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The Myth of Hopelessness with Agoraphobia
by Stephen Price
I believe hopelessness is a
myth when it comes to agoraphobia.
If anyone was a hopeless case of agoraphobia, then I was. For two years I
could
hardly leave my home without being totally overwhelmed by
debilitating panic. During the daytime, I fought a constant
battle to keep from hyperventilating and scanning my body to
make sure all my vital organs were working. At night I paced
around the house, worrying that I might stop breathing and
die at any moment.
Each morning, I awoke to the sounds of acid churning in my
stomach. Just taking a shower exhausted me and I could
hardly
swallow food at breakfast. I couldn't go to school, work, or
church. I couldn't even go visit a friend and I was
terrified when
the telephone would ring and I though it was for me.
I had panic attacks even when I was at home and at times I
was
confined to one "safe" room by my fear.
I tried therapy, a support group, and medications - but
nothing
seemed to help me. I thought about giving up and seriously
questioned the value of my life.
But I did recover.
Many people with agoraphobia believe that if therapy,
support groups, and medication don't help them then nothing
can
help them. There are many agoraphobics like I was who go
through times of thinking they are a hopeless case.
There were two major turning points in my recovery:
1) Doing reading on my own to get educated about my
disorder.
2) Meeting someone who had made a personal recovery from
agoraphobia with panic attacks.
When I met someone who had experience with recovering from
panic disorder and agoraphobia, not only could she
understand what I was going through from her own experience
– she knew what to do to get better. I could have confidence
in her suggestions because she had made a complete recovery
from agoraphobia and panic attacks herself.
Meeting someone who had recovered from the same thing I was
going through was like being lost in a forest and meeting
someone with a map who could show me the way out.
I started the Agoraphobia Resource Center website to offer as many people as possible the information they
need to recover from agoraphobia and personal contact with
me and others who have recovered from agoraphobia.
Please visit this website anytime you like to read about
agoraphobia. You may subscribe to our free
newsletter, and you may contact me anytime at:
stephen@agoraphobia.ws
I
know agoraphobia can be really bad. I was as bad as it can
get. But you are not a hopeless case.
I recovered and so can you.
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