Stress Center Peer Support

Hi there. I have recently bought the program and am trying to get the most out of it. Too early to tell if it will be a great benefit for me.
Anyway... I am a 50 year old woman who has been suffering from agoraphobia for years. Actually I have had extreme panic attacks since my mid teens and have always suffered from anxiety and depression in one form or another and about 10 yrs. ago is when I had aquired the agoraphobia. Anyway.. I have been on about every medication known to man including cymbalta which is one med that I am taking now with no relief from my condition (s). I am suffering so badly and so are my loved ones. Lost my husband about 6 mos. ago as he left me for my poor mental health. He wanted more in his life than running around on errands for me and my condition has been so extreme that the sex even stopped years ago. He found another woman and I am feeling even worse.
Now I am living alone with my folks living about 15 mi. from me and my mother is running my errands and doing things for me. My condition is presently chronic. I am always anxious and don't know how to get relief. The depression is chronic as well.
Please let me know if you could offer me some advise. I would appreciate anything. Thank you for your time. CS

Hi Carolyn, I am also 50, I've had anxiety for many years and in the last 12 yrs or so agoraphobia has been building. I'm not house-bound but very close to it. I have to work hard to keep going. My phobia is territorial. I have boundries, I realize that they are imaginary and I'm forced to keep pushing them to keep what life I have. My job is the main reason I have to keep trying. I am getting better now, since starting this program and reading some good books. I suggest "The Panic & Agoraphobia Wookbook" It's hard to grow out of this, but what choice do we have? Feel free to message me and we'll chat. Best Wishes, Gil

Hi there: I am 45 and have had agoraphopia for years also. I have to go out to go to work or the doctors etc, and I will go places, like a party or whatever if I have to, but for the most part I sit in the house and watch tv. I don't have energy most of the time even to clean. I was so depressed that I did not care about most things anymore. I got the program and I am going very slowly with it, but keep telling myself it is okay. I feel better than I did, but have a very long way to go. But the main thing is the hope that things can get better. My biggest problem is just stepping out the door. I don't know if I am afraid of anything, I just don't seem to need or want to go anywhere. I took a walk last week with my grandchildren and noticed my stomach clenching and like I needed to go back home. I played over in my mind what I was supposed to do when that happened and it actually worked. It was a January thaw, and it has since been freezing again so I didn't do that again. It took a lot to get me to actually do it, but I started to think of the alternative. I don't want to live like this anymore. I am tired of the depression. "When the going gets tough the tough get going." I kept thinking about that. I works sometimes. Other times it doesn't, but I am not beating myself up as much anymore. I am trying to stay in the precious present moments. Today I actually joined a gym with a co-worker. I have to take it one day at a time. Just for today I will work on this program. Just for today I will eat right. Just for today I will exercise. I will pray.
So just keep trying. That is all you can do, and one day you will feel much better. I promise you will. I promise I will. Good luck to both of you, Carolyn and Gil. I would love to hear from both of you and hear how you are doing. I don't get support from home as nobody can understand what I am going through and sometimes even though I know they love me I don't think they want to know about it.
People like you help though. I will say a prayer. Please pray for me also.
Thanks for listening.
HOPEFULL