A 30-year-old woman avoids using public transport, standing in line at markets, and being in crowded shopping malls. She fears that if she develops sudden dizziness or palpitations in these situations, she will be unable to escape or get help. She now rarely leaves her home. Which diagnosis best explains this presentation?

• A Specific phobia, situational type
• B Social anxiety disorder
• C Agoraphobia ✓
• D Generalized anxiety disorder

Explanation

Agoraphobia involves marked fear or anxiety about two or more situations where escape might be difficult or help unavailable, including public transport, open spaces, enclosed spaces, crowds, or being outside alone. The core fear is of being trapped without escape, not of social evaluation as in social anxiety disorder or of a discrete object as in specific phobia.

Reference: Kaplan and Sadock's Comprehensive Textbook of Psychiatry, 11th ed.

High-yield for: NEET PGINI-CETNExTFMGEUSMLEPLABMRCP

Written and medically reviewed by the StethoPrep medical team.