Agoraphobia & Social Anxiety Support Group
Agoraphobia is an anxiety disorder, often precipitated by the fear of having a panic attack in a setting from which there is no easy means of escape. As a result, sufferers of agoraphobia may avoid public and/or unfamiliar places. In severe cases, the sufferer may become confined to their home, experiencing difficulty traveling from this "safe place."
I just found this group......
I know newbies...what a pain in the arse we are!!
I recently had agoraphobia added to my diagnosis of anxiety GAD...now it is not 100% agoraphobia because I do work with the public parttime. Which I HATE HATE HATE
but the problem is when I'm off I avoid going anywhere as much as I can. I stay home and only go out to get kids to and from school.
When I do have to go shopping I completely flip out. I play stupid mind games and drive around going back and forth should I or should I not.
The last several times I had to go get grocerie....so my kids and I could eat, I had to drive around. Finally, I parked my car at the store, sat in my car and smoked 2 cigarettes and drank my coffee waiting for my ativan to "hopefully" kick in.
By the time I am near leaving the store (after shopping) I am in a full blown panic attack ready to literally attack and kill someone and the last two times I threw up after leaving.
How do you guys deal with this? It is not getting better it is getting worse.
My pdoc wants me to stop working. Working has made my depression and anxiety worse and made the agoraphopia much worse. But I keep forcing myself to work.
I know newbies...what a pain in the arse we are!!
I recently had agoraphobia added to my diagnosis of anxiety GAD...now it is not 100% agoraphobia because I do work with the public parttime. Which I HATE HATE HATE
but the problem is when I'm off I avoid going anywhere as much as I can. I stay home and only go out to get kids to and from school.
When I do have to go shopping I completely flip out. I play stupid mind games and drive around going back and forth should I or should I not.
The last several times I had to go get grocerie....so my kids and I could eat, I had to drive around. Finally, I parked my car at the store, sat in my car and smoked 2 cigarettes and drank my coffee waiting for my ativan to "hopefully" kick in.
By the time I am near leaving the store (after shopping) I am in a full blown panic attack ready to literally attack and kill someone and the last two times I threw up after leaving.
How do you guys deal with this? It is not getting better it is getting worse.
My pdoc wants me to stop working. Working has made my depression and anxiety worse and made the agoraphopia much worse. But I keep forcing myself to work.
I've finally started seeing a therapist but it is too soon to tell if it is going to work. I'm still working 2 or 3 days a week but I recently went 9 days withour even opening my front door. I have to go to work in 90 minutes and my heart is starting to race at the thought.
I'm struggling with whether it might be time to go on disability. I'm afraid that if I do, then I will just give up though.
I'm bipolar too, so with that combination at least I have some good days occasionally.
Do you see a therapist? If not, try to find one that is knowledgable about social anxiety disorders.
these groups are made for people to help each other out, so you're not just welcome to be new here, we need you. we can't help each other if we don't share ideas and experiences, so feel free to post anytime. there's sure to be someone who can relate.
really, as far as my agoraphobia...i just got sick of dealing with the outside world mostly, and it doesn't bother me as much as it used to that i stay inside so much. besides, i lost my license and can't drive anywhere anyway...so there's really nowhere to go.
i recommend that you see a doctor and try to get some medication prescribed. you need a benzodiazepine like valium or xanax to stop a panic attack. the doctor should start you on a lose dose to see what will work for you. he/she might try putting you on a lose dose 3x a day, but i don't think that's a good long-term solution because you will build tolerance to that dose and need more to get the same effect. so, taking doses only when you need them is best in my opinion. sometimes just carrying a pill around with you can be comfort and security enough to keep you calm, but it doesn't work for everyone.
do not consume any caffeine. it's absolutely a cause of anxiety and can spawn panic attacks. i avoid all caffeine. my doctors recommend it actually. cigarettes i don't know much about. i know people smoke them to calm down or destress, but in the long term, perhaps they make things worse as far as anxiety. i'm not sure. either way, smoking is harmful to your health and should be limited or stopped. it's very hard, though, i hear, so...i'm not being a hard ass on you.
i think that you should at least cut back on your work. traumatizing yourself will only make your conditions worse. exposure therapy only works if you get progressively better and less afraid over time. it sounds like it's just aggravating your conditions.
i hope this improves for you. keep us up to date.
Unfortunately, I've hit a bump in the road with my b/f leaving a note a couple of days ago saying he can't handle mine and his depression anymore. THis has sent me into a real tailspin of more depression/anxiety and not wanting to leave my house.
I am on meds for depression and anxiety. My regular pdoc who I saw today has switched me to a newer pdoc who I saw on Tuesday who is an anxiety specialist.
The smoking has no effect on my anxiety because I only started smoking a couple of months ago while I was well into months of severe anxiety.
They told coffee was fine but limited, if I drink more than 2 to 3 cups to drink decaff.
I also feel that caffiene is limited in the anxiety and panic area. Because when I was younger and suffered from severe anxiety and panic attack episodes I never had any caffeine.
I think a lot of this has started with my age and everything flooding all at once and I haven't been able to get sorted out and back on track. My pdoc was elated to sign the note, because he was annoyed that I started working back in June against his wishes. It was like...finally she is listening and doing what we've been telling her to do. So that was really nice to be validated like that.
Thank you everyone for all the great advice!!