Does anyone else here suffer from agoraphobia? I was recently diagnosed with it and am really struggling with my daily life.
Thatās not leave the house, right?
you have to learn some way to fight itā¦I used to just take little wallks to acclimate to going outsideā¦you might try that.?
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I suffer from
I suffered from Agoraphobia since I was a teen really - It is common with panic disorder, which I also have.
I am doing a bit better with it, but still have trouble going places by myself
I suffer from it. As I have gotten older it has often worse.
Had it gawdawful every time Iād crash after a long hypomanic run into screeching yellow zonkers āgeneral anxiety disorder with psychotic featuresā (so they called it for a while; it turned out to be ācomplex PTSDā).
I went through the usual āexposure therapyā designed by Edna Foa in the '70s. It didnāt work at all because I was too anxious to tolerate the exposure, of course. Cognitive behavioral therapy helped here and there, but not when I was ādown in the hole.ā
The PTSD itself had to be dealt with, and what finally worked (besides a small, daily dose of Seroquel quetiapine) was grinding my way through 1) Albert Ellisās books on Rational-Emotive Behavioral Therapy, and 2) several mindfulness-based cognitive therapy workbooks, all or most of which were published by an outfit called New Harbinger in Oakland, CA.
Iāve now done several ACT. DBT, MBCT, MBBT and MBSR workbooks, and I not only havenāt had any Ag, I havenāt had very much anxiety, mania or depression, either (compared to what it was like Back In The Day) (yuck).
Iāve had agoraphobia for over forty years. It doesnāt bother me as much now. I still spend little time in public, but Iām not as worried about it. Iāve learned to enjoy my solitude. I realize it can be painful to feel like life is passing you by, especially when youāre young. Iāve learned to enjoy the simple pleasures.
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I think agoraphobia can be more than not leaving the house, although someone stuck indoors is the typical Hollywood/tv version. In milder cases people can go out of their house/flat but have safe zones outside they are restricted to unless accompanied by someone else. It involves a fear of being trapped and of not being able to escape.
I can get out of the house but am very restricted where Iāll go on my own due to poor sense of direction and fear of getting lost and trapped .
It can involve certain buildings/venues. For example I had to have someone come with me to my Richmond fellowship interview because I was uncertain of the layout and was anxious/panicking about getting trapped.
People who are prone to paranoia can often become agoraphobic.
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I have always, I think, suffered from this and put it down to chronic,severe social anxiety and paranoia.
Anything where there are expectations put on me and the chance of being told off/punished for failing to live up to them.
I am not adverse to helping out, if I can, in a non competitive, non pressurised environment but the thought of a competitive environment with demands and expectations scares the ā ā ā ā out of me.
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i think I had it last winter when I had the worst psychological break in 20 yrs.
I left the apartment maybe 4 timeās to take the garbage out.
id put days of garbage in one of those black heavy duty garbage bags and tie it up so it wouldnāt stink the place up then sneak out at 4am to dispose of it.
Iāve had it on/off for the past 5-6 yrs. This current bout is the longest @ 8 months.
Iāve taken to putting rubbish in supermarket carrier bags and shoving it down the chute on my floor rather than taking black bags to the garbage place outside. Very occasionally Iāll fill a black rubbish bag and take it down.
It took me getting a job to get out of that rut
when Iām having an anxiety attackā¦ or Iām agitated and sleep walkingā¦ or when I was having a psychotic breakā¦ I always head outside. Iāve woken up outside.
For meā¦ The walls close inā¦ the furniture gets big and there is very little space for me. Itās too confining.
I think I have claustrophobia instead.
I donāt like open spaces or public places really. I force myself to walk. This one in my complex walks too and has these huge black sunglasses that wrap around the sides to. You cant see her but she can see. Iām wondering if she is onto something with them.
I once had agoraphobia early in my illness. I was afraid to leave home. that was where I was sure of myself. who knows what people I would run across āout thereā? I already had a healthy fear of disturbed people from the hospital, and the size of the ward would leave you breathless. I feared there were more like these people āout thereā. although ive been careful selecting companions they all tell horror stories and I quickly move on, and always come home. even though I lived alone for 13 years I will always come back to where it all startedā¦in my home. that was where I had peace of mind once, though now I live in a psychotic nursing home, the people here are at least friendly