I am going nuts here, guys I really need some help!!

[MAHAL]

Hi guys,
First of all I would like you all to know that this is the first time I'm posting in any forum about my agrophobia and panic attacks. I am a 29 year old healthy male with a great career in brand management, I exercise regularly, I don't drink or do drugs but I smoke. About four years ago my father was diagnosed with cancer and ever since then my life has been on a downhill, last year my father passed away in May and the following month my girlfriend left me, I think it's important that I mention here that I am from Karachi, Pakistan and I currently live here. It's probably one of the most violent cities in the world and during the course of four years I have been mugged at gun point 3 times and was held hostage once for a robbery. All these events combined have caused such a distress that I cannot coup with daily stress properly. There are days when I don't want to leave my "safe place", which is my room because I'm so scared of going out in public. I dodon't hang out with my friends anymore because their plans are spontaneous and I can't deal with a panic attack in public because it's too embarrassing. I can't be in a relationship because my SO would want to go out to movies or to eat or to have fun. On the outside I look like add regular human being, someone who's happy and knows how to have fun every morning when I wake up I'm constantly worried about going to work and all day long I worry about the way back home. I really don't know how to deal with that and so I'm turning towards you guys.
I know that you guys deal with this kind of thing on a daily basis so please help me out here. Thanks a lot guys.

[NixonRulz]

Hi guys,
First of all I would like you all to know that this is the first time I'm posting in any forum about my agrophobia and panic attacks. I am a 29 year old healthy male with a great career in brand management, I exercise regularly, I don't drink or do drugs but I smoke. About four years ago my father was diagnosed with cancer and ever since then my life has been on a downhill, last year my father passed away in May and the following month my girlfriend left me, I think it's important that I mention here that I am from Karachi, Pakistan and I currently live here. It's probably one of the most violent cities in the world and during the course of four years I have been mugged at gun point 3 times and was held hostage once for a robbery. All these events combined have caused such a distress that I cannot coup with daily stress properly. There are days when I don't want to leave my "safe place", which is my room because I'm so scared of going out in public. I dodon't hang out with my friends anymore because their plans are spontaneous and I can't deal with a panic attack in public because it's too embarrassing. I can't be in a relationship because my SO would want to go out to movies or to eat or to have fun. On the outside I look like add regular human being, someone who's happy and knows how to have fun every morning when I wake up I'm constantly worried about going to work and all day long I worry about the way back home. I really don't know how to deal with that and so I'm turning towards you guys.
I know that you guys deal with this kind of thing on a daily basis so please help me out here. Thanks a lot guys.

It isn't very often in here that people who are afraid to leave the house actually have damn good reason to be fearful. So I completely understand you having anxiety about going out. That sucks that you have been through so much and I only know of the Pakistan from what I hear about on the news and it sounds pretty scary sometimes.

But no matter your circumstances or where you are in the world with an anxiety disorder, the solution is still the same.

You have to change your beliefs about yourself and your circumstances.

For whatever reason, you associate those things with anxious feelings and panic. But just as you taught yourself to do that with repetition, all that can be "undone" by believing the things you fear are harmless. But you must truly believe that they are harmless based on your experiences.

That is why I always had a hard time making any progress with positive thoughts and positive affirmations. I could picture and say those things til the end of the day but if I didn't really believe what I was saying and only using those things as distractions, then nothing would change,

When you are able to realize that as many times as you have had a panic attack, nothing harmful has occurred. And most people would never see that you are in the midst of a panic attack in public. They just come, then they go. Nothing happens and you wait and fear the next one, which will cause exactly that.

When you start to see the pattern of panicking and no harm coming, you will get that brain of yours to not associate fear with those things you fear now.