Living with Agoraphobia

[Sara95x]

Hey all.
so i have been up all night, and pretty much have no routine right now, i know this is the worst thing for anxiety ect, but finding it so hard to push myself to get motivated for a strict routine and doing productive things! im sure we all have those times though. Ive been feeling more depressed than ever i am overtired at all times and just want to sleep 24/7 and extremely lonely, like i literally have one friend who i hardly ever see. i live about 40 minutes away from any family who don't like to make the drive apart from my father once a week. i find it so hard to admit this! anyone else in the same position ?

[sandie]

Sara - I have terrific empathy with you as this is how I feel for so much of the time. When anxiety is this bad the need to be productive is over-ridden by absolute and total lack of motivation.

Like you, I am on my own - my husband works away and I have not seen him since September. He will be home on 12th December - so a total of 3 months apart. My adult son lives about 90 minutes away, and my two real friends are around 45 minutes away.

I have had a very difficult year - and am now on Mirtazapine as well as diazapam. Like you I function on very little sleep (I managed just over 4 hours last night - and feel exhausted today). I do have a 91 year old mother in law living next door and I have to function to some degree in order to help her with shopping etc. I also have a dog and he needs exercise, but at the moment I am struggling to provide him with the quality exercise he needs.

It's not easy Sara - and I have no answers or solutions. BUT, perhaps it is a case of just coping with one thing at a time. Ie, go to bed and even if you ar not sleeping, try reading and staying in bed until a specific time.

Once that specific time arrives, get out of bed and tell yourself that for the next 5 minutes your only task will be to make yourself a cup of tea/coffee. Once you have drunk the tea, then tackle one more task, ie, getting washed and dressed. Don't make a plan or schedule - just one thing at a time. Once you have aired your bed make sure that at some time during the day you actually tidy / make the bed so that when you do go back to bed it 'feels fresh'

Perhaps you can ask your father when he visits to encourage you to do one task - something specific ?

You don't mention if you are on meds or seeing a GP or therapist ? Is there anyone else in the house - do you have to think about a partner or children ?

[MargaretHale]

I hear you, lost all my friends due to Ag. and Anx. and now feel very alone. Just wanted to say hi and you're not alone.

x

[emily67]

Hey all.
so i have been up all night, and pretty much have no routine right now, i know this is the worst thing for anxiety ect, but finding it so hard to push myself to get motivated for a strict routine and doing productive things! im sure we all have those times though. Ive been feeling more depressed than ever i am overtired at all times and just want to sleep 24/7 and extremely lonely, like i literally have one friend who i hardly ever see. i live about 40 minutes away from any family who don't like to make the drive apart from my father once a week. i find it so hard to admit this! anyone else in the same position ?



yep!. the sleep thing for sure is certainly an issue, what wouldn't i give to sleep for.. what, an hour?

litirally finding things to do with yourself at 2/ 3 in the morning is so difficult, i usually end up reading something (usually a really boring book, but it does get me through the night)

i've lived with agoraphobia most of my life, and i hate thinking about all the experiences i've missed. i can't leave the house at all, just the thought of it freaks me out (i can watch a dvd of a concert, or a nature programme, and boom!). it's set me off- i have to be so careful with what i watch.

as for the family, i have family, but they refuse to have any part in my life... we've not spoken in years.

x

---------- Post added at 16:30 ---------- Previous post was at 16:29 ----------

as for the lonelyness aspect, i can't bear being around anyone- so the onelyness does not even bother me