry  Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates Psychiatry  Seven Hills Behavioral Health  Greater Lowell Psychiatric Associates  Greater Lowell Psychiatric Associates  Greater Lowell Psychiatric Associates  Greater Lowell Psychiatric Associates  Ross K Peterson MD  Ethan S Rofman MD  Raymond R Cavanaugh MD  Arbour Counseling Services  Arbour Counseling Services  Arbour Counseling Services  Richard J Heller MD  Lahey Hitchcock Medical Center Psychiatry  Lahey Hitchcock Medical Center Psychiatry  Lahey Hitchcock Medical Center Psychiatry  Lahey Hitchcock Medical Center Psychiatry  Lahey Hitchcock Medical Center Psychiatry  Lahey Hitchcock Medical Center Psychiatry  Lahey Hitchcock Medical Center Psychiatry  Lahey Hitchcock Medical Center Psychiatry  Lahey Hitchcock Medical Center Psychiatry  Concord Hillside Mental Health  Barbara P Wissner MD  Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates Behavioral Health  Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates Behavioral Health  Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates Behavioral Health  Thrassos S Calligas & Alison M Sheridan MD  Saroj Joshi MD  Thrassos S Calligas & Alison M Sheridan MD  Concord Psychiatric Associates  Clive D Dalby MD  Sten B Lofgren MD  Sharon R Weinstein MD  Catherine Conley-Lanteri MD  Ellen A Hilsinger MD  Jerry H Wacks MD  Emerson Hospital Behavioral Health  Emerson Hospital Behavioral Health  Emerson Hospital Behavioral Health  Emerson Hospital Behavioral Health  Richard M Brostoff MD  Randall H Paulsen MD  Saiya Remmler MD  Robert P Torchin MD  Amy E Banks MD  Drs Lenhart & Price  Drs Lenhart & Price  Ronnie Fuchs MD  Samuel Robinson MD  Beth Brownlow MD  Eric C Dessain MD  Norman L Paul MD  Arbour Counseling Services  Woburn Counseling Center  The Hallowell Center  The Hallowell Center  Marcus Mental Health Associates  Mark E Robbins MD  Jewish Family & Children's Service  Stuart E Edelman MD  Therese I Hattemer MD  Harold R Zeckel MD  McLean Hospital Psychiatry  McLean Hospital Psychiatry  McLean Hospital Psychiatry  Craig E Boyajian MD  The Pavilion at McLean  Franca Centorrino MD  Theodore Dreier MD  McLean Hospital Psychiatry  McLean Hospital Psychiatry  McLean Hospital Psychiatry  Eliza W Menninger MD  McLean Hospital Psychiatry  Madhavi Prakash MD  McLean Hospital Psychiatry  McLean Hospital Psychiatry  McLean Hospital Psychiatry  Wakefield Behavior Health Center  The Pavilion at McLean  Francis McCarthy MD  Alan G Corman MD  John Sos MD  Comprehensive Psychiatric Resources  Children's Hospital Boston Center for Deaf & Hard of Hearing  Robert K Tittmann MD  Robert L Kelley MD  Tatinan N Yanovsky MD  Charles W Carl Jr. MD  L H Strasburger MD  Farrokh Khajavi MD  Carl Brotman MD  Richard Netsky MD  Bennett Aspel MD Lowell, 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 Lowell
Nearby Lowell Hospitals *Saints Medical Center Lowell General Hospital HC Solomon Mental Health Center Tewksbury Hospital Isham Health Center Caritas Holy Family Hospital and Medical Center Lawrence General Hospital Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial Veterans Hospital Northeast Rehabilitation Health Network Southern New Hampshire Medical Center St Joseph Hospital Lahey Clinic Medical Center Emerson Hospital Nashoba Valley Medical Center HEALTHSOUTH New England Rehabilitation Hospital Whittier Rehabilitation Hospital Haverhill Merrimack Valley Hospital Winchester Hospital Baldpate Hospital Parkland Medical Center Hampstead Hospital Melrose Wakefield Hospital McLean Hospital Lawrence Memorial Hospital North Shore Medical Center Somerville Hospital Kindred Hospital Boston North Shore Mount Auburn Hospital Whidden Memorial Hospital Youville Hospital and Rehabilitation Center Cambridge Hospital Newton Wellesley Hospital Caritas St Elizabeth's Medical Center Franciscan Hospital for Children Lawrence F Quigley Memorial Hospital Kindred Hospital Boston Arbour HRI Hospital North Shore Children's Hospital Salem Hospital & the Birthplace Beverly Hospital M I T Medical Shaughnessy-Kaplan Rehabilitation Hospital Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital Massachusetts General Hospital Massachusetts Eye & Ear Infirmary Shriners Hospitals for Children Boston Burn Hospital UMass Memorial Marlborough Hospital Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Children's Hospital Boston Dana Farber Cancer Institute Brigham & Women's Hospital HealthAlliance Hospital Leominster Campus Tufts New England Medical Center Elliot Hospital New England Baptist Hospital VA Boston Healthcare System Jamaica Plain Campus Anna Jaques Hospital UMass Memorial Clinton Hospital Boston Medical Center Arbour Hospital Health Alliance Burbank Hospital Kindred Specialty Hospital Natick MetroWest Medical Center Leonard Morse Hospital Radius Specialty Hospital Boston Bournewood Hospital Catholic Medical Center MetroWest Medical Center Framingham Union Hospital Faulkner Hospital Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital Needham Hebrew Rehabilitation Center for the Aged Lemuel Shattuck Hospital Manchester VA Medical Center Massachusetts Mental Health Center VA Boston Healthcare System West Roxbury Campus Westborough State 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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