Agoraphobia, and related panic, anxiety, stress.
If you are looking at this page then I reckon you are curious about, interested in, or maybe suffering from agoraphobia yourself or through someone you love. Perhaps you have mild agoraphobia - you have suffered from panic attacks, anxiety and now dread going out or going to particular places for fear you have another panic attack - yet you pluck up the courage and fight on, may be just to get through your front door. Perhaps you think regularly about the limitations the panics place on your life. May be you want to read about help available to change to gain, or read on to hear first hand experience.
I found travelling by bus a nightmare. When I could, I would travel by train. There is usually a corridor to walk down and a toilet into which I could escape to panic in private. Trains stop regularly and there is more opportunity in a railway station to visit the loo, grab a drink and let the panic pass, before catching the next train. Bus stops are not so convenient- there is rarely a loo.
If you are fighting your agoraphobia, I reckon you could be like I was, always tired, often exhausted because of the energy you need to keep going and get through the day. I would walk around shopping centres feeling dizzy, disorientated and breathless. I was terrified I would faint and make a fool of myself. I was sure people would notice.
Shopping was a nightmare, yet one I approached with military precision. My ability to buy with great speed and efficiency was phenomenal. Whatever I needed I could get so quickly and efficiently, I reckon I could have won an award. Drive car (my safe place where I could panic in private!) to the best bet for the needed items. I was exceedingly fortunate to have use of a car. My car became my refuge, full of soothing music, soft drinks and magazines. I could drive to a quiet place and feel calm and comfortable before the next 'adventure' in my daily routine. I'd be always dressed in business wear (excuse for being in a hurry!) and rush in the nearest shop, make a quick scan of available stock, quick dash to cashier's desk, avoiding or knocking over the salesman trying to waylay you, credit card at the ready, I'm in a dreadful rush, must be back in the office, dash home, cup of tea to recover, need to sleep for an hour to have enough energy to make the next traumatic trip to pick up the kids from school.
There were times when I had more confidence, more energy and ventured out into the 'real' world. You may find you or (your family member) are able to hold down a job- there is comfort in a set routine- yet returning home drained and irritable each day. There are comfortable jobs to take as a sufferer of mild agoraphobia, yet rarely do these posts require contact with the public.
If you are a spasmodic sufferer of panic and anxiety and experience this at work, you may find there are times when your ability to carry out all the tasks on your job description is seriously limited. Perhaps you take time off work, yet dread your employer knowing the real reason you are absent? Fear of discovery, or a doctor's sick note implying anxiety or severe stress may lead you to panic more as your concerns for the tenability of your post grow. Fear of being prescribed medication to calm your symptoms may prevent you from seeking any help as you strive to lead as normal as possible an existence.
Perhaps you recognise some of my tactics in yourself? When it came to holidays- well I simply had everyone convinced I was a loveable eccentric. Why else would anyone in this day and age drive for 16 hours to go on holiday, camp in lonely places, never fly or take a package holiday or go anywhere where there might be more than just the odd few, equally eccentric people? You say how could someone with agoraphobia go camping in lonely places- well, I had my family, I could panic in privacy without the glare of onlookers, so the panics were fewer and I would grow in confidence and comfort for the weeks I escaped on holiday.
Catching a plane was very definitely a no-no! How can you escape from a plane and run? There are not many loos on a plane. Imagine the fuss the crew would make- is the passenger having a heart attack. How would I have got through the airport to the plane? The cinema, football matches, pop concerts- no chance- I would just say I was a bit of a reclusive eccentric with unusual hobbies. My safest and most comfortable refuge was my shed at the bottom of the garden where I would spend hours deep in artwork. Here alone I felt peace, no dizziness, no breathlessness.
There were most definitely times when I found leaving the house almost too difficult and only once I rang a neighbour to collect the kids from school, only to feel overwhelmed by disappointment and anger with myself for being so weak. There are so many limitations to the life of a mild agoraphobic, yet often the sufferer is secretive about the problem and a genius at excuses. Often an over concerned relative or friend will witness a panic in the early days and thereafter whenever the sufferer has an encounter or meeting with that person the very memory of that panic is enough to induce another. Avoidance is a common escape route even with friends and family and so the genius on making excuses grows along with fear of growing isolation which accompanies secrecy.
