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View Full Version : How I Got Rid Of My Anxiety/Agoraphobia Once And For All



Aydin
10-12-2013, 10:09 AM
MY STORY
Hey guys, this is my first post on this forum. I made an account just to let you all know how I got rid of my agoraphobia. Firstly I'd like to say that Agoraphobia is not a choice and to anyone who thinks it's not clearly hasn't gone through it. I woke up one morning feeling nauseous and nervous for absolutely no reason. went to sleep feeling perfectly normal, i was confident and happy. everything in my life was going so smoothley and I felt amazing. Waking up the next morning everything changed. I felt sick and nauseous for no apparent reason. At first I thought that I had caught a bug or virus so I really didn't care. It started getting worse and worse as the weeks weeks went by. I felt more and more nauseous, not realizing at the time that it got worse when I left the house. I thought that I had a disease or parasites because my body felt really weird. I found it harder to feel emotions and my way of thinking changed heaps. After 2 months of this I felt crushed. I couldn't do anything without feeling sick, I felt helpless and hopeless. I felt nothing like the person I used to be and wanted more than anything to be that way again. This was ruining my life, everything was perfect and this had to happen. It got to the point where I was nauseous 24/7, I couldn't even go to work anymore because I felt like vomiting ( which I never did ). I spoke to my family about it and for the first time ever I considered it to be psychological. To rule out any physical diseases I did many tests done with everything coming back normal. This told me that it had to be a mental thing even though i did doubt it. I was extremely desperate but didnt want to go on any pills because I didn't want to rely on them. With this in mind I saw a psychologist, upon arriving there i was very nauseous ( as usual ) and really wanted to leave. She spoke with me alot about how I felt and diagnosed me with agoraphobia. She tried to teach me some techniques to make me feel better but none of them worked at all which made me feel even worse. By this time I couldn't leave the house and I felt like life wasn't even worth living if I was going to feel like this forever.

THIS IS HOW I GOT RID OF IT
I had done a lot of research on the topic and found out agoraphobia is basically your mind thinking there is danger outside of your comfort zone even though you know there isn't. I also found out that if you stay in your 'safe place' ( your home ) too long it will be harder for your mind to understand that there Is no danger. I also read that the nausea was being caused by too much adrenaline being pumped through the body and that breathing deeply forced your body to stop doing this. With all this in mind I realized I had no more time to lose. I was sick and tired of feeling this way and was ready to be my old self again once and for all!

I walked outside and started to feel the nausea get worse. I was tempted to run back inside but I did everything i could to make sure I didn't. All I did was think of a peaceful song, close my eyes and take long deep breaths. I did this for 4 hours a day. Eventually I got bored of just standing there so i did the same thing walking down the streets. Just breathing, it felt great. I kept doing this for 3 weeks straight, stepping out of my comfort zone little by little each day. I could feel my mind start to re adapt and started feeling like my old self again. Eventually I decided to take the massive step of returning back to work. When I first arrived i felt horrible and was nervous that I would puke in front of everyone. But I just held on and breathed. I was able to have normal conversations again and felt my confidence returning again. Everything became happy again and I felt amazing again. I couldn't believe that such a complicated thing had an easy cure. Stepping out of your comfort zone little by little and breathing.

AFTER THE EXPERIENCE
In all honesty, even though during the agoraphobia I felt like crap. I really appreciate what I went through because it made me so much stronger and wiser on the inside. I feel like I have evolved into a better person in general and learnt many great lessons from the experience. The agoraphobia did return briefly but I was easily able to make it go away and this makes me feel strong.

You guys can feel better. I promise each and every one if you. No matter how hopeless you feel, no matter how trapped you feel don't give up! Nothing lasts forever. You can feel better and you can make it so you never have to feel this way again. I promise with all my heart and soul.

If you have any further questions post a reply and I will be more than happy to comment because everyone deserves a happy care free life.

Aydin.

sweetypie
10-12-2013, 12:36 PM
I had really bad agoraphobia as well and this is really the only way you can deal with it. By forcing yourself to do more and more, a little at a time, outside your comfort zone. Just facing it all the time, until eventually the feelings go away.

Sometimes it helps to bring an object that comforts you, I have a few of those, so it's kind of like you are bringing your comfort zone with you.

I had my worst agoraphobia at 16. People saw me have panic attacks when I left the house and would scream at me that I was hopeless and helpless and pathetic and would amount to nothing because I couldn't even leave the house without freaking out.

I am 27 now and most of my agoraphobia is gone, except that I can't go in a public place unless I have someone who makes me feel safe with me. I'll learn to get over this once I am able to get a car and drive myself places on my own, but since I can't do that right now, that's why I've been halted in my recovery for now.

It took me years to get to this point because my agoraphobia was very severe, even though I faced it every day and even went on a two week vacation (which was the most horrifying thing in the world) when I was in the middle of having it. So it can't always be fixed in weeks or months even.

But I agree with everything you are saying and I've been there, too.