Hi guys. I'm a sufferer of agoraphobia, have been for 3 and half years now. I thought i would just write down some of my experiences with it here. Hopefully i'm posting this in the right place as im new. And if i ramble, do forgive me.
It all started about mid 2006. I had recently broken up with a gf and was in a depressing and dark place. I had started a new job, but it wasnt very good, and i was feeling under a lot of stress. One day i was walking around a shop in town looking at some books and i suddenly, apparently out of nowhere, started to feel sweaty and very anxious. I also felt an urgent need to go to the bathroom. Naturally i thought i just had some kind of virus, so i shot out of there pretty fast and went home, ( although i bought the book first, lol ). Monday morning came round and i felt better so decided to go to work. But when i got in the car the feeling came back, and i felt a desperate need to go to the toilet again. I stayed in work for a few hours but i was constantly runnin back and forth to the toilet so i went home. I kept tryin to go out for a few months afterwards, but the same symptoms were always there, the worst being the toilet needs. I ended up barely even able to walk a few paces without feeling faint and dizzy. I eventually went to the doctors who said i was depressed and havin anxiety issues, and subscribed me 10mg of citalopram. He also referred me to a community health nurse, who came out a few times a week to try to help me go out. I kept at that for about 1 year and a half, they jacked me up to 40mgs of citalopram but they made my anxiety worse so i decided to stop taking them. The nurse who was coming to my house wasnt working out either so i decided to stop that too as it was making me feel depressed that i wasn't making any progress. I've been on my own pretty much since then. It's been a pretty rough year, but i managed to conquer my depression issues, and have even started making progress in going out. I recently bought a bike and have been out on it a few times, which feels great. I havent been very far yet, but im getting somewhere I think. Anyway just wanted to share some of my experiences, sorry if it went on too long, lol. Cheers.
Paul.