Overcome Your Fear of Crowds: Understanding & Coping Strategies

The fear of crowded places is a form of agoraphobia, which can bring on panic attacks. Symptoms of a panic attack include shaking, pounding heart, chest pains or heaviness, the inability to catch your breath and tingling in your limbs. People who have agoraphobia can develop depression, low energy, anxiety or problems with drugs and alcohol. According to the American Psychological Association, therapy and a supportive family can help people with a fear of crowded places.

Instructions

• 1

  Find a therapist with a specialty in helping people with agoraphobia. To find a therapist, get suggestions from family or others who have received similar help, of ask your physician for a recommendation.

• 2

  Seek cognitive therapy. In this type of therapy, a patient is taught to recognize and modify ineffective thinking.

• 3

  Seek behavior therapy to learn how to control undesirable actions. One form of behavior therapy is desensitization, where a patient is introduced to agoraphobia-inducing situations gradually to decrease anxiety in those situations.

• 4

  Receive relaxation training. Examples of relaxation training are self-hypnosis, guided visualization and biofeedback.

• 5

  Consider medication -- such as anti-anxiety medications -- to address chemical imbalances. Medications can help when used with other forms of treatment.

• 6

  Find positive family support while you work through the treatment.