View Full Version : Anxiety When Shopping
Does anyones anxiety come over them everytime they go shopping? i cnt seem to relax and look round shops because i feel so anxious then get dizzy and i end up rushing to what i need to buy then hurry out. this seems to be one of the places it mostly occurs. anyone relate and any ways to stop this? ive no idea whats causing it only mostly in these occasions?
Hello There,
Yes your not alone here. I have terrible panic sensations when Im Shopping as soon as I get to the mall I feel edgy and want to come home, especially this time of year when the shops are so busy.
Its all part of anxiety Im afraid
Take Care
Jo
sandramick
03-12-08, 16:29
omg yes !!!! thank goodness for internet shopping i say :yesyes:
take care
sandra xx
This appears to be a very common anxiety which I share with you. It's not so bad when I don't have to buy anything but at this time of the year when presents have to be bought it's a nightmare but I'm sure this is so for most people whether they normally suffer from anxiety or not.
Best of luck
John
I hate it!!!!!!!!
I don't hate shopping - this is the worst thing, shopping was always something I loved and shopping is great therapy normally for most people. It's the symptoms I cannot stand!!!!!!
I can be okay once I'm in and getting distracted by things (with the help of diazepam) but I hate queueing although manage to put on a good act for the checkout person.
I don't really have fully blown panics or anything but this awful awful sinking in the stomach and it makes me feel like crying. I just get to the stage (like today) where I feel I can't take any more of this awful feeling. My whole mood dips to the floor when I get this feeling. Can anyone relate to it? You just feel you cannot smile and I feel like I might lose control and actually cry.
I have had a bad bad day today and I'm feeling soooo sorry for myself because I go into shops and big stores every single day as I should for exposure but every time I do have to go shopping I still get the same old symptom - the fear reaction which is in the gut and it sinks and it's just a feeling of dread I guess. I don't get the racing heart and stuff any more my med has helped with that but I still get this feeling that I could cry and I don't know what to do any more. I have tried so hard.
I've had every med on the market, cbt, tried mindfulness etc etc --- I really have done everything to help myself but I just don't seem to get much better.
Sometimes I can go shopping and feel absolutely fine (always get initial fear response but handle it) - I have been doing not so bad recently but today I just felt like I wasn't going to put myself through it.
It makes me so so down because you see people going about their business out shopping and whatever and it's just normal life to them - they just don't know how lucky they are.
Shopping online is ok but who wants to be a recluse - I certainly don't - also I personally feel that if I did a lot of shopping online I would hate myself for giving in to the demon.
Take care all.
Defo having bad day.
PS If people can't relate to my symptoms I think I'm going to phone the shrink tomorrow and tell him to send the men in white coats for me cos I've had enough!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yvonne
Hi Cheeky
I get this too, I know it's very very common even amongst people who don't otherwise get anxious. I know lots of pepole who won't go to the local Asda here simply because it is too big and too busy. I go though, panic attacks, hot sweats, funny vision etc etc, I am learning to just ignore the symptoms and keep shopping.
It has taken a long long time to get to this stage though. When I was really bad last year I would go in and do half the shopping pay for it, go and sit in the car to get myself pulled together, then go back in and get the rest.
All I can suggest is that you talk to yourself in your head when you feel the anxiety rising and tell yourself to slow down. Try to relax your shoulders and body, don't speed up, as hard as it is, it will just feed the adrenalin. Try to force yourself to look at things even if you don't want to. Whatever you do, and I know how hard this is, don't rush out of the shop in full panic. It is not the situation that is making you panic, it is your thoughts and you have linked these feelings with being in the shops. You will be anticipating panic before you even get to the shops.
Try and stay in the shop as long as you possibly can as the panic will subside naturally. Nothing bad will happen to you and once you realise that these feelings will pass and that it is not being in the shops that is causing the feelings it is your belief that it is, then things will get better. I know this is not easy, but you need to test it out and ride the wave of panic.
