Topic : Fears, Phobias and Anxiety Disorders

Hello,

After seeing all the posts concerning the show on agoraphobia/panic etc,,I decided today to write the show and also Dr Phil and Robin. Asked them if they ever check the boards to see how many are suffering with anxiety etc,,,,,so maybe if they get enough emails,,,maybe Lord willing we may all get some answers. Also asked him about updating us on Barbara and Laurie,,,and how I believed not enough time was given to the show,,,,that we need more input and help then what was talked about,,I also commented on how he asked what they were getting out of it,,,told him what I thought I was getting out of it ,,,,life of hell.

Just a suggestion,,,maybe he will listen to thousands of us?

Have a good day,,,,

Seagull

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     I was so thankful and glad to see this show. I was shocked and excited at the same time to hear that people can overcome agoraphobia within such a short amount of time. I WANT TO OVERCOME IT!! I have been struggling for about 24 years and wish I could do more, like fly in an airplane again, go to the mall, take a job that has elevators and actually ride in the elevator and not have to take the stairs all the time.

   I am a single mother and I feel GUILTY that my son has not been able to do things that most people can do.  He wants to go in an airplane so much and there is no way that I can even image getting up the nerve fly with him. I feel like he is embarrassed when I avoid so many things. How can I get better??

   My first one happened when I was in college, my boyfriend (later we married) and I were at his parents house for Christmas Eve. Everything was going good and all of a sudden, I got light headed and dizzy and short of breath, then my heart started pounding faster. I went into the bedroom to try and lie down and I kept feeling like I was going crazy or going to die. I remember calling my mom that lived about 2 hrs away hoping that she could calm me down and make me feel normal again... I ended up going to the emergency room that night. When I arrived at the ER, they hooked me up to a heart monitor and started yelling to get this and that STAT. I had tachycardia and they thought I had a pulmonary embolism. Needless to say this did not help me a bit, I am an X-ray Tech and I knew what a PE was and this made my panic attack worse and my tachycardia worse. Then they did a lung perfusion scan on me. This was awful, I already felt claustrophobic and hard to breathe, and then they put this mask real tight on my face and had me breathing in radioactive nuclides. Great, I felt like I was going to die right then and there.

   After all the tests they did on me, they ended up sending me home with no diagnosis. They basically ruled out the pulmonary embolism and sent me home telling me that I was okay.

   That was horrible.. I kept getting the panic attacks and they kept getting worse. My husband would tell me to drink a couple beers and relax. My parents would make fun of me. I totally started avoiding almost everything I could. I thought I was crazy and no one cared.

  I tried to drive home to visit my parents one weekend and couldn't drive more than 5-10 miles down the road and my heart would starting beating and I would start to gag and would turn around and go back home.

   Home always seemed to be SAFE. I missed a BIG part of my life. I feel the best years is when a woman is in her early 20's and should be enjoying life and here I was miserable. I began to avoid more and more each day. Even the elevators at work. It was a pretty large hospital with 7 floors and I still have nightmares about elevators to this day.

   My husband divorced me after about 7 years of marriage. I hated myself and could not blame him for leaving me. Things got worse then. I had to force myself to drive to work and drive home each day. When I was on call at the hospital, I would just stay at the hospital and try and lay down in the day surgery.

   I remember gagging all the way to work and home in the car. I would do anything to distract myself to help me to stop thinking about going crazy or dying. I couldn't tell anyone, what would they think? She is nuts and stupid like my family and husband told me.

   I would go drinking after work every night. (I worked 2nd shift) This was the only way that I could get to sleep. I was afraid I was going to turn into an alcoholic.

   I was ordering food from the Schwann's man. I tried to go to the grocery store and would end up leaving my cart with my groceries in it and driving home with no groceries. I would beg my parents to help me and get me groceries. I couldn't drive anywhere out of my way but to work and home. If I got the panic attack at work, I would go the bathroom and would pretend that I was throwing up by pouring water into the toilet and making the sound of throwing up at the same time so they would send me home.

