| Agora comes from the Greek word for marketplace, | | | | develop into agoraphobia, because one often feels |
| and phobia means fear, therefore, agoraphobia had to | | | | most vulnerable to panic attacks (and sometimes |
| originally mean fear of the marketplace. In many cases | | | | depression) when away from home, isolated from |
| agoraphobia still means just that: a fear of public | | | | various "safe" places (comfort zones) and/or "safe" |
| places such as a shopping center or marketplace or | | | | people such as a parent, spouse, sibling, or trusted |
| any such location. However, today's definition has a | | | | friend. Therefore, what tends to happen is the victim |
| much more expanded meaning that also includes a | | | | develops the avoidance symptoms that define |
| fear of any sort of open space, public or otherwise. | | | | agoraphobia such as the avoidance of all the places |
| The symptoms of agoraphobia are most unpleasant | | | | and situations associated with increased levels of |
| and debilitating. | | | | panic and anxiety. One can often end up being quite |
| Agoraphobia, depression and anxiety disorder tend to | | | | stuck in one place and quite dependent on others for |
| go hand in hand. Anxiety disorder is the tendency | | | | anything to do with going outside the home or getting |
| toward panic attacks and long periods of anticipatory | | | | from place to place. |
| anxiety. Such a tendency over a period of time can | | | | |