The term agoraphobia has been misunderstood for a long time. The word "agoraphobia" is an English adoption of the Greek words agora (αγορά) and phobos (φόβος), literally translated as "a fear of the marketplace." This translation is the reason for the common misconception that agoraphobia is a fear of open spaces, and is not clinically accurate.
Agoraphobics are not necessarily afraid of open spaces themselves, but more generally suffer panic attacks in response to the idea of being in an embarrassing or difficult situation where they are exposed to the world with no place to escape, and where it is no help to get.
What is agoraphobia; read more here.....
