agoraphobia

[tina]

hi its me again bet u are fed up of me already lol, still cant motivate myself to do things i keep having this weird feeling that i am going mad has anybody else felt that?

[Meg]

Yes I have and so have many others on here.

It's a very common symptom, the more you think about it the worse it gets and its not true..




Meg

'There can only be true courage when first there is genuine fear'

Dr.David Livingstone

[sandra49]

Hi Tina, I have felt like I was going mad. At the moment all I feel is tired out. Can you get uot with someone else? Sandra

[tina]

hi sandra, no i cant even go past my front door at the minute but i am trying

[sal]

Hi Tina

It is so common with anxiety to think you are going mad or going to lose control. They are my biggest fears but you have to rationalise with yourself that how you are feeling is temporary and as the anxiety slows down you will realise that you are not going mad. One thing my cbt said to me once really helped, she asked me what madness meant and i replied the usual stuff most people would, running around like a crazy person etc. Then she told me that if i was really going mad i would have no idea that was happening to be because madness is not something that just happens and if i were truly going mad i wouldnt recognise the symptoms. As i had seen people who really are mad, are the once that think they are normal. Once you think you are going mad it becomes a concious thought, and how many of them do we have, but it doesnt mean it will come true. A simple example, tonight you could think you are going to win the lottery, yes that has now become a conscious thought, doesnt mean its going to happen. Keep trying hon.

Take care

Love Sal xxxx

[tina]

thanks sal that has really helped me what u said thankyou

[sandra49]

Hi Tina, Like Sal has said it is just a thought you have about going mad. It is so hard to make that 1st. step. I seem to be stuck in a rut myself.Do you have any support.? I have often felt if we aggies all lived together we would have no trouble. Take Care Sandra

[tina]

hi sandra yes i have got support at last only waited 12 years lol
ido think we aggies should stick together lol

[Lilith]

Hi, Tina! It's so great that you have found this forum! I didn't know I had agoraphobia until I came here. I knew I had anxiety and panic attacks, but I also thought I was stupid and lazy for not wanting to do things. Thankfully, I was just at the beginning of it, and am starting to slowly get better. Mind you, it's two steps forward, one step back, but I'm getting somewhere. As for feeling like you're going mad, that was the most frightening symptom of all for me. I would get this weird feeling in my head, get nervous, and feel like I couldn't concentrate on anything. It feels like you're losing control. And it's impossible to explain to someone who has never experienced it. What a relief to come here and find out that others experience the same thing! I still feel it sometimes, but I know now to say to myself, "It's okay. You're not going crazy. It's just anxiety." That doesn't make it magically go away, but it keeps me fairly calm and keeps it from escalating. That was probably the best thing I learned from this website. Please read all the information you can find here. It will help you tremendously.

[Caz Fab Pants]

Lilith,
I get that feeling too where its really hard to concentrate on anything and I think its because our brains are focusing so much on our physical symptoms and worrying about what's happening that it finds it difficult to think or concentrate on anything else.

For example if I'm really anxious, bordering on panic and I try to distract myself by reading I end up reading the same lines over and over again. Partly because my eyesight seems to go kind of racey and wants to dart around and partly because I'm trying to take in what I'm reading and make sense of it but cant. I usually end up giving in and looking through the pictures instead.

C
x