Agoraphobia and Emily.

Phobias are words of  commonality  of the day. But the severity reaches its height when it becomes an inability or a disability for the indi...

Phobias are words of commonality of the day. But the severity reaches its height when it becomes an inability or a disability for the individual experiencing the phobia.

One such example is Agoraphobia. To understand it in a better way we need to look at the origin of the word. The term agora meant a marketplace in classical Greece. They beheld a custom where the dancers switched partners from one to the other masked partner.

The resonating term concludes to imply that Agoraphobia is a fear related to the marketplace but such a conclusion would be considered an act of naivety. It means to withdraw oneself from crowded places as well as self-isolation where fear of entering unfamiliar situations comes into play.

How does it formulate?

There is not a single factor responsible for causing Agoraphobia. One of the most commonly cited examples can be a traumatic event (someone's death), divorce, bereavement, losing a job. Besides these Agoraphobia is preceded by a no. Of panic attacks, where the individual is subject to extreme social anxiety.

It's not a matter of wonder that PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) play a vital role in the development of Agoraphobia. When the individual develops a phobia of experiencing panic attacks, the individual will likelybe diagnosed with Agoraphobia.

How severe is it?

The severity of this phobia can range from mild to extreme depending on the individual's coping ability. One can assume that agoraphobics isolate themselves inside a room and prefer not to enter situations dealing with social interaction and are intimidated to enter an unfamiliar situation. Social Security Administration (SSA) classifies it as a disorder. This mandation of isolation can however include other factors as well. There's no denying that if a person is agoraphobic he/she is prone to experience other phobias as well.

Therefore it becomes a process of preventing a chain reaction. A  mechanism that prevents the development of an escalated scale of phobias.

Citing a vanguard  

However, experiencing Agoraphobia does not limit pure blood potential in humans. The best example we can cite here is the literary genius, Emily Elizabeth Dickinson. She was a sufferer of Agoraphobia. Having considered the fact that her writings were beyond special, controversy kept lurking in her shadows.

Dickinson had a great relationship with her brother's wife. Though agoraphobic and being too protective of her personal space and intimacy, she never hesitated to express affection towards her brother's wife Susan Gilbert. What fueled the matter more was when Susan became her 'Only woman in the world'. It was suspected that the two were involved in homophobic affairs since Emily never got married in her life neither her love poems denoted any male figure present in her life as her love interest.