Agoraphobia Symptoms

Agoraphobia is associated with a wide range of psychological, physical and social symptoms, and because agoraphobia is experienced differently by each individual who struggles with this condition, these symptoms can vary from person to person.

At Priory, our expert teams are committed to providing exceptional, person-centred and recovery-focused agoraphobia treatment and support, empowering you to address and alleviate your symptoms, and return to a positive way of life.

The psychological, physical and social symptoms of agoraphobia may include:

Psychological symptoms of agoraphobia:

• Feeling anxious, fearful or unsafe in public places, or in crowds – examples may include experiencing excessive anxiety when leaving home alone, in enclosed spaces such as cinemas or elevators, when you are in a crowd or a queue, in open spaces such as car parks or shopping centres, and when using public transport such as buses and trains
• Worrying that you will panic, lose control, faint, fall or experience other debilitating and embarrassing symptoms in certain situations, and that you will not be able to escape or find help
• Experiencing anxiety that is disproportionate to the actual threat or danger that is posed by the feared situation
• Depression
• Panic attacks
• Anxiety attacks
• Confusion
• Low self-esteem
• Sleep disturbances, including insomnia
• Paranoia

Physical symptoms of agoraphobia:

• Feeling faint, dizzy, light headed or nauseous when you are in a large outdoor space or in a situation where there is a large crowd of people
• Chest pains and shortness of breath – experiencing a tightness of the chest and feeling as though it’s a struggle to breathe
• Feeling hot and sweaty
• Heart palpitations
• Hyperventilating
• Numbness and tingling, for example tingling lips and numbness in your fingers and toes
• Difficulty swallowing
• Trembling and shaking
• Diarrhoea
• Lack or increase of appetite, resulting in weight loss or gain

Social symptoms of agoraphobia:

• Withdrawing from friends and family, resulting in social isolation
• Avoiding going to places or events where you do not feel in control, or needing someone to go with you
• Avoiding being far away from home
• Experiencing problems at work, school or other areas in your life because of the fear, anxiety and distress that you feel in public places
• Being housebound – not being able to leave your home for long periods of time