Ordinary Fear vs Agoraphobia

Ordinary fear is something that we all face in life at one time or another. Some may suffer from a fear that is learned or copied from a parent or caregiver throughout childhood such as a fear of rodents or spiders, a fear of strangers or closed in spaces. Other people may suffer from a fear of the unknown, or fear of dying, and still others fear failure, The simple truth is that life is full of things to fear: loud noises, surprise encounters and even something as simple as a black cat crossing certain people's path can cause unreasonable fear. These are all manageable fears however. They are fears that can be overcome and, with patience, eliminated. Some fears, however, are not so easily assuaged.

Agoraphobia is one such fear. This is the fear of outdoors. It is a fear that is...