Hi Piglet
<b id="quote">quote:</b id="quote"><table border="0" id="quote"><tr id="quote"><td class="quote" id="quote">Even if I don't get to watch the vid I am sure social anxiety does play a big part in my agoraphobia, as I can get out at night for a walk on my own because there is no one to see me!!
It's so strange that this should be so because I am not in the least bit shy and in the main really like meeting people and chewing their ear off - I just don't fancy havin a panic attack in front of them [:I]:D
<div align="right">Originally posted by Piglet - 14 May 2006 : 17:58:18</div id="right">
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I think half of the fear for most people with panic and agoraphobia is the idea of panicking in front of people. 'Agora' is an ancient greek word, meaning 'market-place', which sums it up a lot better than the usual accepted phrase that it's a fear of open spaces. It's not a fear of open spaces at all. If it's an open space with no people in, then the majority of agoraphobics wouldn't have a problem with it.
What it is really about, is control. When you're alone, you do things on your own terms, but when you're in the presence of others, then we've learned to act in certain ways. We have some basic social rules going on that we mostly abide by, for example, we don't fart in public! (well, I don't, you might :D). When we're in a public space with other people about we have an element of pressure on us, and that applies to everyone. This is a far cry from social anxiety.
On those terms alone, I don't think you can diagnose SA. Otherwise I think you'd have to diagnose every other agoraphobic as having SA.
'Security is mostly superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding Danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing.'