   One night, I was watching the late night infomercials -those shows where they are trying to sell their product as a marathon. And it was on TV, my craziness, my feelings, my panic attacks, my agoraphobia!! They were talking about how I felt. I was so shocked to see this. I was not the only person that felt this way! I WAS NOT ALONE AND I WAS NOT CRAZY! It was a set of tapes and a booklet with steps to follow to get better. It cost about $225.00 and I finally dialed and ordered it. 

   I was so excited when it came 4 weeks later, I started the program alone. I was suppose to have some one support me and help me.. But who?? My family just made fun of me not being able to go shopping. Well, I did it myself. I listened to the tapes and did the worksheets and mailed them in. I would get graded on my progress and felt that I may be accomplishing something. I still couldn't drive out of town or to the store though.

   I got up enough courage to make an appointment with a counselor though. I was to bring someone with me to the appointment. I choose my mother, wrong person.  She was trying to get me committed for being crazy, that did not help at all. She also told the counselor that I was an alcoholic. I was so frustrated, I wanted to get over my panic attacks and be able to do things and this made it worse by stressing that I was going to be committed as a crazy person.

   Well, finally my mother stopped coming and the counselor helped me to start driving as far as I could each day and to drive farther the next time. He also told me not to be discouraged if I couldn't drive very far one day.

   I think it helped me, but not as fast as Dr Phil mentioned on the show. It has taken me over 15 years to drive back and forth to work, drive out of town, go to the grocery store, go to the back part of the stores. I still have so many things that I want to do and I still avoid them. Elevators, Flying, going to concerts, women of faith convention, staying in motels above the first floor.

   Is there anything I can do to overcome my avoidance??? I want to start living my life and take my son places besides my SAFE areas. PLEASE, PLEASE HELP ME.....and him...

Thanks for reading this, I was really kind of scared to write this that it may trigger a panic feeling, but it actually made me feel good to talk about this. THANK YOU FOR HAVING THIS ON YOUR SHOW.. AND PLEASE HELP ANYONE THAT HAS THIS...IT IS MISERABLE AND IT MAKES A PERSON FEEL UNWORTHY.

   I would love to be able to help everyone that has agoraphobia so they don't have to live their lives avoiding life.

Respectfully,

Diane

I am an individual that has had panic disorder with agoraphobia since I was in my 20s.  I am now in my 50's.  When I first started having symptoms, the doctors could not even diagnose me...had to do it myself through research.  Once again last night I heard Dr. Phil say this is one of the most curable conditions there is.  REALLY?  I seen a plethora of doctors and therapists, I have taken virtually every medication promising a cure, (many with serious side effects)  worked with a hypnotist, have worked endlessly on desensitization, positive self-talk, deep relaxation, listening to tapes, working with group therapy, reading every book that is printed on the subject....and here I am with a small comfort zone in which to experience.  My last therapist was wonderful, but they did what they could do and frankly had nothing left to teach me.  I have been told that the condition is physiological and that the best I can hope for is good days and bad days...that I will never be symptom free and that I will just have to cope with the symptons to the best of my ability and accept my fate.  But then again Dr. Phil says this is completely curable.  I guess thorough all my doctors, books, meds, groups, tapes, therapy, I have missed something.  Very frustrating !!!!!

I am looking for some feedback on how to cope with premenopausal anxiety that seems to be cyclic and literally puts me out of commission when the smallest thing causes an anxiety attack that I am fully aware is foolish and without due cause and yet will incapacite me from being able to function.  As I move deeper into this perimenopausal stage, I find my capacity for being able to cope with these episodes lessening.  I am looking for some natural remedies to see if they help.  I literally feel like I am vibrating all the time and it is hindering significantly my quality of life.  Luckily I have a husband who is really understanding and he suggested I write to this site. Any adivise?

I hope this menopause is not this bad for I don't think I will make it through it.

Shaky