Sophrology and agoraphobia: repossessing the premises

“I can’t get out of my house”, “I’m afraid of driving”, “I panic every time I’m at the checkout of a supermarket, I want to go out!” “,” I can’t go out alone “,” no way to get on the elevator “,” I’m going to drown if I don’t have a foot “… in a few sentences, what an agoraphobic person experiences every day.

The mere thought of getting into a car, going to the cinema, to a supermarket, to a restaurant, to shops causes the agoraphobe to palpitations, tremors, feelings of strangulation, sweating, chest pain …

Agoraphobia is characterized by a great uncontrolled, excessive, uncontrollable fear and most of the time it happens for no apparent reason, without warning.
This unfounded fear arises in places known as unknown. The mere presence outside your home is enough to trigger this fear.
The agoraphobe is anxious that he cannot escape from where he is. The fear of danger resulting in death or madness puts the person in a state they no longer have control over. There is therefore a psycho-bodily (panic), cognitive (anxious thoughts) and behavioral (reactions are excessive) dimensions.

In an attempt to manage this state, agoraphobes will adopt behaviors called avoidance behaviors. They will choose not to take the car, the subway or the bus, and we will talk about direct avoidance, or they will choose to be accompanied for each exit and we will talk about indirect avoidance.

How can we no longer avoid these outdoor places? How to sympathize with them again?

Sophrology is one of the solutions.

Thanks to an awareness of the body, the agoraphobe will first find the place inseparable from its being: his body.

Becoming aware of one’s body diagram as a lived reality is the path that leads the individual to himself. The body is the place where sensations are revealed and let themselves be welcomed.
By resuming “possession of the premises”, it will be possible to replace the “I am afraid, I want to go out” by an “I am well there”. a serenity that will allow him to develop his own self-confidence.
Throughout the sessions, he will hear himself thinking “I am capable of being there”, “I am in my place” …

It is essential in such a situation to learn to relax. It is relaxation that will facilitate access to a new autonomy.

Relaxation and breathing will allow you to find a place of calm and serenity within yourself.
Relaxation in the context of agoraphobia will aim to bring new sensations to the patient, feelings of well-being, tranquility and to put them into practice in critical situations. The agoraphobic person will raise awareness of this state of serenity and then use it effectively, in usually critical situations.

Breathing exercises will quickly and effectively restore the feeling of calm and relaxation. A complete, regular and gentle breathing offers the agoraphobe the possibility of becoming aware of his being as a whole.

It is the body lived here and now that will allow it to reveal itself.

This awareness of his being in reality will allow him to develop his qualities adapted to the environment, to situations while seeing disappear different symptoms such as dizziness, palpitations, pains in the rib cage, headaches, panting …

Once able to relax, the agoraphobe will be able to project confident and self-control into a situation that was previously experienced in an agonizing and negative way.

By alternating negative, anxious thoughts and calm thoughts, of well-being until obtaining that the anxiety-provoking thoughts are felt peacefully, the sophrologist will bring the patient to free himself from his anxiety.

Let us not forget that sophrology is a method of study and development of consciousness, which means that it allows everyone to become aware of their inner world and therefore of their capacities to act on the outer world. By becoming aware of the achievable, it is then easier to understand the world.
By developing the consciousness of the individual, the sophrologist will promote the expression of his qualities, his values, his potential, allowing him to harmonize being with his existence. It will then be a question of balance, knowledge and self-control.
Sophrology is there to help the agoraphobe regain possession of the place and make the impossible possible.

Author: Florence RENARD, Sophrologist