Unexpected worries, excessive work load, unnecessary struggles to compete with others and other social and economical triggers have made life difficult. Everyone is facing different types of intensities that ultimately cause anxiety and stress. Anxiety cases are increasing day by day. Two common forms of depression are Agoraphobia and Social Anxiety Disorder. Both are commonly confused conditions and involve avoidance and significant fear. However, their symptoms, triggers and treatment are totally different from each other. Finding out the key differences between the two can help manage the symptoms and make a path towards exact treatment approaches.
This article will help you explore key differences and similarities between Agoraphobia and Social Anxiety, what are the triggers, their treatment options and how they affect your life.
What is Agoraphobia?
Intense fear of certain situations, sometimes creates an urge to escape. But when you can’t escape such conditions you may experience panic symptoms related to anxiety disorder. People affected by agoraphobia have tension about experiencing panic attacks in public, losing their control in some situations and worry about being trapped in some dreadful situation.
Experts have suggested that agoraphobia may trigger by:
- Being in a situation where no exit is available.
- Standing in a queue for a longer duration.
- Staying in coveted spaces like public transport or shopping malls.
- Travelling away from home.
- Wilder and open areas like parks or very closed areas like air conditioned buses or lifts.
Key Symptoms of Agoraphobia include:
- Panic attacks or strong anxiety while passing through an intense situation.
- Physical symptoms like shortness of breath, dizziness, sweating or irregular heartbeat.
- Avoidance or fear of certain situations or spaces.
Reliance on a specific person or having fear while going far from home.
Studies show that agoraphobia needs proper treatment. If left untreated, it can cause disabling for the person to go outside the home.
What is Social Anxiety Disorder?
Social phobias or social anxiety disorder is a prolonged phase of being in a fear of social situations. People hauling social anxiety often avoid meeting or interacting with other people, especially if there is a chance of getting embarrassed or humiliated. They have fear of negative judgment from others. If you experience a fear where you want to know how it is perceived, you will not focus on escape.
Common triggers to social anxiety disorder are:
- Being observed while working, eating or drinking.
- Speaking in front of large groups of people.
- Fear of saying something awkward.
- Blushing, sweating or shaking in public.
- Attending social gatherings with new people.
- Major symptoms of social anxiety disorder include:
- Rumination and negative talk about yourself after a social meet up.
- Intense fear of being criticized or judged.
- Avoidance of social events or attending them with no interest.
- Physical symptoms like nausea, trembling, dry mouth and blushing.
Studies show that social anxiety often affects people after adolescence. But it cannot be left untreated because it can affect your relationships, education, career and overall health.
Triggers or Causes of Agoraphobia and Social Anxiety
Agoraphobia
Agoraphobia is usually caused by:
- Situations where you feel trapped especially when you’re far from your home.
- Crowded spaces like concerts and shopping malls.
- Enclosed spaces like lifts and public transports.
- Wider open spaces like parks.
Social Anxiety
Social anxiety creates fear in you and therefore, you avoid:
- Being center of attention.
- Giving presentations and speaking in public.
- Meeting new people.
- Attending social gatherings.
- Performing in front of others.
- Speaking on the phone.
Agoraphobia vs. Social Anxiety
The key differences between both conditions are so loud that the similarities between them like avoiding avoidance, fear, and intense anxiety are ignored while discussing their characteristics.
Aspect |
Agoraphobia |
Social Anxiety Disorder |
Onset |
Develops after a panic attack. |
Begins in adolescence even without panic. |
Impact |
Rely on others to go out and often remain housebound. |
Avoid opportunities related to education and career. Feeling difficulty maintaining relationships. |
Core Fear |
Feeling unable to escape in panic and worried about being trapped. |
Negative judgements, embarrassment and humiliation. |
Physical Symptoms |
Shortness of breath, dizziness, tiredness, panic attacks. |
Nausea, sweating, blushing and sweating. |
Situations Avoided |
Being away from home, public transport and crowds. |
Meeting strangers, public gatherings and speaking publicly. |
The distinctive comparison between agoraphobia and social anxiety disorder is essential for accurate diagnosis and effective treatment procedure.
Overlapping between the Two Conditions
There are many cases where people experience both conditions at the same time. Having both conditions means, a person start avoiding social gatherings due to social anxiety disorder but prolonged avoidance extends to agoraphobia. Similarly, if you are experiencing panic disorder but also worried about being judged for your panic attacks, your agoraphobia is turning towards social anxiety.
The symptoms of both conditions often overlap and make the situation more horrific. Professional psychologists can help after a thorough assessment of symptoms. They also can help decide which treatment approach is effective at this stage.
How Do Agoraphobia and Social Anxiety Affect Your Daily Life?
Agoraphobia
Agoraphobia has severe effects on your ability to function in daily life. You start avoiding your work and social activities. Sometimes situations become more intense that you experience unnecessary errands which may lead to isolation and dependence on others.
In addition, people having agoraphobia tend to stick with specific persons who they consider their safe place. They feel comfortable only when they eat with such safe people. They also prefer to visit safe p;laces. But in severe cases these people start avoiding going outside the home and never want to leave home.
Social Anxiety
Social anxiety victims feel it very difficult to form relationships, participate in social activities and perform in gatherings. Therefore, feelings of being alone capture their mind. Loneliness ultimately leads to feelings of low self-esteem.
According to studies, it starts in adulthood or after adolescence and can last for life time. If left untreated can cause mental health conditions.
