agraphobia

[beverley gango]

does any1 never leave the house like me ?

[nomorepanic]

Hi Beverley

A warm :welcome: aboard.

Try this thread

http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=24387

[beri]

hi bev

for the past few months iv let my agrophobia get the better of me and havnt really left the house at all but just recently i have started doing things like just walking down my road and back i think small but consistent steps forward is the key.

pm me if i can be of any help to you:hugs:

jenny xxxxxxxx

[Lindalou64]

Hello Bev And At One Time I Find It Very Difficult Leaving My Home Especially Alone Couldnt Do It,now I Live Alone Work But Do Have Anxiety From Time To Time It Does Get Better.......linda

[titchjd]

Hi yeah I couldnt step out of front door I even had 2 arrange 4 sum1 2 take my daughter 2 and from school which is across the road ,however last week I had a terrible episode of fear and anxiety and had 2 call the doc he told me I must get out so yesterday I walked round my small estate ...It was teryfying but I did it I felt faint sick and just wanted 2 get home I just told myself 2 calm down and started talking 2 my daughter .It will be hard and not easy but I have 2 do it .Just try simple steps 1st dont try and do 2 much and when u sert 2 panic just stop and breathe even though ull feel like running .Its early days for me but if u need sum1 2 talk 2 just message me xxxxx

[belle]

Hi and welcome :)

I rarely leave and when i do, its hard work!
Constant fear and panic...

x

[Southern_Belle]

Hi Beverley,

Welcome to the site. Many here will understand how you are feeling and you will get support.

Take care,

Laura

[sunnydays]

I too suffer with this. Just the thought of going out can bring on a panic attack. I try to control them by walking short distances outside and although I've not done too badly I still get panic and feel faint when out. I just want to be back to normal

[helenclaire]

I have been housebound before, but now i force myself to go out at least once a day, its difficult and i get the horrible faint feelings which make me want to rush back home, but i make myself stay even though i feel bad as i do not want to go back to being housebound again.
Its really tough but it can be done with alot of hard work and determination.

Helen:hugs:

[Nechtan]

Yes, I'm housebound at the moment but it has been varying.

I'm lucky that my wife is able to take the kids where they need to go but it's not ideal and it gets her down. She also has to do the shopping and other things.

I've not been out the place I stay for over 2 years and it gets me down. But there is light at the end of the tunnel. I have had episodes where I have made progress but through my own fault slipped back. At one point I was a year unable to go further than the end of my street. Yet in January I was taking my daughter to nursery in the car.

It can get better. Like Titch was advised you have to get out straight away when you have a setback. Easier said than done as I can testify to as it's my biggest problem. It's also worthwhile making a target and breaking it down into stages. I keep a note of these as it helps to see what you've done and it's good to have targets to beat. It's by no means easy but it can be done.

And as linked thread above proves you can get there.

All the best

Nechtan

[beverley gango]

hello im bev , i havnt left the house 4 months cant take my son 2 school, dont go shopping dont socialise got no friends am even scared 2 have people at my home . things have got 2 get better for me ?

[marie1974]

hi bev im sorry u going through tough time, agoraphobia is very hard tio deal with and the only way to do it is to face it head on hun, take little steps and setp outside and gradually go abit further. in time u will feel better. wot is the feeling u have of having people in your home? it must be hard for u esp with kids too

[Nechtan]

hello im bev , i havnt left the house 4 months cant take my son 2 school, dont go shopping dont socialise got no friends am even scared 2 have people at my home . things have got 2 get better for me ?

Hi Bev,

They will get better but as long as you don't let setbacks hold you down- which is my biggest problem. Earlier this year from being housebound for 2 years I was our dropping my daughter off at nursery. It felt great, empowering, and I really thought I had turned a corner. Unfortunately in my case I stopped putting the work in that I was doing, got complacent and lt every little bad episode affect me. I'm not back where you are at the moment and I know it's not nice at all.

But i have done it before and I am determined to do it again. I kept a diary at the time and I'm going to read through that to see exactly how I went about doing it. Please don't think it's a hopeless situation though as it is not. We get into a habitual state and as such we can unlearn ourselves back out of that.

