Agoraphobia (cont.)
What are the complications of agoraphobia?
Agoraphobia increases the likelihood that the person will also suffer from
another anxiety disorder and that both conditions will be more severe and
difficult to treat. Also, agoraphobia tends to occur more
often in individuals who have a number of different physical conditions,
including irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and asthma. If left untreated,
agoraphobia may worsen to the point at which the person's life is seriously
affected by the disease itself and/or by attempts to avoid or conceal it. In
fact, some people have had problems with friends and family, failed in school,
and/or lost jobs while struggling to cope with severe agoraphobia or another
severe phobia. There may be periods of spontaneous improvement, but the
condition does not usually go away unless the person receives treatments
designed specifically to help phobia sufferers. Further, alcoholics can be up to
10 times more likely to suffer from a phobia than those who are not alcoholics,
and phobic individuals can be twice as likely to be addicted to alcohol as are
people who have never been phobic.
Is there coping and support information for both agoraphobia
patients and their family members and loved ones?
The following organizations can provide information, self-help tips, and/or
support for individuals experiencing agoraphobia as well as their families.
ABIL (Agoraphobics Building Independent Lives), Inc.
3805 Cutshaw Ave., Suite 415
Richmond, VA 23230
Phone: 804-353-3964
Fax: 804-353-3687
abil1996@aol.com
Agoraphobics in Motion
1719 Crooks
Royal Oak, MI 48067-1306
Phone: 248-547-0400
http://www.aim-hq.org
anny@ameritech.net
American Academy of Child and Adolescent
Psychiatry
http://www.aacap.org
American Counseling Association
http://www.counseling.org
American Psychiatric Association
http://www.psych.org
American Psychological Association
http://helping.apa.org
Anxiety Disorders
Association of America
8730 Georgia Ave., Ste. 600
Silver Spring, MD 20910
Voice: 240-485-1001
Fax: 240-485-1035
http://www.adaa.org/
Council on Anxiety Disorders
Route 1, Box 1364
Clarkesville, GA 30523
Phone: 706-947-3854
Fax: 706-947-1265
slvau@stc.net
Freedom From Fear
http://www.freedomfromfear.org
National Anxiety Foundation
3135 Custer Dr.
Lexington, KY 40517-4001
606-272-7166
National Association of
Social Workers
http://www.naswdc.org
National Mental Health Association
http://www.nmha.org
National Panic/Anxiety Disorder News, Inc.
http://www.npadnews.com
Phobics Anonymous
619-322-COPE
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