Treatments Approaches for Agoraphobia
Agoraphobia is a treatable condition. This news will make you relaxed that several treatment plans have been used to treat the condition. Researchers and medical professionals worked hard to find out that treatment of agoraphobia can help people regain their lost confidence and reduce their anxiety.
Common treatment options for agoraphobia include:
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
The CBT technique can help treat agoraphobia by:
- Practicing gradually facing feared situations so they become less overwhelming.
- Understanding the link between behaviors, thoughts and feelings.
- Challenging unhelpful fears like panic attacks and depression episodes.
Exposure Therapy
Exposure therapy actually belongs to CBT technique. Through this technique, psychologists help you gradually practice to face the situations you feast on most, like boarding on a lift, visiting the enclosed spaces like traveling in a crowded bus. But all these steps should be taken under the supervision of a professional psychologist. After maximum repetition over time, your brain learns to cope with these situations and consider them safe. This lessens anxiety. 1147
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
Studies have suggested that ACT is one of the effective evidence-based approaches that is helpful to manage agoraphobia. This technique doesn’t work to get rid of anxiety in every situation, it is about learning how to respond to your destructive and stressed thoughts. The technique has a unique goal to stop anxiety from controlling your feelings, emotions, even your life. It is different from other techniques which just aim to eliminate discomfort.
Psychodynamic Therapy
If you’re experiencing emotional conflicts, increased anxiety due to relationship avoidance, psycho-dynamic therapy is fit for you. It teaches you how to gain insight and reduce unknown triggers for your fear.
How to Treat Social Anxiety Disorder?
People often take it as a condition that can be treated but it’s not as. Social anxiety can be treated the same as agoraphobia. Different therapies and mental techniques are applied to manage the symptoms. Research has found that the techniques used for treating social anxiety are effective for building confidence, helping people face the situations they are afraid of and reducing their fears. Some types of therapies effective for social anxiety treatment are:
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
CBT helps you in:
- Exposing to exercises that may help you face certain social situations or events in a well-structured and safe way. It may be a short presentation in college or starting a conversation with your colleague.
- Identifying unhelpful or triggering thoughts like “no one here likes me” or “i’m looking foolish”.
- Learning coping strategies to manage your anxiety and panic attacks in a few moments.
- Challenging wrong beliefs with a realistic way of thinking.
Reduction in social anxiety disorder and improvement in confidence with the help of CBT is a time taking procedure. You may enjoy the results but after sometime. So still stick to the technique you have learnt.
Group Therapy
Social anxiety makes you offended from gatherings and social contacts. Therefore, group therapy is conducted in a group, where many people gather at a place to practice new skills to defeat social anxiety. The supportive environment plays key role in:
- Practicing presentations, conversations and playing roles.
- Learning that you’re not alone in your struggle.
- Receiving feedback from your psychologists and peers.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
This technique is the most effective way to break your relationship with anxiety and fear. It teaches you how to switch off anxious thoughts. You may learn how to:
- Take small meaningful steps towards success while experiencing nervousness.
- Accept anxiety attacks without losing control of your thoughts and nerves.
- Maintain focus on your personal goals and desires like career, learning of relationship goals.
Studies suggest that this way of treatment reduces avoidance and builds confidence that further leads you towards a connected and free from fears life.
Social Skill Training
Lack of confidence is the first deficiency that social anxiety causes in you. It makes you dull and you become ready to lose everything you had in the past, whether it was a job post, a relationship, or any achievement. It also makes you tend to lose your skills and abilities. Social skill training helps you:
- Construct feedback to improve communication.
- Learn techniques to express your needs.
- Learn role-play practice in a supportive environment.
Schema Therapy
When you develop some deeply held false beliefs about your personality, you start linking yourself with social anxiety. This technique helps you vanish such beliefs. For example, social anxiety makes you believe that you are not lovable. But this technique helps you get rid of such thoughts. You may learn how to:
- Use techniques such as chair work, limited representation and imagery to heal your traumas or emotional loss you had experienced in the past.
- Identify and understand long-standing patterns of thinking known as Schema.
- New ways of relating yourself to clothes.
- Explore where these beliefs come from means from your childhood or adolescence era.
According to researchers, people who have social anxiety at its peak and have lost their self-worth due to unnecessary shame or disconnection need schema therapy.
Why Professional Help Matters?
Both conditions, agoraphobia and social anxiety make you overwhelmed but still they are relatable. You just need to work with a professional psychologist who may provide you with a personalized treatment approach, evidence-based strategies and structured support that enable you to reclaim your skills, talent and even life quality.
Psychologists understand how anxiety has made you exhausted and isolated. Therefore, they are always ready to provide you with professional and compassionate care according to your needs.
When Do You Need Professional Help?
You should catch out professional support when:
- Anxiety starts affecting your relationships, work and daily life.
- You would fail to treat anxiety with self-help strategies.
- You start avoiding situations because of fear.
- You experience ongoing panic attacks for more than half a year.
Conclusion
Agoraphobia and social anxiety are the challenging mental conditions nowadays. The number of people affected by the two are increasing day by day around the world and the reason is the full burden of lifestyle. However, the good thing about both conditions is they are highly treatable. Agoraphobia is actually linked with your fears of being unsafe or trapped while social anxiety is associated with the feelings of fear of judgement and embarrassment.
You can find the right type of support and treatment after recognizing their differences and similarities. After treatment, you can spend your life with high confidence, greater freedom and stronger connections than ever before.
