Results 1 to 4 of 4

Thread: Moving house as an agoraphobic

  1. #1

    Moving house as an agoraphobic

    I have been suffering from anxiety and panic disorder for nearly 6 years. The last 2 years have been the worst. I am completely agoraphobic. I haven't been able to leave my house and go further than about 200 meters. My partner of 12 years has finally decided that he had enough and he doesn't want to live like this anymore. I haven't been able to go for therapy for the simple reason that I can't get there and I haven't been able to find a psychologist who is willing to do house calls. I am not on any medication. Never have been. I use some herbal remedies. I haven't had a panic attack in over a year, but that is mainly because I don't do anything that can lead to a panic attack. I have a small shopping center right across the road from my house and that is as far as I can travel without starting to feel panicky.

    But now I have to move cause I can obviously not stay were I am as my boyfriend just dumped me. The breakup is not helping my anxiety at all. Knowing that I HAVE to leave is not helping either. I haven't actually had a single panic attack during the breakup or at all since the breakup which is giving me hope. I have decided I want to move back to my hometown. I currently live in the city, Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa. My hometown is much smaller and I think I might have a better chance of overcoming my agoraphobia there than in the city. But the problem is getting there. I have about a month to get myself ready to leave. I have been trying to leave the house everyday, to get in my car and drive. I get as far as the stop street at the end of my block. My legs start shaking so badly that I can't operate the pedals to drive any further.

    I have been considering a trip to my doctor to see if he can help me to just get to where I am moving to. I am currently even considering sedation. I have a friend that is willing to drive me there if I can't do it myself. I need advice. If anyone has gone through this before, please help me and tell me how you did it. I have already found an apartment in my hometown and it is about 73 miles from where I am now, about 1 hour and 40 minutes travel.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    May 2017
    Posts
    2,634

    Re: Moving house as an agoraphobic

    Do you not have any family in your home town who can come down for you. Two,preferably, so you can get a lift in one car and the second person could drive your car home.
    If you feel you will get better quicker in your home town, you need to get back there asap and start your journey to recovery.
    __________________
    It’s a cruel beast that you feed…..

    Ghost…Spillways

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Apr 2018
    Posts
    636

    Re: Moving house as an agoraphobic

    I don't suffer from agoraphobic but my aunt did for about ten years, the day she finally had to leave the house was when my cousin had a bad car accident. It was very hard for her and thankfully my cousin is okay but she actually said for her personally the big push to have to leave actually helped her on path to recovery.

    Sorry I don't know alot about this, I hope everything goes well and keep us updated x

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Aug 2011
    Posts
    4,889

    Re: Moving house as an agoraphobic

    The thing here is that NOT having the panic attacks is the problem.

    The only way to cure this is go out, have a panic attack, tell yourself it's fine and then go do it again the next day. Day 1, sit in the garden, day two, open the front door and stand in the street. Day three, walk 50m down the road and back. Day four, 100m....etc etc. You'll have a panic attack every day, but that's fine.

    CBT is as much exposure therapy as anything else, and once you get used to the idea that a) being outside isn't a problem and b) neither is having a panic attack....you'll find recovery much easier.

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Similar Threads

  1. Agoraphobic and moving house
    By Cass1 in forum Agoraphobia
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 02-10-18, 21:43
  2. Moving House
    By mezzaninedoor in forum Misc
    Replies: 2
    Last Post: 31-05-17, 15:02
  3. Moving house
    By rb1978 in forum General Anxiety / Generalised anxiety disorder (GAD)
    Replies: 0
    Last Post: 16-02-13, 14:27
  4. Moving house - Mum
    By Munki in forum General Anxiety / Generalised anxiety disorder (GAD)
    Replies: 5
    Last Post: 07-12-12, 17:05
  5. moving house.
    By magic girl in forum General Anxiety / Generalised anxiety disorder (GAD)
    Replies: 12
    Last Post: 20-12-10, 23:24

Tags for this Thread

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •