books for agoraphobia?? i know all about panic, need something more

[honeybee]

basically...

i need a book that's gonna help me overcome my agoraphobia...

i have books on panic attacks etc...

i dont need telling about the fight or flight resonse anymore, or what a panic attack actually is, i already know the symptoms and the thought etc etc etc...

ive had it for 3 years and i've gotten to the point where i feel im in a hole, cant see myself enjoying a normal life again and i need something that will help get me out of this hole i feel im in... at the moment its easier to stay agoraphobic for the rest of my life than to get over it... i need something that is more directed at agoraphobia rather that GAD... i need to change...

any recomendations???

[jacq]

HI Honeybee, sorry i can't help you with the book but i know exactly how you feel. I can't imagine any sort of life other than the one that i am enduring at the present but desperately want to have a future, i just don't know how to begin. I have trawled the book shelves at my local library and online but most books only deal with agoraphobia as a small chapter with no practical help, it will be very interesting to see if any other members have had any success. Do you have any help from your doctor or local self help goups?

Jacq x

[honeybee]

hi jacq... i

wont go on meds.... ive had CBT, counsilling, hynotherapy, anxiety management course, homeopathy, reiki, spiritual healing, ummm, the list is endless.... tried loads more too... my boyfriend offered me £100 to go to the garage for him the other night, it would've meant a 2 min walk there and back. he even put the money in my pocket. i wouldnt've taken the money off him but i just couldnt go, i can go out with him fine but not on my own... 3 yaers ago i would've walked 5 miles on my own for someone if they were offering me £100, now i cant even go 300 meters down road... hey ho....

[Alabasterlyn]

Claire Weekes had a book that was just called 'Agoraphobia'. Not sure if it's still in print, but I'm sure they'd have a copy at the library.

[honeybee3939]

Hi Honeybee

I have read the Claire Weekes Agorophobia book and its good read, if you cant get it from the library you can get it from Amazon.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Agoraphobia-Claire-Weekes/dp/0207148767

Love
:hugs:
Andrea
xxxx

[mirry]

Honeybee, know what you mean,,, its hell isnt it.
Today I did the school run ended up in tears on the way back,,,my house seemed too far away for me, couldnt get there quick enough...spent the whole day laying on the sofa totally depressed (what a life).
Its been 6 years for me now and Im gonna ask the doctor for pills....all the cbt hasnt worked, all the reading of books hasnt helped havent given the pills a go but Im gonna. There comes a time when enough is enough and Ive reached that point. A book I am reading at the moment called 10 days to great self esteem, ok I know its not a agrophobia title but it applys to it, it mentions it and explains alot about our thoughts and moods.
Im enjoying it cos it also has self help tests to do .

[honeybee]

thanks for your replies..

ill check out that claire weekes book.... thanks...

and mirry, yeah it is horrible, as much as you find it hard doing the school run i think its prob a good thing that yiou do something you HAVE to do each day cos i do believe the less you have to do the more of a hole you fall into... maybe im wrong, i dunno.... as for the self esteem book... ive read a few and to be honest i never read anything i dont already know... i find them just a waste of money really, thats why im looking for something more specific...

thanks for your replies... keep them coming

[mirry]

yep I knwo what you mean honeybee, my gp said are you reading up still, yes I said but I dont read anything new.
This book Ive got does seem better than alot of others Ive read, its all about moods, and doing lots of tests to find out how bad you are , it has a perfectionist test/ depression test/ anxiety test and other things, Im at the begining but so far Im impressed (which is good).

[nomorepanic]

I suggest the No Panic telephone recovery course - it is excellent!

[honeybee]

thanks nic... what is it??? is there a website i find out about that??? thanks for the help

[Piglet]

Andi - thanks for that link hun. I've just gone and bought a copy!

The course Nic is talking about honeybee is run by the charity NOPANIC and I myself have been on it.

If you just get in touch with them (probably a link on here somewhere) and put your name down then they will slot you on the next available course. While it is free you do have to join the charity for a years membership, which was about £10 when I did it.

The course runs for about 3 months by telephone for one hour on the same day every week - think mine was Tues at 7pm. There will be approx 8-10 other people on the course with you and run by a trained leader.

It was really great to speak to other people with the same issues, or certainly similiar issues and the encouragement and praise we got from each other was very very helpful.

Although it didn't cure me of being agoraphobic (it did for some of the others) it helped me to set goals and work towards them and the support certainly propelled me forward.

I would heartily recommend it - what have you got to lose!

Piglet :flowers:

[honeybee]

thanks for the info piglet... really appreciate it... sounds like a good thing to do... ill go sign up to it now... :yesyes:

[honeybee]

thanks for the link andrea... i just bought a copy... :yesyes:

[nomorepanic]

Mirry

If you sign up now you may be on the same course as I am as I have asked No Panic if I can listen in on the course for research!

I did it many years ago and it was fab!

[nomorepanic]

Here is the post about it...

http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=8317

[honeybee]

just wanna say thanks for the recommendation of the agoraphobia book by claire weekes...

not what i expected... it was published in 1977 and im so suprised about how different attitudes/awareness and treatments have changed since then, for example was shocked to read

"during mental health week, 1974, a panel of psychiatrists on BBC television concluded that the best treatment for agoraphobia was electroconvulsive therapy and drugs"

wow, i am so glad times are changing....

reading this has really opened my eyes up at how much life in general has changed since then, myself being only 21 have always known women to be independant beings so reading the following statement made me really step back and be grateful for the fact we've come so far in so little time

"If the sufferer is a woman, there may be no necessity for her to leave the house alone...."

i am suprised however at the advanced thinking of this lady considering the general opinions of others during this period of time.. i'm only a small way into the book but i think i'll be able to gain something from reading this so thanks for the recommendation

[Under~The~Stars]

Hi Honeybee,

Just wanted to say that I am in the middle of reading a book called "Agoraphobia" by Robyn Vines, haven't read much but so far am quite impressed :) My therapist asked me to read it, so it was a recommendation from him.

Glad you are finding the Claire Weekes book helpful :)

Lou xxx

[Piglet]

Honeybee - lol I came to some of the same conclusions too hun (my copy arrived a few days ago and I am a few chapters in now).

Although the book is somewhat dated the principles still hold true!!!!

Piglet :flowers:

[honeybee]

hi louise.. thanks for that recommendation too... hope you get something from it...

piglet - yeah she knows what she's talking about, i've read loadssa books on panic and axiety but never specifically agoraphobia so hopefully it'll make a bit of a difference

[little mutt]

I've also done the No panic telephone recovery course and it really helped me too. You need to be a member of no panic which costs about £10 a year. Then you can ask to go on the course. They set up a conference call for your group I think I had about 6 people on mine plus a no panic volunteer and you ring in once a week or once a fortnight ( I can't quite remember which!) They help you to set yourself tasks/challenges and then you get to discuss your progress and any problems that you might have. www.no-panic.co.uk (http://www.no-panic.co.uk) Hope this helps. Love little mutt x