Agoraphobia Symptoms Signs Diagnosis
What Is Agoraphobia? Agoraphobia—derived from the Latin “fear of the marketplace”—is a type of anxiety disorder. It arises from an acute, persistent fear of being somewhere that’s difficult or impossible to escape from or of experiencing an embarrassing event in a public place. Many people with agoraphobia fear simply leaving home. About 1.3% of U.S. adults experience agoraphobia at some point. According to The American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), agoraphobia is frequently diagnosed along with panic and other anxiety disorders....