Scared to faint

[cat2]

Hey,
I've been living with anxiety now for four years and I had to give up so many things in my life.
I find it easier to stay at home and not face the world. What if thoughts such as ,what if I faint when I go out and won't be able to help myself and look weak in front other people.. These thoughts make me so scared I doubt I could ever be normal again..
I have proved myself in the past that I can go out (even fly abroad on my own), but now I think that I got worse and won't be able to do anything on my own.
My husband doesn't really understand and he's fed up with this, but I can't blame him..
I know I need to go out there and face my fears, but the thoughts of me losing control, fainting, or feeling ill make me so scared I end up sitting at home and feeling sorry for myself..

Does anyone have a solution for this?
I have read a few books about how to deal with it, but it's hard for me to get out there and trust myself again..

Thanks,
Cat

[Antonio2301]

i know exactly where your coming from cat.. you will be normal again i promise you that .. i had a similar thing when i was in my early 20`s .. i couldnt face the outside world i then managed to overcome this .. unfortunaley a week ago this has returned .. i feel as though im back where i started all those years back. but keep telling myself im just going through a bad spell and this will pass in time. are you able to do short walks away from home? even a few minutes will help and then build it up to going a little bit further each day .. thats what i did last time .. i was so frightened of having a panic attack outdoors i locked my self indoors for just over 3 years .. but eventually over come this. its very hard for other people to understand what your going through if they dont suffer themselves as it was with my ex partner .. the good thing is .. your not on your own as you can see from this forum theres many people exactly like this including myself .. i know its hard but stay posotive and just keep telling yourself your gonna get through this as im doing now .. take care .. antonio

[cat2]

Thank you Antonio.
Wow, It's so good to hear about someone who has managed to overcome this horrible thing.
I tried to leave the house everyday for a few mins but I was scared I might see people I know and would have to talk to them and get really panicky or dizzy..
I know the only way is to do what you did and just face it. Wish it was easier though! Sometimes it looks so silly to me, because there's nothing to be scared of when you think about it..
But it's the only way..

I will try no matter what. I want to get better and hopefully I will be strong enough to face the world again..


Thanks!
Cat

[gypsywomen]

ask yourself have you ever fainted in the house ,,if no what makes you think you will outside ,is it the fear of open spaces,, or fainting ,, you will get better ,, you have to be positive ,, i have been there , what i did was ,,, baby steps at first ,,, then over ti me went further i felt like you but nothing happened it was my anxiety telling me i wouldnt be able to do it ,,but you can,,, you can

[cat2]

Thanks gypsywomen,
I have fainted before but not from anxiety or anything like that so I know the symptoms. Strangely enough back then it didn't bother me.. I fainted in the street, someone helped me, I woke up and went to work, no big deal..
But now it seems so scary, like I could die or something horrible will happen..
I know it's anxiety, I just find it hard to deal with the symptoms while facing being outside or in front of people, and I always feel weak before going out so I think maybe next time, when I feel stronger..

Hate this feeling.. Don't know why it bothers me so much, I never really cared what other people thought of me but now I want to look strong and be normal again..

I will go out everyday for a few minutes and see how I feel.
Hope that will help :)

Cat

[mingsy]

:hugs:Hi Cat

I know exactly where you are coming from, I was virtually housebound by the enormous fear that I would faint, and yes I've fainted quite a few times in the past and it never really bothered me, but from somewhere this incapacity hit me, I think it was more the thought of people fussing round me and not being able to get away. But I have got over it, it took a while and baby steps, the bit of advice I was given was to have extra strong mints with me and whenever the feeling comes put one in your mouth an suck it, it definately works, I still carry them till this day but hardly ever use them, also Lucozade tablets and a bottle of water are another. You will get through this but don't push yourself too hard as I said baby steps. I am now back working, I can stand in queues and fly abroad to the sunshine.
I hope this helps a little.
Janexx

[Bill]

I Will faint
I Will fall
I Will be embarrassed
I Will feel ill
I Will fail
Something horrible Will happen

I Cannot step outside the door
I Cannot attempt it
I Cannot face this fear

I Am a failure
I Am So afraid
I Am weak

....and some people who have toilet phobia will say themselves...

I Will need a loo!

.......and the more we allow fear to to make ourselves say what it it wants us to say, the more it can convince us that these things Will happen......and more often than not they then do and fear then laughs its head off at us because it feels its won!:mad:

As you say...what exactly is there to be afraid of other than the things fear wants us to believe?

Fear is very deceitful and it loves to trick us to gets its own way.

