The TV show "The house of agoraphobics"

[clickaway]

One aspect that interested me was how people made the journey to the house in the first instance, when they could hardly venture out.

Why do you think they could undertake that? Was it the prospect of a one-off chance of some of the best treatment around, or perhaps wanting to tell the world how they felt and a yearning for understanding?

I think I'd feel safe in a team of such a renowned psychiatrist, moreso than just "Professor Smith" that may practice in my locality.



Ray


http://www.anxietyrelease.org.uk/

And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance, I hope you dance.
~Mark Sanders and Tia Sillers

[trac67]

I sat with my children totally absorbed watching it, and could relate to each and everyone of them.

My eldest daughter said that I am so like the bloke in the programme it is untrue, even to the point of him wearing his sunglasses, something I always do when out, it really did make me think about how I need to start to deal with my agoraphobia again.

Looking forward to tomorrow's episode to see the outcome of it all.

Love

Trac xxx

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

[marg]

hi i thought they did really well i could relate to all of them i haven't been out for months it has been 2 years since i have been in a supermarket i could never take my daughter to school every body else has done that for me my daughter is 15 now and she can remember me trying to take her to school and then running back home with her because i couldn't do it i am going to try harder to get out i don't want to spend another year stuck in the house looking at four walls and wishing i could get out love marg

[mirry]

When the young man panicked in the car, I felt very emotional for him, he seems such a nice guy, I did have a few tears at that point.

But I was shocked about the way that horrible husband was threatening his wife , Id tell him to sling his hook !!! And hes supposed to be a clever man (not that clever).

The bit I found interesting was about sounds and noises, I get jittery if theres a sudden noise , If I hear people behind me in a shop and they sound loud or intimadating , I get panicky.

Isnt it intereeesting

My hubby was too sleepy to watch it all, but hes taped it, he said he really wants to watch it all ,so will watch it later today.
Also my mother in law phoned me up saying she was going to watch it, I dont know why but I felt embarrased talking about it to her,
I suppose its because Ive always tried to make out Im not as bad as i really am............
that song comes to mind........
"oh yes Im the great Pretender" lol

mirryx

[darkangel]

I too watched the programme with my teenage daughter and we related most to the woman who couldnt take her child to school. And the way the husband spoke to the pregnant woman in the car brought back painful memories.

However, all the programme did for me was trigger off some awful memories and personally i dont want to relive them - I also woke from my sleep at 1.30 this morning with a full blown panic attack (something Ive not done in years!)

coincidence - im not sure - but dont think I will continue to watch.



........life is for living not just for surviving

[Piglet]

Aww Darkangel hun - I can relate to that as it really was hard to watch!

Ray - I wouldn't have had trouble travelling to London with the Prof at my side he's wonderfully reassuring isn't he. Having the support by my side is the bit I need to let go of though and realising I am perfectly safe and my own support.

I'm really getting where he is coming from with the whole face your fear thing cos it's just a paper tiger but it's so incredibly hard to do in reality isn't it!

Piglet xx

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

[Loonie]

Maybe it's just me then, but at my worst there's no way you'd have got me to London. You'd have had to take me sedated and in a straight jacket.
I kept thinking, why are they not that bad?
The show didn't give any insite of living with agoraphobia. If I didn't know what it was like from the inside, I'd think they were making it up. There was no information on panicking all night long and every second of the day and never getting a break from it.
When I've had panics in super markets, you don't see me for dust. I certainly wouldn't stand round and chat about how I feel.
I'll watch tonight but I'm very dissapointed.
It made them look pathetic.
I did like the house though. the decor was nice!

[mirry]

Loonie, I understand what you are saying, for years when i was at my worst, I panicked 24/7, it was totally exhausting , I panicked out the house , in the house, with people , on my own, on the telephone answering the door etc.
But I have moved on since then , although I can now manage to shop at a few shops in my local high stree (not all of them) and speak on the phone etc, I still have agrophobia...it is never easy for me to do the things everyone else does naturally and some days I just cant face it.
However If I go into tescos with my hubby, I can have a racing heart, shakey all over , hot and feel quite sick, then get dizzy. But now days I Never ever run out the shop, I stay and tollerate the distress with all my might [:I].
So I can understand how those people can do what they can do but dislike what they are doing. (if that makes sence).

I think I am more like the guy, was his name simon ?

But I can also understand that agrophobia comes in many different strengths and usually changes over time.

mirryx

[999madmax]

Hi All,
Really interesting program and very informative.
There are thousands out there that have similar problems/ issues and over all it is a worthwhile program.
I have even got my family to watch it, so they can understand some of my issues and not be in the dark about Mental Health etc..[8D]
Will def be watching the sencond part tonight - Just think another country like that is a bit too much for anyone!!! [V]
Oh well hopefully it will help out others learn about it and overcome any similar issues, etc.
Take Care all

LOL
Madmax
-*-

[Elle-Kay]

I was really looking forward to this programme, and made myself watch it even though I was worried it might give me something else to panic about ("oh look, that woman is scared of so-and-so, perhaps I should be scared of that too.."). I'm still reserving judgement, as I think they made it look a bit too easy for them to get in the car to London, get on the train etc. - I think it would have been more insightful if they had shown more of the therapy itself, and perhaps a bit more of the actual panic - but I'm going to watch again tonight, and I am feeling a little more determined to actually get a hold of my panic myself by doing what I'm afraid of and convincing myself that the bad stuff won't happen, so perhaps it has had a good effect.

I'm kicking myself for not having recorded it to lend to my fiancee, parents and future-parents-in-law though. My parents are the ones who know about it most, as I started panicking when I was 14/15 and continued to live with them just earlier this year (aged 24), so they've been through each panic with me. My fiancee is quite understanding now, too, though it nearly ended our relationship in Autumn last year as he couldn't understand or help me (he was 200 miles away at that time, but has since moved here to be with me), but my parents in law (and especially my future father in law), though they know about it and try to understand, still don't quite get it, and father in law will bring it up in conversation whenever they come to visit and ask me questions which make me uncomfortable. In fact, they are visiting again the day after boxing day with my fiance's cousins, and I'm dreading him bringing it up in front of them, as I don't want everyone knowing :(

--- Obstacles are what you see when you take your eyes off the goal.