Hey everyone... Im agoraphobic right now and i have no idea how to get myself out. I'm barely on session two on the program. And i just dont got any motivation in working on it. I really do want my old life back. I have been going thru this already for the past year and i hate it. I was homebounded last year during summer but then got over it in September and now Im back homebounded since March. What do you guys do? Is there any medication that can help me thru this? I'm actaully afraid of meds but then i really want to get over this. I can only go 3 minutes away from home which is to Walmart.. But then i hardly even do that, I usualy have my hubby or my mom go grocerys for me. It sucks though cuz i have 2 kids a 5 year old and 2 year old and i really wish i can just enjoy my life with them but instead im stuck at home because of my anxiety symtoms. The last time i tried going a little bit further from home was in the end of March and i was trying to go to see my therapist who is 20 minutes away from home. I felt fine a little bit but then the further i got i started freaken out and i started crying, I told my hubby to just turn the car around cuz i cant do it. Now i feel like i got worst since then, i can go outside my house and around my neighborhood but thats not that great. I live in a small town so everythings is really far from me, like hospitals, malls, and therapist office and all. The only thing near me is a Walmart, Riteaid, SaveMart, Blockbuster, Hollywood video, Payless shoes, a 99 cent store, and a few fast food resteraunts. I hate living like this. Last summer when i was homebounded i seriously thought i was fearing summer or something, like maybe how hot it gets i was affraid i might get dehydrated. But then i got over that and started going out again in September till March. Last year was when i started feeling this anxiety and had my first panic attack... I bet i always had anxiety all my life cuz i know i had a lot of worrys back then but it was never like this. This is all new to me and i dont, i mean i seriously dont know how to take it... I usualy feel like im just dreaming... seriously like im just stuck in a dream....
Could some one help me.... if ur did or are struggling with Agoraphobia how did or do u deal with it??????
feeling all the anxious feelings when i do try to go out is so yucky.... my heart starts pounding, i start sweating and getting very hot, and then i get crying spells... and all of a sudden i feel like just jumpen out of the car wanting to run around and scream.....sometimes i get this weird feeling in my stomach and i feel nausea and fatigue. then my arms start feeling numb {one time i was holding a prayer book and reading it while i was on the road and all of a sudden my arms got so numb i cudnt even hold the book up}.....
I guess u can say longs i experienced all that before.... i fear of feeling it again...
I try and try to follow what Lucinda says about just dealing with it and accept it but for some reason that still doesnt work for me...
I have tried Journaling, thinking positive, self talking and its just not quit working.....
What should i do now...?????????????????
Agoraphobic...struggling.... and need answers
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Guest
You sound so scared. That's what anxiety is all about - fear. You are creating your body symptoms with your fear of your fear. I didn't reach the point of agoraphobia, probably because I found the program when my anxiety started to get really bad. I totally understand all of your body symptoms - I felt the same way. I would be eating with my family at a restaurant and suddenly feel like I had to get out and sit in the car. Then, when I was in the car, I would freak out because I was alone and felt like I could run around the building 50 times.
The one thing that helped me immediately was the relaxation CD. I started out doing that twice a day, once in the morning when I got up and once at night just before going to bed. Sometimes I would fall asleep at night with my headphones on listening to Lucinda on the relaxation CD. Then, I added doing yoga for relaxation to my routine. The Attacking Anxiety & Depression program was the one thing that helped me the most. If you really want to get better, follow the program exactly and you should start to feel better very soon. You can do it. You must believe you can do it!
The one thing that helped me immediately was the relaxation CD. I started out doing that twice a day, once in the morning when I got up and once at night just before going to bed. Sometimes I would fall asleep at night with my headphones on listening to Lucinda on the relaxation CD. Then, I added doing yoga for relaxation to my routine. The Attacking Anxiety & Depression program was the one thing that helped me the most. If you really want to get better, follow the program exactly and you should start to feel better very soon. You can do it. You must believe you can do it!
