It just gets bigger and more frightening. Agoraphobia starts with a feeling of anxiety that intensifies into a full-blown panic attack. That high anxiety can be overwhelming. The instinct to flee kicks in, and with it, an equally intense terror that becomes associated with going anywhere or doing anything where feelings of panic have occurred before Once this cycle of panic attacks and associated fears is set in motion, these episodes can become the source of ongoing stress, even when the conditions that caused the original panic no longer exist. This pattern sets up a feedback condition that leads to more panic attacks and, for some, more situations or events that produce the same feelings of panic.
Some sufferers experience chronic fear, a feeling of overall discomfort rather than panic.
Panic or anxiety attacks can be terrifying experiences. You dread losing control or embarrassing yourself in public. You feel alarmed at being in a place or situation where you are convinced you can t escape to a safe haven, which most with agoraphobia equate with home. Or you find yourself in a situation where you believe that help isn t available to handle a horrific situation that you ve created in your mind. For some people, the terror is so great, they believe they re going to die.