For the sufferer of severe agoraphobia, the door to home is a barrier through which exit is impossible. Attempts to leave home result in disabling panic. Life is centred around the home and great genius applied to living as normal as possible an existence within the home. For a homemaker with an active and able bodied, understanding family staying put in the home is achievable. For a single person or the family breadwinner, the trauma of agoraphobia just grows. The sufferer is disabled, lonely and dependent upon help. Perhaps you recognise yourself here? Many sufferers of severe agoraphobia have lived very productive lives within the safety and comfort of their own 'territory', developing interests and skills to usefully fill each day over very long periods. Only emergencies requiring a sufferer to leave the cocooned world of their home will result in overwhelming and disabling panic.
Overcoming agoraphobia is achievable!! I invested in some NLP therapy. The therapy was comfortable, gentle and of short duration, There was no long term locking into weekly or monthly sessions. After the therapy I wondered how I would feel when I left the session. I felt so relaxed, so comfortable and very different.
I had travelled to London for my therapy. Previously each time I travelled to London I would spend days in advance planning my strategy to reach my destination. The energy consumed would leave me tired. Travelling on the London Underground was a total nightmare, yet one which I had perfected so greatly I avoided any sympathetic fellow traveller from noticing. I rarely got down onto the underground without several attempts and repeated trips to the loo. Only when the panic had 'burnt out' did I succeed in getting to my destination.
I left my session of NLP therapy, and found myself at the first attempt getting onto an underground train, I saw clearly the faces of the other passengers for the first time, I read the adverts and laughed and chatted with a fellow passenger. I slept a comfortable sleep on the main line train. I began to notice small changes over the next days, I could walk outside and the ground was still, I noticed what was going on around me and my joy was so great. The rest is history. I have flown for the first time in my life, I travel comfortably by bus, I shop in crowded cities, I have been to an open air pop concert, I have sat in the middle seat of a cinema auditorium. The limitations have gone, I feel set free to live a life which is comfortable, where enjoyment has returned, where I make decisions about what I do and where I go- the panicker has gone.
There are very positive ways in which a sufferer can overcome agoraphobia. Seeking medical help is most often the first route taken by sufferers. If you do, your GP may prescribe medication to help you through a particularly tough time when the panics are acute. You may be prescribed medication of a different kind to address the longer-term symptoms. Your GP may refer you to a clinical psychologist / psychotherapist or recommend you attend classes to enable you to learn techniques to alleviate your symptoms of distress. You may choose to enlist the help of a support group or read up on self help literature. You also have the option to choose a private therapist, which will provide you with total confidentiality and the comfort in knowing your difficulty with panic does not reach your medical record.
REMEMBER always that when a problem puts you into overwhelm or despair, you can seek emergency help - you can call NHS direct (0845 4647 and http://www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk) for guidance, visit your local Accident and Emergency department if you can get there. Of course you may be stuck in your home, so treat your telephone at this time as your best friend! The Samaritans (0845 7909090, mini com for the deaf and hard of hearing 0845 7909192) are superb and only a telephone call away. The Samaritans are there all day every day. They are also contactable via the internet. There are some great sites on the internet accessible through your search engines which will direct you to local self help groups. Local libraries and GP surgeries may hold brochures and leaflets and address lists of self help groups. Keep in touch with friends and family by telephone and e-mail!
NLP provides many powerful techniques including Hypnotherapy and Time Line Therapy which when suitably combined and applied can prove invaluable in getting agoraphobics out and about, removing the limitations on their lives to live a much better life and without the use of any pills. You can be fast and resolve the problem often in two sessions, which can last several hours each. Your therapist will ensure that you are in a comfortable and private setting and you will have the choice to be accompanied. Your therapy can be offered at home. Being realistic such effective solutions are seldom available through the NHS.
So it may be that you can save a lot of delay and discouragement, when you realise you can deal with it yourself privately and in a value for money approach.-at the same time paying for it yourself avoids your therapy ever appearing on your medical records which can potentially damage your career, insurance cover and cost, or other aspects of life when your mental health is put under scrutiny. For the private agoraphobic who seeks so carefully to avoid attention and fuss, private therapy is a really good solution
Take heart if you suffer with a problem on the spectrum between anxiety and agoraphobia there are effective solutions in which you can be in control. Contact change.TOGAIN 0845 644 1098 for a conversation without commitment. As well as therapy for your problem we also offer a 1 hour first aid session for anxiety for those currently too anxious to consider what help they really need. You will benefit in this situation because you will go away, practice what you have been taught, enabling you to clear your mind, and think calmly and sensibly about what kind of therapy you need and why and who will be the best provider- after all it is your problem and it is your choice how to overcome it.
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