Agrophobia - Its stealing my life and others

Hi All,
Well I dont know where to begin. I have agrophobia which has caused me to be housebound now for the past year. I have tried hypnotherapy, councilling and reiki but none of it has really helped. I am just finding that I am constantly scared of so many things, I worry when washing my hair to the point that I have to have someone in the bathroom with me and immediatly after I rush to the hairdryer to get it dry as quickly as possible. I find I cannot be in the house alone, I do not like being in the house if someone that is not a car driver is there in this instance my dad and my brother, so I panic and count down the hours until there home. I am therefore finding that I am restricting the life of my parents and my fiance. I find that I can walk within 5 mins from the house but the journey home makes me feel more fearful than the journey out. I find I cannot travel in the car, every little thing plays on my mind. I am fearful of food, I only eat the same foods and if they are easy to swollow which has caused a dramatic weight loss. If a car driver is not in the house then I cannot eat or drink, I constantly think about how far away my friends and family are in relation to me. If anyone goes away then I panic as I think "well, what if something happens". I am just living in a constant fear that I just cannot find a way out from. I am due to get married in September this year but at this rate I will not be able to get my dress let alone get to the church and enjoy the day. I really dont know what to do. I have high debts and a low wage, I am now back living with my parents and I now have to work from home as I cannot make it into work.I feel that everyday is a struggle and not a day has gone by without me shedding tears. Does anyone here have any suggestins as to what I can do. I have tried my doctor who prescribed me tablets but I cannot take them as I fear something happening and a fear of not being in control He referred me to a specialist but I just could not get to the surgery. I have no idea what to do now but my fiance and my wedding day are just spurring me on and giving me the hope that I can get through this. If any one has any advice, I would love to hear from you and please let me know if anyone has experienced any of the problems that I have as I am feeling so isolated an I have no one to turn to as my friends and family have there own life and own troubles that I do not want to inflict mine on them and I really do not feel that they would truly understand. I am running out of options, so please get in contact, I would love to hear from you!
Thank you for the time you have taken to read my panic story.
Take Care
Donna[:X]

Hi Donna,

Welcome to the forum, you will get a lot of good advice here and make some new friends.

Try to deal with each problem seperately, and take small steps to resolve each one.

Do try to go to therapy as this really can help, I did a CBT course and it really turned my life about, and put me on the road to recovery.

Take care

Trac XX





'Live your life with arms wide open, today is where your book begins, the rest is still unwritten'

i can relate to almost everything you said,donna. I am housebound myself, but last year i was housebound and experienceing the same pain and fear you are. Its not easy. The hair drying thing, ive done similar, mine was shampoo,had to get it off quickly, but i feared putting my head under for a second incase when i came up,things had changed.
Ive also done the food thing, wont eat anything new, i think that was the fear that it might now agree with me and make me ill or i might have an illergic {cant spell!} reaction and i'd have to go to hospital.
And when my dad sed to go to wor i was a wreck from the moment he left up till when he returned.Although i know i wouldnt leave the house, i liked to know that there was an 'emergancy' vehical there to help me if i needed it. I also felt the same if he had been drinking,cos i knew he couldnt drive.im actually sat here smiling cos i cant believe how far ive come! Your going to be doing the same soon! We dont actually have a family car at the moment! so im sat here knowing we have no vehical!
Im sure lots of people have told you to think positive,and its not something you really want to hear, but you really do have to.believe you can beat it and believe you will see better days, because you really will.
Repeat positive things in your head everyday!
Also think about investing in claire weekes essential help for your nerves book.
Hope ive helped and Take care
Becci x

maybe try an online cbt course first,to get a taste? i cant do link's so just paste it! http://www.paniccenter.net/

A big welcome to the site Donna:)

Like Trac says maybe try and deal with each worry seperately.

I would write down on paper the main ones, then do an answer or possible ways of dealing with the problem. Try and imagine how you would be answering if you were advising someone else with the same problem.

From this exercise you could then work out an action plan of which thing you would like to tackle first and start to tackle it in a small way.

Not going out on my own is my big hangup too - I can get out and about reasonably if I have company - so obviously mine is to tackle this.

Live in the present day as much as you can too - no leaping off to far into the future and no looking back.

Piglet xx

"Supposing a tree fell down, Pooh, when we were underneath it?" said Piglet.
"Supposing it didn't," said Pooh after careful thought.

Hi there, When i was at my worst about 4 years ago and housebound the doctor referred me to the psyciatric nurse, She visited me every day at home, and really helped me get my life back. She even took me out, small steps at a time. She referred me to an occupational therapist who also visited me at home, and set me 'homework'. Once i was able to actually go out, i visited the counsellor at the surgery. Try asking your gp about these services- my mum actually phoned for me because i was too scared! Let me know how you get on,

Love India xxx

Hi Donna I can relate to what you are saying I too have had all these symptoms and yes it’s horrible. I have had agoraphobia on and off for as far back as I can remember and like you I have tried everything. What I have found though is it does go by itself without you even realising and promise it will go away. I took a real bad spell about 2 years ago after stopping 40 years heavy and daily drinking to cope with it all. I have now found the best way for me to fight it off is really try hard not to avoid things and do try to go out even just to the garden, My main cure seems to be KEEP busy, no matter how ill and tired I feel I just get up and do something and found now this does work and I even get a lift from doing something useful which I didn’t think possible when in your state. Hope you find a way out and get to feel better, It is slow and hard work but you can and will get better. We also have a chat room if you ever fancy a chat or just go in and watch, you will be made very welcome. All the best for now. Vernon

hi,

i was just wondering if you are on any meds

thanx,

brad.

Hi Brad,
No I am not taking anything, well not yet anyways. I have had some great advice though on some herbal remedys and feel this is the way forward.
Donna