All the best

Nechtan

[tracey2225]

about 15 years ago i was v nearly housebound..i could just about walk to the end of the road..but i knew i just had to try and push myself..i just couldnt think of months or years going by and me being indoors..please dont think that i think bad of anyone who is housebound..my heart goes out to you..i had a young son and had to get better for his sake...it was absolutly the hardest thing i have ever done..but i used to get together things that i felt i could fall back on if i did panic..ie mobile(so i could ring someone to help me get back if i was truly stuck..diazapam(2 calm me if i really needed it)..money(in case i need it)..etc etc..i also used to count my steps as i walked(that helped to distract me from thinkin of the panic)..at first i could only manage to get to the end of the road and back..but v gradually i managed to go further..untill after a few weeks(may have been months?)i could go to the tescos at the end of the highstreet..after that the walk to the end of the road seemed a doddle..aftre a while i tried to walk to the nearest town(bout 1 mile away)..i couldnr cope with public transport then or travelling in cars so i had to walk..the first time i tried i only got 3/4 of the way and had to come back..i was in tears..but the second time i made it ..i only stayed long enought to visit a shop on the ouskirts and get a pair of slippers(i have always brought something small where ever i have gone..guess they are like little trophys!..lol..once it was a vinigar bottle!)..but i had done it and was elated!..after that the walk to the supermarket was a doddle!..its taken me many years and lots of tears..but i can now travel bout 50 miles..by car or bus...in the early days i never ever thought i would get this far..but somhow i did!..and you can too..dont give up hope and just try and take a few small steps every day..

traceyxxx

[lilly-lou]

Hi,

I was house bound for two years at one point. My agoraphobia was so bad that I couldn't get to my garden gate and I remember panicing just pegging the washing out on the line. I know it is hard but the only way to recover is to face the things that make you panic, just start by going short journeys, take things slowly, it is frustrating but things can get better. If you have somebody who can offer a bit of support in the early days take it.

Start by maybe going to the shops and not getting out of the car, then the next time see if you can go to the door, then go in and once you feel confident to do so buy something small, even the smallest steps help.

Don't give up hope I was really bad at one point and there is no quick fix but you can achieve going out again, but the more you put into it the more you will get out.

I am now at a point where I go out every day, can manage a small shop in the supermarket at quiet times and can drive some distance without another driver in the car ( I had a major panic attack while driving which led to a phobia of driving )

I have achieved this without the help of meds but have you discussed this option with your G.P. or maybe some C.B.T.

lilly-lou

[Nechtan]

I agree that support helps enormously. Just having someone to discuss each day with as you try to take small steps forward is of great advantage. At best it's with someone who knows from experience what you are going through and has had any setbacks you may encounter along the way. With a bit of patience and will power you can get there in the long term.

[beverley gango]

thankyou for all ur kind words xx

[lc2613]

i can only leave the house with my partner and with the help of diazepam i have good days and bad days but in the car i can just about walk to the end of the road before the dizziness sets in as silly as it sounds try just standing out side the door and try to reasure yourself that you can go in at any time then the next day even if it is just 2 steps then try shutting the door and just take gradual time even if it is literally one step at a time i have found this to help but i still have a very long way to go good luck if you need to talk or just have a moan please message me i like to know im not the only sufferer it is a comfort lol x

[daza.theman]

well i walked my boy about a mile tonight to his football practise and all seem fine, untill i got there , usualy i would get a lift home straight away rather than sit there for an hour and a half watching, but my lift didnt turn up , so i had to sit there freezing my nuts off, all because i didnt have the balls to walk home on my own , i just felt spaced out and sick and dizzy , it wasent good, my bro came and picked me and my son up in the end , its doing my head in now!! there must be something that can fix me

[Anxious_gal]

aw that must have been uncomfortable, wondering how you would get home! But you did good, you did cope! so all in all it was a good learning experience.
I'm all agoraphobic again lol. I have good days in bad.
havent left my house all week! I find the more I go out the easier it gets and the more i dont go out the harder it gets.