As it already been said in the character profiles , Claudia suffers from Agoraphobia and barely leaves her apartment. When I read that I thought that she maybe doesn't like to be around other people and gets easily panic attacks. But because I didn't know what Agoraphobia actual means , so I looked it up.
Agoraphobia is not only a fear of open spaces. The person who suffers from agoraphobia is also frightened to leave the house ,be on wide public spaces or together with a lot of people. They are also afraid they won't be able to escape certain situations. People commonly think that Agoraphobia is some sort of panic attack but the panic attacks can occur as a symptom. Signs of a panic attacks are feeling very hot, having a fast heartbeat, hyperventilating ,sweating a lot and feeling dizzy. On the NHS website I found some good explanations and they were also talking about the causes.
" Agoraphobia usually develops as a complication of panic disorder (an anxiety disorder involving panic attacks and moments of intense fear). It may arise as a result of associating panic attacks with the places or situations where they occurred and then avoiding them.
A minority of people with agoraphobia have no history of panic attacks. In these cases, their fear may be related to issues such as a fear of crime, terrorism, illness or being in an accident.
Traumatic events, such as bereavement, may contribute towards agoraphobia, as well as certain genes that are inherited from your parents. " (source)
How do you treat Agoraphobia. There are certain ways to treat it but the first think is that you should go and see a doctor if you think you are suffering from this disease or even generally from a panic disorder. Then you can take medication, join self- help group, do cognitive behavioural therapy , inform yourself about your condition and change your lifestyle.
Here are some statistics on how many people suffer from agoraphobia.
"In the UK, up to two people in 100 have panic disorder. It's thought that around a third of those will go on to develop agoraphobia. Agoraphobia is twice as common in women as men. It usually starts between the ages of 18 and 35." (source)
I found another website where you can find more detailed information about Agoraphobia. Just click this link. It is the Anxiety Care UK website.
When I read about agoraphobia it reminded me of a Korean drama(TV series) I watched last year. It is called 'Flower Boy Next Door' and is one of those typical Korean love story dramas. But what is different about this drama is that the female main lead Go Dok Mi (played by Park Shin Hye) suffers from some sort of panic disorder as well. She barely leaves her small apartment, has a job she can do from home , does not participate in social gatherings and generally does not really like social contact in the beginning- In one of the first episodes she even faints after having a panic attack when she was asked to join a gathering outside of her apartment( she was asked by the neighbours and landlord as they were talking about changes in the community ). If I remember right she kind of fainted another time after meeting the bullies from when she was back in school- But this changes later thanks to Enrique Geum (played by Yoon Shi Yoon) which she ends up having a relationship later. At some point in the drama you see back flashes from her past where you learn that she was bullied and humiliated by her friends and thus stopped being part of the society . Which is the reason that she later stayed in her apartment and barely left home to avoid social contact. I am not sure if she is suffering form Agoraphobia as I only have a basic understanding of this disease but the symptoms are quite similar. But overall the drama is very sweet and funny at a lot of times. And of course it has this sweet romance but I like that they are showing a more real life and show the struggle of person with a panic disorder.
Here is a video that shows some of the scenes. I tried to find one where you can see her suffering from this disease but it was a bit hard as the fans usually just like to make videos about the romance :)
But that's the best I could find.
Of course it shows a lot of how the romance and their relationship developed but you can see her also fainting . And I also noticed that especially in the beginning she is wearing a lot of layers of clothes- especially too big clothes- which made me think that she maybe tried to hide herself in them and that if she had to go outside she would ope that people wouldn't notice her in those kind of clothes.
Ha I just found two official music videos that show Go Dok Mi's background story better as well as her not being well.
박신혜 - 새까맣게
이정 - 너였으면 좋겠어
I think seeing this Korean drama helped me kind of understand Claudia's character better. it helped to imagine how she does not leave her apartment and how she lives in her own little bubble (world^^) there. That's why I thought it would be good to mention this drama.
No comments:
Post a Comment