Agoraphobia: Why It Happens — The Method’s View

When someone is afraid to go out, to be in a crowd, to sit at work among others, we tend to give it names: agora-, ergo-, this or that "phobia." The method invites us to look deeper: the name explains nothing. What matters is not what it is called, but what exactly is glitching inside.

Behind the names — a concrete malfunction

The doctor persistently steers away from labels. The terms themselves are "a circus": they describe but don't reveal. Behind the fear lies a concrete malfunction in the brain, and that is what must be found.

"There's a concrete malfunction in the brain, and it glitches. That's it. Then you have to look for the cause."

So the method's first step is not to slap on a diagnostic label, but to ask: where and how did this malfunction arise, and what keeps it going.

Where the "soldering iron" was put

Fear at work or in a crowd rarely appears from nowhere. The doctor puts it vividly: "maybe somebody stuck that soldering iron where it shouldn't go in your work." In other words, behind a phobia there is often a real experience of pressure, conflict, or injury — and body and psyche remembered it as a dangerous situation.

The reactive power of the "monkey brain"

The method sees the root in a person living on "reactions alone" — in the reactive grip of the ancient, animal brain. The ostrich buries its head in the sand and ignores everything — but, as the doctor says, "they'll come anyway." Avoidance (not going out, not being among people) feeds the phobia rather than healing it.

"You don't need to change or break them — together, call it what you like, you need to manifest."

Conflict and power as nature, not as the enemy

Agoraphobia often feeds on the expectation of a hostile environment: people, bosses, crowds. The method suggests treating this as a natural phenomenon — the way Japan treats earthquakes: professionally, without panic. Conflict is "embedded in the genome," it can't be removed from life — but you can prepare for it, and then "it won't shake you."

The same with the environment and power: they must be assessed "like nature." Somewhere the climate is harsher, somewhere milder — and the task is not to fight blindly, but first to see where you are and who you are with.

What changes everything

The doctor stresses: the outer world "fussing like ants" doesn't change on its own. Change happens only when a person becomes aware of their state and improves it, moving "into another gradation." Then the old frightening situation stops shaking you.

Practice: see, don't label

1. Replace the label with a question. Instead of "I have agoraphobia," ask: what exactly is glitching, in which situation, what does my body feel.
2. Find the "soldering iron." Recall where there was a real experience of pressure or conflict, after which the place/situation became dangerous.
3. Stop the flood. Step aside somewhere ("in the toilet or wherever"), gather yourself to get out of the overwhelming state and regain your footing.
4. Treat the environment as nature. Assess without panic: where you are, who you are with, what kind of "weather" this is — and whether you can prepare, as for an earthquake.
5. Don't hide like an ostrich. Avoidance doesn't remove fear. The goal is to calmly manifest, not to break or fight blindly.