Fear is like a ghost:scared15:.....it loves to say "BOO:ohmy:" to make us run away but if you stood there and said to it "So what?", what would the ghost do? Attack you??? I don't think so.:lac: I guess it could keep saying "BOO" but then would it if it knew you wouldn't run?:unsure:

I think what would happen is the ghost would disappear and fly away to try and frighten someone else until they too told it that it could say "BOO" as much it liked but they weren't moving either!

However, although the ghost loves to try and scare us when we're out, it's favourite method of deceit is to attack us BEFORE we've even stepped out the door because it knows it's SO much more effective to keep us trapped at home to stop us even attempting to see through it's disguise.

In this way, the ghost possesses us convincing us that we CAN'T defeat it and that we WILL fail by terrifying us to stop us confronting it. It's SO good at this that if we then try to go out, it actually MAKES us fail through MAKING us believe that we WILL fail. Clever a!:winks:

Therefore, it's NOT confronting our ghost whilst feeling terrified that works...We have to get in the habit of telling ourselves BEFORE we go out...."SO WHAT and IGNORE IT?"...and then it melts away BEFORE we go out because it then knows saying "BOO" is a waste of time when we ARE out! Try it! It works! Eventually we then stop thinking about our ghost and it then forgets us too.

DON'T give your ghost a second thought because that's what it feeds on and you then starve your ghost and it WILL STOP saying BOO!:)

The right preparation with time, determination and practise DOES work so Never give up on hope because then hope never gives up on you!:hugs:

[mojopin]

if you feel you are going to faint just stick your index finger in the cleft part under your nose and prod hard like you are trying to make a line straight line between your front teeth...japonese doctor did it to me after i nearly passed out in hospital in brazil after seeing my own blood from being syringed from my arm lol... it works..its a pressure point seemed to bring things back into focus immediatly..

[mojopin]

oh and by the way ive had panic attacks while teaching 1 on 1 shut in a room with a student and i can tell you its worse than being in a crowded place or any other situation because you are trapped and you cant do anything because you dont want to alarm the other person ..my worst nightmare.

[eeyorelover]

I found myself saying that I could have posted this same thing some years back!
I was housebound for 4 years because of the same thoughts.
The only way I overcame them was to test them.
I went outside in my yard first and truthfully the first few times I felt awful!!
All the anxiety symptoms but guess what?
I still went back for more and it got easier and easier and the symptoms lightened up so I pushed myself further.
I can go most anyway now except I'm still working on driving!

The key is not to let those thoughts - as scary as they are - make you stop living your life.
If you give into them your world gets smaller and smaller until there isn't anything left!
Good luck hun!
xxx
Sandy

[cat2]

Thank you all for your advice and support :)

It seems that the only answer is to go out and let the voices inside of me scream as loud as they want and accept them.
It's really inspiring to read your posts as you have overcome your fears with lots of hard work and I would love to be able to do that myself.
Not to be scared of that "boo" everytime I want to go out.. I feel like I've become such a weak person but I refuse to be seen as weak.

I will test my thoughts and see what happens.
Thank you all, really appreciate it!!!

Cat xx

[Lauren Chambers]

Hi Cat
I doubt you have read my blog but I will tell you a short story of my anxiety. I hated leaving the safety of my house (and still sometimes do now, I am learning to face my fear) incase I need to go to toilet when I am out, I could be going shopping, walking to work, going to my boyfriends, just from getting from A to B I am worried....or should I say terrefied in case I soil myself! Some people might laugh and think this is so silly, but for me this had made a BIG impact on my life. Read my blogs they will tell you more about it.

Anyway I just thought I would give you a few tips that I read on websites:

"IM GOING CRAZY" No one with panic attacks and anxiety has ever gone "crazy". In fact, because you realize that you have panic attacks, this is just another indication that you are not going crazy. People that "go crazy" lose contact with reality. Anxiety people are too much in contact with reality. People with panic and anxiety problems NEVER "go crazy". It simply cannot happen.

"I AM GOING TO FAINT"
This is not possible because, during panic, your heart beats faster, and your blood pressure rises. As the blood pressure rises, it becomes impossible for you to "pass out". When people faint or "pass out", it's because of a sudden DROP or lowering in blood pressure.

I know its easier said then done and it took me 3 years to do, but its best to face your fear, I am not telling you to make a big step and go places where you know your anxiety will increase to 100%, but just take it slow, go maybe to the end of the road and back, your anxiety might increase by 5% but if you keep telling yourself the facts I have said above then you hopefully could get to the end of the road and back without a massive anxiety attack.

Sorry I actually got to stop typing now as my boss is coming over and I am not meant to be on the internet lol but PLEASE drop me a private message, I would love to be able to help.

Lauren xxx