The Hulk with Agoraphobia
BY: Hailey Jorgenson
AGORAPHOBIA:
SYMPTOMS:
Feeling faint- Often Bruce feels light-headed, fatigued, and weak when overwhelmed in a crowded area.
Fear of losing control- When around many people, Bruce feels a lack of control, and sees no way to escape if a dangerous situation to occur due to the amount of people around him. This fear often leads to panic attacks, which then proceed to cause him to change into the Hulk due to the overwhelming anxiety and fear of danger.
ETIOLOGY:
COURSE:
PREVALENCE:
Only approximately 0.8% of the U.S. adult population are diagnosed with agoraphobia per year.
THERAPY:
One way to treat agoraphobia is through behavioral therapy. Behavioral therapy focuses on teaching the patient specific skills in order to gradually return to daily activities that are avoided due to the patient's agoraphobia. This form of therapy helps the patient learn how to change unhealthy behaviors through desensitization to safely faces places that cause anxiety.
BIOLOGICAL THERAPY-
Another approach to treating agoraphobia is through biological therapy. This primarily involves prescribing a patient with medications such as antidepressants and/or anti-anxiety prescriptions. Which is prescribed depends on the patient. For example, when antidepressants are prescribed it's usually because the patient has a lack of serotonin neurotransmitters, while when anti-anxiety medications are prescribed, it's because the psychiatrist believes the patient requires a sedative to relieve acute anxiety on a short term basis, such as in case of prevalent panic attacks.