Worsening agoraphobia, please help

[Catriona]

Hey guys, I have been suffering depression and anxiety problems for years but this particular occasion is easily the worst. I have recently been put onto Fluoxetine, and in a few weeks I am to add in Bupropion (Zyban) but I have no faith in it. I have no faith in anything. I am currently attending a psychiatric day hospital but it is coming to an end, and in any case I can only go because my mum takes me. I am doing everything the nurses tell me to combat my increased agoraphobia but nothing works. I have made my own CBT worksheets to go through, I practice belly breathing and I have tried exposure therapy but every time it is just getting increasingly difficult and I am more reluctant. Do any of you have any advice? I'm doing my best, but it just seems to not be enough and I am close to giving up completely.

[wabbit1]

I'm afraid I've never been in your situation, I can understand how you can feel. I'm afraid I have no advice but just wanted to say to you to hang in there.

[courierdude]

if this is the worst experience for you now, on meds, how do you compare things before with them?

im not a fan of drugs and think that they often cause more confusion than any benefit is worth. in a lot of cases they can just be plain detrimental to certain conditions or people.

[Catriona]

I have only just started the medication, started on Monday, so it probably won't have had time to work yet. I just feel completely desperate and alone with all of this. My family say I need to stop avoiding things but they just don't understand. I just don't feel able to face things, certainly not while my medication is doing the whole "worse before you get better" thing. I know I will need to face things, but at the moment I just don't feel able.

[MyNameIsTerry]

Perhaps wait until you exit the side effects windrow. Right now you could be feeling worse due to that and what you can't achieve right now is not a good indicator of what y can at a later point. So, don't be to hard on yourself right now because this will pass and you can then start on your recovery.

CBT is good in that it will act by giving you ways to create a structure but I find it lacks in its ability to reduce anxiety on the spot. So, using other techniques aimed at this can help.

Have you tried Mindfulness? It's a relaxation technique given it works with your breathing and sensations but if teaches you to see your thoughts as an observer and you react less. This could help you practice this way wroth the thoughts sensations when in exposure or leading up to it which is where CBT fails other than to use self talk and affirmations which don't work for all of us.

It's also NICE approved for re occurrent depression.

[Catriona]

Dear Terry, thank you for your kind reply. As part of the day hospital course that I am on, Mindfulness plays a part. We have been given a lot of information away about it, and I recently read the book that the course is based on. I also keep a journal and try to write down the good things that happen day-to-day. I find it quite difficult to engage with mindfulness at the moment, but I do try as much as I can. I find talking about my problems helpful (which is why I posted on this) but I also know that that can lead to going round in circles, which obviously just reaffirms the negative thoughts. Fluoxetine has worked for me before, for roughly 6 years, before it petered out. Since then, I have tried a whole host of different medications and I recently underwent ECT. The doctor told me that this has reset the chemical receptors in my brain so hopefully it will respond to the fluoxetine like it did before. I think I'm just going to have to sit it out and keep my fingers-crossed.

[MyNameIsTerry]

Yes, talking about problems is useful but you have to recognise when it becomes a need which is when it becomes a negative as it keeps the cycle going. That does depend on the anxiety disorder, I believe, eg someone with HA may use it to reassurance seek and the same with Pure OCD forms.

Give the Mindfulness time. It took me several weeks to even find it relaxing and it was months before it was helping me much. When after 6 and 9 months I was noticing single changes in attitude that I did nothing to work towards other than this.

Is It MBCT that it is based upon?

[Catriona]

The course is based on several books, I believe, but predominantly "Mindfulness: A practical guide to finding peace in a frantic world" by Mark Williams and Danny Penman. A lot of it is also from Kabat-Zinn too. As far as what [I]type[I]of Mindfulness it is, I think it comes from a variety of different things, ranging from mindfulness breathing, mindful activity and mindful meditation. I find a lot of it is very similar to CBT, but as you know, when you have been thinking negatively and obsessing over the future and the past, it is a lot easier said than done. I will definitely persevere with it, and hopefully it will produce results.

[MyNameIsTerry]

That's it, Mark Williams is the Co creator of MBCT which is based on Jon Kabat-Zinn's MBSR.

What do you think of the book? I've been reading it along with others I've noticed on here and I've found it very good. The exercises are all pretty easy to.

[Greenman298]

Hi Catriona,
Im in a similar situation to you with the agoraphobia. Hang on in there my friend :)

[Catriona]

Thank you to everyone for your kind words. I'm feeling a little better and hopefully that will continue

[seti70]

I have agoraphobia and all I can say to you is hang on in there, keep with CBT and mindfulness. It does get easier as long as you don't let IT control you. Still takes me professional support to go out there but I can manage to get past the front door even if I do panic. Tell yourself you are worth it and as I previously said Don't let IT win. Even a small step will be a major achievement. My thoughts are with you!