Agoraphobia Diagnosis

Medically reviewed by:

Dr Sarah Marshall - Medical Officer

Updated: Aug 18, 2021

Next review: Aug 18, 2022

As agoraphobia shares a lot of symptoms with other mental health issues, such as anxiety, it must be diagnosed very carefully.

During your online consultation, our doctors will ask you questions about your symptoms to help them provide the most accurate diagnosis possible. You can have your consultation in your own home, in an environment where you feel comfortable.

Your answers are completely confidential and it’s important to be as honest as possible. This will help our doctors provide the most effective treatment.

The questions our doctors will ask you are designed to highlight any symptoms that are specific to agoraphobia, as opposed to generalised anxiety disorder or other similar conditions.

While the exact questions you’re asked may vary, the Panic and Agoraphobia Scale (PAS) is often used to see how likely it is that your symptoms point to agoraphobia.

The PAS includes multiple choice questions that assess:

How often you have panic attacks, how bad they are and how long they last.
How often you worry about having a panic attack.
Whether or not you expect panic attacks to occur before they happen.
Whether you avoid certain situations because you’re worried you might have a panic attack.
How these panic attacks have affected your personal and professional life.

Our doctors may also decide to conduct tests that will rule out other possible causes of your symptoms. For example, anxiety, a fast heart rate and tiredness can all be symptoms of physical conditions such as an overactive thyroid.

A simple blood test can check if this is the cause, which our GPs can arrange.

Once the doctor has ruled out other possibilities and analysed the answers you’ve given to their questions, will be possible to provide a diagnosis.

If the signs point to agoraphobia, the doctor will talk you through the treatment options available.

Agoraphobia Diagnosis

Dr Sarah Marshall - Medical Officer

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