seriously NEED agoraphobia HELP!

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jamie007

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well i've been down the road with the SSRI's and i dont want to do that anymore. last may for some reason i develeoped anxiety attacks which then in turn turned into agoraphobia, anyone with agoraphobia knows what i'm talking about so i wont go into it.

I can go pretty muc any where with my hubby and sometimes my daughter but to go alone to the store(s) or picking kiRAB up from school (my husband does it now), i just cant seem to do it unless an extreme emergency comes up to have to do it.

I dont know what else to do now. i surely cannot live the rest of my life hiding under my husbanRAB wing, this is not fair to him nor me nor my family when they need me and i am not available due to the anxiety it brings on..

so has anyone had any success with anything other then SSRI's? i do take valium as needed and i have been trying paxil at 2.5 mgs and each day i have needed a valium 2 mgs to get through the morning from lack of sleep that increases my anxiety level tremendously..

i dont know what else to do..i've already lost my job and my husband took over everything pretty much so i dont need to even leave my house but i want my own life back! i want to pick up the kiRAB from school, i want to work again, i want to go shopping! i want to walk out my door and get in my car with out first having to analzye how i feel, do i have valium with me, do i have something to eat with me, my cell phone, etc...i never had to do this before, before i would pick up my purse, keys and phone and waltz right out the door, go to work, store, kiRAB events, what ever i needed or wanted to do...can i ever get that back! :mad:
 
I am not aware of any medication that specifically helps. Anxiety medications like the Valium you are taking can help calm the fears, anxiety and panic.

Unfortunately, you are the one who has to work a getting out, I know, not easy :(

What I found helpful...Music. I would take my protable CD player/ipod with me into the stores. In this way I was able to focus on the music and not where I was or the people around me. If music isn't your thing then you could try listening to books on your ipod or cd player.

Baby steps...
 
I have the same problem. It's extremely difficult getting out of the house without anyone to accompany me. It's like i need some sort of protection in case anything happens so having someone around me makes the effort easier.

But i knew i couldnt do this forever. Knew i couldnt be dependent on others forever. I try going out alone during non peak hours. Sort of ease my way into going out slowly. I try walking around malls when there's not many people around, so i usually go out in the early mornings when the stores are just opening and there are less cars on the road.

I am training myself slowly in hopes that in future, i can go out at any time of the day alone, whether or not there's a lot of people around me. I guess I'm afraid of being around too many people and bumping into people that I know. That's my anxiety.

I guess like what Jamie007 said, baby steps. Accept the fact that you have anxiety, erabrace it, and just venture forth. Easier said than done but I think it's the only way, you need to expose yourself bit by bit till the fear goes away. Till you are desensitized. I hope this helps. I wish there was a quick fix to things, but there isn't. It takes time and effort. All the best.
 
When I was 21 I went through a bad phase - I guess sort of a nervous breakdown- and I went from being an outgoing and confident person to one who could no longer leave the house. I had panic attacks just thinking of going anywhere. Working was out of the question. My doc tried Zoloft but I had a really bad reaction to that. I took Buspar for a while, which did help, and Xanax for acute symptoms. But what probably helped me the most was that I went to a psychologist for a while for therapy, and then followed that up with hypnosis sessions with a profession hypnotist. I haven't had any problems since then, except for anxiety when I fly (been that way since 9/11).
 
2.5mg of paxil is a sub theraputic dose - to get any effect, you need 20mg per day minimum, and in agrophobia, 40mg is often the norm.

I would suggest slowly raising the dose until you find releif.

For accute anxiety, Valium is good, Xanax is better
 
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