Agoraphobia (from Greek aγορά, "marketplace"; and φόβος/φοβία, -phobia) is an anxiety disorder. Agoraphobia was traditionally thought to involve a fear of public places and open spaces. However, it is now believed that agoraphobia develops as a complication of panic attacks.[1] But there is evidence that the implied one-way causal relationship between spontaneous panic attacks and agoraphobia in DSM-IV appears incorrect.[2] Agoraphobia may arise by the fear of having a panic attack in a setting from which there is no easy means of escape. As a result, sufferers of agoraphobia avoid public and/or unfamiliar places, especially large, open, spaces such as shopping malls or airports where there are few 'places to hide'. In severe cases, the sufferer may become confined to his or her home, experiencing difficulty traveling from this "safe place."