Hope this helps a bit.
janeybaby25
03-12-08, 19:24
yes I get this a lot. I hate it as I love shopping & have a look round but I end up rushing & making myself feel worse.xxx
I totally understand:hugs: I always get panic attacks when it is busy in the shops, thank god for the internet I have bought most of my xmas presents online!!
xx
hello
i too get horrible feelings when im in the supermarket especially and it really is not a nice feeling so i can sympathise.
yvonne i sound exactly like you!
andrea sounds great advice hun.
sorry i have no advice just wanted to say you are not alone.
xx
This is very very common in anxiety, I have managed to get out and about doing some Christmas shopping in Liverpool, the shops are horrendous at the moment, me and the kid did it very very early one Saturday morning, but once dinner time came it was like hell on earth, in fact we were entering the station sorted ready to go home and the crowds entering the city centre were terrible they would frighten anybody, I tried again yesterday - Wednesday it was very very busy!!!
Queues are the worst they seem to go on forever and I think when you are queuing you have no choice but to focus on your thoughts.
I also used to have this thought that people would notice me in shops and that the store detective would follow me around for being odd.
What am I like?
Heather
At this time of the year and it is hot in the shops, to ease my discomfort I get a trolley, even if I don't want to buy much, and I take off my winter coat& put it in the trolley, as I tend to panic more if I am hot and stuffy. Then at least I have got the trolley to hold on to if I don't feel very well. It seems to help me an awful lot. I guess its a prop for me.
Door_Badger
04-12-08, 13:46
Yep me too!
Find it more in shops with cheap nasty flourescent lighting - like the tescos down the road from where I live. Hate that place! Although curiously other supermarkets don't seem to have as much of an effect :D
Maybe I'm just weird :D
So glad Mummy4 gets similar feelings to me.
Door Badger - I cant stand the flluorescent lights either!!! I suffer dry eye syndrome in the winter anyway and when I'm under this horrible sort of lighting my eyes react very badly which makes me feel much worse. Anyone else get this??
yes same here i thought i was abnormal , but im not its just negative thinking i do alot of that alot of comes from when im shopping i just hate it lately as soon as i know im going the negative thoughts start flooding in sometimes i manage other times i just cant.
binza
yes im like that as well where lighting is i spoke to the optians about it when i had them tested she didnt think anything was wrong with my eye sight , she said to wear sun glasses but im not going to look good in the middle of winter am i , people are going to give me strange looks.
Doddiegirl
05-12-08, 14:35
I too deal with anxiety while shopping. I started to avoid going to the store and I came up with every excuse I could to keep from having to go. But I hated that my anxiety had that kind of control over me. So I set a goal to go to the store for at least 5 minutes a few times a week. At first I had a hard time just walking in and wanted to retreat back to my car. I didn't always make purchases, I just walked around mostly. But if I did buy something I saw that as a goal met. I made it through and had my prize. It really helped me a lot to think of it that way. I am doing so much better now. I hope this helps or at least gives you hope that it can get better. Hang in there:)
Me too - if it was just looking round Id be ok but once your in the queue = bang - thats it - you are trapped - I feel hot dizzy and breathless and start panic breathing - gotta get out./....... grr hate feeling this way too.
Wenjoy x
i love shopping - the problem is i cant do it anymore - i panic the minute i get into the damn shops and i want to be able to roam around and shop but this anxiety just taes hold and feels so real so i generally just run!
This happens to me all the time when i shop! It's so annoying.
I get EXTREMLY dizzy and have to sit down usually. Then my mind starts working fuzzy. Like its harder to think, and i feel very light headed. i feel very overwhelmed, and get feelings of panic. I don't know if i get panicky just because or if its response to how im feeling...
I usually jsut sti down for ten minutes until it passes, but by then im not in the shopping mood anymore. this usually happens when im looking through clothes. its almost like im straining myself too much?\
basically, its quite uncomfortable, and ur not alone!
