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Diagnoses Psychotic Disorders |
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Agoraphobia Without a History of Panic DisorderNote: If you are having an emergency or have thoughts of harming yourself or someone else, please pick up a phone and dial 911.
Agoraphobia Without a History of Panic Disorder is an anxiety disorder characterized by extreme fear of experiencing panic symptoms, but with an absence of any underlying history of panic attacks . Agoraphobia typically develops as a result of having panic disorder . In a small minority of cases, however, agoraphobia can develop by itself without being triggered by the onset of panic attacks. Historically, there has been debate over whether Agoraphobia Without Panic genuinely existed, or whether it was simply a manifestation of other disorders such as Panic Disorder, General anxiety disorder , Avoidant personality disorder and Social Phobia . Said one researcher: "out of 41 agoraphobics seen (at a clinic) during a period of 1 year, only 1 fit the diagnoses of agoraphobia without panic attacks, and even this particular classification was questionable...Do not expect to see too many agoraphobics without panic" (Barlow & Waddell, 1985) . In spite of this earlier skepticism, current thinking is that Agoraphobia Without Panic Disorder is indeed a valid, unique illness which has gone largely unnoticed, since its sufferers are far less likely to seek clinical treatment. 7401 Wiles Road, Suite #150, Coral Springs, FL 33067 |