Kooshdakhaa
Gold Member
So I found out that I'm agoraphobic. I thought I just had situational panic attacks, but the fact that I avoid doing things because I'm afraid I'll have a panic attack means I'm agoraphobic.
When I was young, my early 20s, I would have panic attacks just out of the blue for no apparent reason. Over the years these attacks have become situational, and the situation in which I have them is when I'm driving and have to stop at a redlight. Not all intersections bother me, just some. But it greatly limits my options. I always work somewhere very close to home, for example. Although it's not really the length of the drive that matters so much, but the route. If I can take side roads and avoid major intersections I'm fine. And while the car is moving, I'm fine, it's only when I have to stop at an intersection that I'm in danger of a panic attack.
What makes me agoraphobic is that some years ago I just started refusing to drive outside my comfort zone.
I always thought agoraphobia meant you were afraid to leave your house. Well, it does get that extreme, in fact some people end up confining themselves to only one room in their house. But it isn't always that extreme. Just the fact that you avoid doing "whatever" because you're afraid of having a panic attack defines the condition.
Anyone else out there have similar issues? Anything that has helped? My clinical psychologist sister-in-law sent me a "Panic and Anxiety Workbook" that has some things I can do, including deep breathing, exercise, ... putting an end to the worried, negative thinking that we agoraphobes do...etc. I haven't finished reading the book yet.
Having my husband in the car with me helps, and I also have some big yellow sunglasses that for some reason calm me down. But I still avoid driving certain places.
I wouldn't even worry about this except that the company I work for is moving to a new building in a few months. Right now I live right across the street from work, now I'll have to drive quite a ways. It's not easy being crazy.
When I was young, my early 20s, I would have panic attacks just out of the blue for no apparent reason. Over the years these attacks have become situational, and the situation in which I have them is when I'm driving and have to stop at a redlight. Not all intersections bother me, just some. But it greatly limits my options. I always work somewhere very close to home, for example. Although it's not really the length of the drive that matters so much, but the route. If I can take side roads and avoid major intersections I'm fine. And while the car is moving, I'm fine, it's only when I have to stop at an intersection that I'm in danger of a panic attack.
What makes me agoraphobic is that some years ago I just started refusing to drive outside my comfort zone.
I always thought agoraphobia meant you were afraid to leave your house. Well, it does get that extreme, in fact some people end up confining themselves to only one room in their house. But it isn't always that extreme. Just the fact that you avoid doing "whatever" because you're afraid of having a panic attack defines the condition.
Anyone else out there have similar issues? Anything that has helped? My clinical psychologist sister-in-law sent me a "Panic and Anxiety Workbook" that has some things I can do, including deep breathing, exercise, ... putting an end to the worried, negative thinking that we agoraphobes do...etc. I haven't finished reading the book yet.
Having my husband in the car with me helps, and I also have some big yellow sunglasses that for some reason calm me down. But I still avoid driving certain places.
I wouldn't even worry about this except that the company I work for is moving to a new building in a few months. Right now I live right across the street from work, now I'll have to drive quite a ways. It's not easy being crazy.
Last edited: