Cure Agoraphobia Yourself: How to Use the Power of the Internet to Cure Agoraphobia

Agoraphobia is a serious mental disorder which causes sufferers to have uncontrollable panic attacks whenever they are in large crowds or surrounded by people. The sufferer of agoraphobia feels trapped and uncomfortable when in large groups and feel like they cannot get away from the situation. Some sufferers of agoraphobia are unable to leave their houses for fear of crowds and remain confined there for the rest of their lives.

Persons suffering from agoraphobia often see things much differently when compared to a person who is not suffering from this ailment and they can have adverse reactions to everyday things such as using an elevator with more than three people. This causes them to panic and the reactions of the frightened people to their panic attacks only help to make the situation worse. The attacks cause the patient to feel flush and their heart rate to increase, while breathing becomes shallow and labored.

Many health care professionals have been using the internet as a treatment for agoraphobia and have been surprised at its effectiveness. Many people suffering from agoraphobia have been using the internet to communicate and develop relationships with people through group activities such as multiplayer online games or through video chat and discussion boards. This is generally a wonderful treatment due to the interaction that the sufferer of agoraphobia will encounter with large groups of people in a virtual setting.

The virtual settings that sufferers of agoraphobia use to interact with people help them to see that their fears are unfounded (in the majority of cases) and that their interactions with large groups of people is actually beneficial to their emotional and physical development. Many people use multiplayer games such as: World of Warcraft, Second Life and Command and Conquer to form relationships and interact with large groups of virtual people before trying it with actual people. Many times doctors have found the experience to be highly beneficial.

Sufferers of agoraphobia should be persuaded to try to play these online games and virtual reality life simulation games to help to develop their interactions with people before attempting to do so in the real world. This can have an immense effect on the health and lifestyle of a sufferer of agoraphobia and could help them on their way to becoming panic free.

References

1. http://www.iampanicked.com/anxiety-articles/agoraphobia-causes-and-cure.htm

2. http://www.ehow.com/how_5142357_cure-agoraphobia.html