I have posted a week or two back under the "symptoms" forum about my panic episode when shopping. I see a lot of you have a problem with this. I was wondering if someone can help me figure out if mine was panic or something else? I have tenderness and sore stiffness in my neck, back, shoulders and into my arms. I was at the store pushing a full cart of groceries and was thinking to myself "you are almost done, you don't feel that anxious in the head today, you are alright, try to relax and enjoy this, etc". Then all of a sudden something strange happened in my head, I can't really explain the sensation, I know my arms were tired and my neck was really feeling tight but I felt like the circulation it my head went bad. I didn't faint but all I knew was that something was really wrong. I then got very weak and felt like I couldn't even move. Then I know the adrenaline kicked in because my heart started racing and hands shaking. I managed to call my husband on my cell phone and tell him I needed him to come that something was wrong. I was so scared! I managed to push my cart down one aisle to where there was a bench so I could sit. I then sat there trying to pretend I was "normal". I started feeling better only very scared. I waited probably 20 minutes for my husband to come. He helped me out the store. I had to lean on him and walk slowly, pretending to look normal. I know people with anxiety "run" out of the store, but I could not do that, I felt too weak. My hubby drove me home, I was to afraid to drive for fear of the way I felt in my head. Now, I have not gone back to the store by myself. I will go for a few items if someone is with me, but I am afraid to ever be in that situation again. Can anyone relate to this? I think maybe my tight neck muscles and my moving head around couldn't take the stimulation anymore. The other day I literally ran around the inside of my house and said "see, you are okay."
It seems like when I walk in a big store or even outside to my mailbox, which is a long walk, I feel off in the head. Anybody feel this way?
my mother has trouble with this too. I hate supermarkets they are horrible. But luckily I can master them. I feel sorry for my mum who suffers from a fear of shopping places. I do get a bit sick in shops and malls..etc though but luckily I dont get scared. I have enough on my plate now with the most ridiculous fear ever :(
Hello to everyone,
I feel so sad for all you souls who suffer out there. I have had all those symptoms plus some, for many years. I'm 51 years old and have for at least close to 30 yrs now, a fear of going into a shop, mostly supermarkets, malls, or The Warehouse, where there are huge number of people. The other day I went into the doorway of our local supermarket and I saw all these people and I had a panic attack. I wanted to go out but I have to do the shopping, I have no choice. If I don't buy food I will starve and die eventually, so it is not an option. Sometimes it is not so bad, but the other day it was horrifiying. The people and noise around me turned into a buzzing hum. I can't stand the cries and shrills of small children, I never could. Anything annoys me and puts me on edge. My biggest fears are the phone ringing and going to the letterbox. Not too long ago, I could not bear the sound of birds tweeting in the morning, it was totally unbearable and I panicked. I just want to stay in darkness and in my bed all the time. If I had a choice, I would never leave the house, ever. Going to the letterbox oand hanging out the washing is very hard, and I sometimes shake and can't wait to go back inside. I live with my teenage daughter and have no one to help me do anything. I go around and 'act' and no one knows how I'm suffering deep inside.Yes, I have tried to end it all once, but it went terribly wrong. I'm now a lonely, sad vegetable and wish my life would end. On top of it all, I'm my mothers caregiver and she has Dementia, there is no haven for me to feel good anymore. I can honestly say that I last was happy when I was 12 yrs ood. Is there any thing nice left out there for me, or will it get worse. I'm on anti-depression medicine as I was diagnosed as being clinicley depressed years ago. I hate the thought of putting poison in my system every day, a pill for this, a tablet for that, It's so sad, I wish I could give everyone a big, huge cuddle, cause I need one, don't have that, maybe that's whats missing,
:weep:
Honey-Bee
Well im sending you a big tight one xxxxxxxxxx
i hate panicking
07-12-08, 14:47
Yes i too suffer from this, it usually happens when i'm in a supermarket, i'm sure it's the lights as they're so bright!!!
I just want to drop my shopping and run...lol
Sleepless999
07-12-08, 16:35
I usually get anxious if I get hot. I now park in the shopping centre car park, so I don't have to go outside, so I can leave my coat off. I only get palpitations when I start getting sweaty, and this stops all that. Also, I think it's very important to have LOADS of time, because I get time stress as well!
yesterday I went out to the supermarket and I felt in a daze. I saw a woman there and she looked absolutely terrified. This woman she was with said 'enjoy life' and things like that. The poor woman looked terrified!
She could just have been sad I guess about something. But it looked more like fear :(
Powered by vBulletin® Version 4.2.5 Copyright © 2024 vBulletin Solutions Inc. All rights reserved.