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Vae
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15 Feb 2006, 9:18 am

I am a sufferer of Social Anxiety Disorder. Until recently I thought I had it under control, but now I am having a hard time doing simple things like buying food or going to class. I fear that I am developing agoraphobia. This whole situation is spinning out of control and I don't know how to handle it. I would greatly appreciate any and all advice on this matter seeing as I'm total lost.



Kiss_my_AS
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15 Feb 2006, 11:00 am

Do you have any thoughts one what caused the apparent drawback, as in, how has thing that was reasonably comfortable then now become uncomfortable?



Belfast
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15 Feb 2006, 7:46 pm

Vae wrote:
I am a sufferer of Social Anxiety Disorder. Until recently I thought I had it under control, but now I am having a hard time doing simple things like buying food or going to class. I fear that I am developing agoraphobia. This whole situation is spinning out of control and I don't know how to handle it. I would greatly appreciate any and all advice on this matter seeing as I'm total lost.

Dunno' if you have a counselor/therapist, and are willing/able to get appt. w/person, if there's someone encouraging to you. If so, you could spend your appointment time having the conversation over the phone, as a way to get input/support w/o leaving home. My social worker suggested that she'd call me when I let her know there was reason I couldn't make it to her office.
My agoraphobia is long-standing, only get around due to having other people supporting & accompanying me. It was worse when I didn't have the friends & professionals helping me, and I still get freaked out. Try to do nothing when I get home from being out in public, bc. I feel so overloaded mentally & physically-try to let things calm down & process the dizzying array of what just happened.
Sorry I haven't much advice, just a few possible "work-around" things I do, but I've no idea what your situational specifics are.


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MsTriste
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15 Feb 2006, 9:00 pm

Along with AS, I have been diagnosed with depression and anxiety. I have had anxiety on and off my whole adult life.

I went through a period of agoraphobia in my early 20's, which was triggered by a few upsetting events. I was on a small airplane and there was a lot of turbulence and I had my first panic attack. Shortly thereafter I went sailing in very big wind and a very big body of water and I had another panic attack. Then I started having the attacks at the grocery store. Then I could no longer take the subway to work - I had to drive.

I realized it was getting out of hand, and I didn't even think of seeing a shrink so I went to the library and got all the books I could about panic attacks and agoraphobia. I learned about desensitization and cognitive therapy, I made myself some hypnosis tapes, I stopped drinking coffee, and my anxiety started to decrease.

It took some time, but I was eventually able to go pretty much anywhere without panicking. However, there are places I will not go, such as where there's a large crowd.

I suffered panic attacks for years when flying. So I got some sedatives for flying, and that was really helpful because I was able to be calm enough to fly and eventually I got desensitized. It was probably just last year that I could fly without meds for the first time, and now I have no problem with planes.



autisticon
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16 Feb 2006, 9:54 am

I have random panic attacks from time to time, it scares me because I never know when they will happen. I can easily go over a year w/o them and then have several in a short period of time.

I had one about 2 weeks ago and it was my first in a year and a half. I had thought they were behind me, I guess not! Sadly mine happened after my roommates had gone to bed, and I had no alcohol, weed or depressants to calm me down. And it was freezing cold outside so I couldnt even go for a walk or run. So the next day I bought a box of gravol and tossed it in a drawer in case such an emergency occurs again.

The funny thing is I'm not even sure what set that one off... I think it was something stupid that didnt really matter, its just I've had a lot of other unrelated stresses on me, so it was like the final little prod that pushed me over the edge.



aprillove
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16 Feb 2006, 4:29 pm

i suffer from panic attacks and agorophobia on a daily basis.
april


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autisticon
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16 Feb 2006, 4:30 pm

I get minor ones everytime I cut through the cafeteria... I'm fine if I'm with someone, because I can talk to them to distract myself. But if I'm alone, it freaks me out. It was the same all through college and highschool. Because of which I tend to take late lunches.



tdbrown82
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04 Mar 2006, 8:36 pm

I was planning on going to my brothers for spring break, but have spent most of the time today in bed. I think I have some form of it.