Any agoraphobics around?

[belle]

...just wondering

SarahC

[trac67]

Hi Sarah,

I have been agrophobic in the past and even now can have days where leaving the house is difficult, feel free to pm me if you ever want to talk.

Take care

Trac xx

'Live your life with arms wide open, today is where your book begins, the rest is still unwritten'

[Wannabeloved85]

homebound~ish agoraphobic here! i can manage a small walk from my house, thats it. my mums the same too.
Becci x

[Piglet]

Me too - it affects me differently on different days etc.

Love Piglet xx

"Supposing a tree fell down, Pooh, when we were underneath it?" said Piglet.
"Supposing it didn't," said Pooh after careful thought.

[belle]

Hi..
I would love to chat with other people in my situation.
Please feel free to email me...
beingsarahc'aol.com
thanks
Sarah.

[belle]

stupid me..
beingsarahc@aol.com
Better!!!

[trevor]

yep 1 here,

trevor,

better to fight for something than to live for nothing

[Granny Primark]

Hi sarah,

Im not agrophobic but ive got a safety zone where i will travel to. Out of that zone i can really panicky.
Sounds odd i know.

Take care
LYNN xx

[Meggy]

Yes, I am, have been for years but off and on. I have an excuse now which is I'm an epileptic. The ONE good thing about being epileptic - people "get it" why I don't want to leave the house. But that's never really it. Bad me.

Years ago I went to a free class on how to overcome phobias. At that time my phobia was being stuck on an elevator. I was when immensely pregnant. When they pried the doors open? I didn't have the nerve to climb out, knowing the elevator would drop, cut me in half. I think that's when my agoraphobia started.

If I keep going out? I do much better. For me it's just the thought of it mainly. The ACT of leaving the house. Often once I'm out I'm ok, but sometimes I have panic attacks. I do much better with all these little "rules" I have to manage the fear. For instance one thing I absolutely can not do is sit anywhere but at the end of an aisle in the movie or like church. If I can't? I leave.

I was raped 3 years ago and since then I can get extremely hypervigilant. I didn't even know what I felt was a word, a symptom until I joined here. Again one of my rules is if I feel like someone dangerous is behind me say in a grocery line? I dump my cart of groceries and walk out with no guilt, unbelievable relief.

I'm not saying any of the things I do are healthy or the way to manage it. It's just the way that I do. I do seize in public, it upsets those I'm with but in honesty? It doesn't me. But it sure is a handy excuse not to go out and I don't like that deception.

I DO make myself go out but I can have the "willies" big time the whole time or have a full blown panic attack. . Bless your heart I do know it is very hard. I'm in behavioral modification now for something else. Every time I attend I swear I'm going to tell them how hard it is for me to walk out the door, go somewhere. So far I haven't been able to, but at least I'm still trying, I do hate it I feel my house is my prison but the opposite, going out, sometimes is far worse.

I DO have a service dog and taking her with me helps me a great deal. There are service dogs for people with agoraphobia. Perhaps you should look into that. Reputable places don't charge. I train service dogs for epileptic children and donate them for instance.

Good luck in dealing with this. Tis not much fun. My husband just left for a very frightening doctor's appt - without me. I could not make myself get ready, walk out that door and really I have no idea what I'm afraid of. Our marriage is far from perfect but this he does understand somehow. I'm going thru a very insecure time in my life with health problems and my phobias have ratcheted up in high gear not surprisingly but maddenly.

Meggy

[honeybee3939]

Hi Sara

Im agorophobic also, i have good and bad days, but have improved over the the years.

Love

Andrea
xxx