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Guest
Good Morning, My name is Zarina, I live in Tottenham, just north of Toronto, Canada. I am so sorry you are going through this, I also have Agoraphobia, but not as bad a you have it, I try every day to do something out side, or go for a walk, my legs feel like rubber & my heart pounds, my hands sweat,but I just keep saying "I can do this, I have to keep walking "I don't go very far just one road around my house, If I am in the Mall, I can only stay about 2hrs. then have to go & sit in the car, till my hubby finishes his visit with his friends, but each time it is geting better. I am on the forth week of the program, & love it, I try to self talk, when I feel bad, when I am out. It seems 
to work for me.I have a long way to go but I know if I keep trying,I'll be back to my old self, I am learning not to beat myself up when I can't do something.& if I even do a little thing I pat myself on the back. You will be in my thoughts today, & I will pray for you, that God will give you the power to keep trying, & be happy again, May the Holy Spirit fill you with power & joy, & let your spirit know You Can Do It. Have a Great day. Zarina
to work for me.I have a long way to go but I know if I keep trying,I'll be back to my old self, I am learning not to beat myself up when I can't do something.& if I even do a little thing I pat myself on the back. You will be in my thoughts today, & I will pray for you, that God will give you the power to keep trying, & be happy again, May the Holy Spirit fill you with power & joy, & let your spirit know You Can Do It. Have a Great day. Zarina-
Guest
You remind me a bit of myself actually. I, too, have suffered on & off again with agoraphobia. What I hear from you is two voices: One saying "I want to go out & enjoy the summer with my family; the other saying "Ohmigosh, what if I leave my home and suffer a panic attack?" It's like having an angel on one shoulder and the devil on the other shoulder.
What has helped me a lot lately is to see that the little devilish voice telling me to avoid & be afraid is more due to my negatively conditioned mindset. I got myself into this fearful state due to the lies I learned to tell myself. The more I fight with that negative voice, analyze the content of it and try to overcome it on its own terms the more entangled and confused I got.
The trick I've been learning is to not fight it but let the negative conditioned voices tell me what they will. This is not laying down and letting it run me over- this is more about seeing it for what it is: thought patterns- just thought! And along with that I realized I had been using this as a 'shield' of sorts- a shield for me to avoid life. I wanted to hang onto to my conditioned self-lies as a way to avoid deeper issues bothering me related to self-esteem, etc.
What's been awesome about allowing my fearful, insecure false-self have its way is that it has been a way for me to clear my mind and see a separation between the real "me" and this false set of thought patterns I've been so addicted to. So, instead of trying to fix my 'problems' on the same level of thought that created them in the first place I am seeing this from a higher level. This perspective has allowed me clarity and the ability to listen to that little angelic voice a lot more.
And the results from this have been great for me. Yesterday I did the following: Went to church, went out to Kohls to shop, went to Costco (back of store), ate out at lunch and took a drive 20 miles out of town. Many of these things I haven't done in over 4 months.
I still struggle with this because our conditioning is strong. But, I realized that I must take full responsibility for my lot in life and start simply moving toward the kind of person I want to become. The little devil voice can say whatever it wants to & burn itself out. I'll allow it & notice it but focus my thinking on more productive avenues. I hope this has helped you.
What has helped me a lot lately is to see that the little devilish voice telling me to avoid & be afraid is more due to my negatively conditioned mindset. I got myself into this fearful state due to the lies I learned to tell myself. The more I fight with that negative voice, analyze the content of it and try to overcome it on its own terms the more entangled and confused I got.
The trick I've been learning is to not fight it but let the negative conditioned voices tell me what they will. This is not laying down and letting it run me over- this is more about seeing it for what it is: thought patterns- just thought! And along with that I realized I had been using this as a 'shield' of sorts- a shield for me to avoid life. I wanted to hang onto to my conditioned self-lies as a way to avoid deeper issues bothering me related to self-esteem, etc.
What's been awesome about allowing my fearful, insecure false-self have its way is that it has been a way for me to clear my mind and see a separation between the real "me" and this false set of thought patterns I've been so addicted to. So, instead of trying to fix my 'problems' on the same level of thought that created them in the first place I am seeing this from a higher level. This perspective has allowed me clarity and the ability to listen to that little angelic voice a lot more.
And the results from this have been great for me. Yesterday I did the following: Went to church, went out to Kohls to shop, went to Costco (back of store), ate out at lunch and took a drive 20 miles out of town. Many of these things I haven't done in over 4 months.
I still struggle with this because our conditioning is strong. But, I realized that I must take full responsibility for my lot in life and start simply moving toward the kind of person I want to become. The little devil voice can say whatever it wants to & burn itself out. I'll allow it & notice it but focus my thinking on more productive avenues. I hope this has helped you.
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rose_thorn98
- Posts: 173
- Joined: Thu Nov 09, 2006 6:26 pm
Thank you all for your replys. i appreciate it. All comments and help is actually maken me feel much better. And just hearing u guys that have gone or going thru it is kind of giving me a peace of mine. kinda reminding me much more that im not alone in this... Thank you all
~The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.
Martin Luther King, Jr~
Martin Luther King, Jr~