Hi everyone,

I am SO glad I found this forum! I've been looking for a place to get and give support to/from those with anxiety and panic disorders for a long time. So many of them are inactive with little traffic. This one looks like people are are engaged and responsive, which is great! I plan to be an active member, helping others whenever I can.

I have been struggling with travel anxiety for the past 15 years. It wasn't always this way; I used to enjoy travel and did it occasionally. Now, I am wrecked with panic when I have to go anywhere far and I just learned this is a manifestation of agoraphobia. Now, I don't have trouble leaving the house or living my usual life -- running errands, doing day trips, etc. But I really don't like overnight trips anywhere, and the further away, the more likely I am to FREAK OUT.

I'm not really afraid of flying, per se. It's more just being away from home, out of my comfort zone. I don't know why this is scary to me. Most people cannot wait to take vacations and get away. But for me, vacations by plane create intense anxiety for days -- even weeks -- before I even leave. I have difficulty breathing, nausea/stomach and GI issues, a feeling of doom and wanting to back out (panic), and I feel like I'm just not focused. I seriously OBSESS about trips and my physical symptoms only get worse.

Next week, my family and I are flying to Orlando, Fla. to take our daughter to Disney and I cannot tell you how terrified I am of this trip. I've been in tears twice already in anticipation, and I had a panic attack yesterday. I took 1/4 of a Xanax yesterday and it did very little. If anything, taking it made me panic (I am afraid to take meds, too!). So now I'm wondering where this leaves me, although I may not have taken enough.

This is a week out -- what will happen to me at the airport??!! I seriously need help. I've downloaded some anxiety/panic apps on my phone so I can listen to them on the plane. But I also wanted to reach out to folks here on this forum for help. Does anyone else experience this? I'll post this on the agoraphobia section, too, but I wanted to introduce myself here as well.

Thank you all for reading this far. I look forward to getting to know you. Let's help each other! :-)