Treatment and Prevention
Fortunately, agoraphobia can be effectively treated with a type of behavior therapy called exposure therapy; over 90% of people who stick with this therapy are helped. Exposure therapy works by encouraging patients to confront the situation they fear rather than avoiding it. By deliberately staying in the circumstance that triggers a negative reaction, they gradually become used to it - this is called habituation - and their anxiety fades away as they realize nothing bad will happen to them.
Another form of behavior therapy involves a technique called diaphragmatic breathing. There's good evidence that breathing deeply in a controlled way is effective in overcoming the body's fear responses. Cognitive-behavioral therapy is a different approach that teaches people new skills to cope with triggering situations. They learn to "think their way out" of their fear to lessen or stop the symptoms.
To help the therapy work, doctors may also recommend certain anti-anxiety medications to help combat the symptoms.
Of course, no matter what therapy is chosen, it has to be performed by a skilled therapist whom someone with agoraphobia can trust completely.