|
You Are Not Alone with Agoraphobia
by Stephen Price
Most people who get agoraphobia
feel like they are the only one. Unless you have looked into
the statistics, it is easy to feel like you are the only
person going through what you are going through. You may
feel like no one else experiences the kind of panic or
anxiety that you do or that no one could ever
understand you.
This belief can be isolating and work against your recovery.
It
can lead to hiding your problem, not sharing it with anyone,
and
not getting the support or help you need to get better.
I will admit that my case of agoraphobia made me feel like
some
kind of a freak for a while. I felt like I must be the only
person in the world that couldn't leave my house without
hyperventilating and getting weak and dizzy. I felt alone
and
isolated in my suffering, as though no one else has
experienced
the type of things I was experiencing.
Going to a support group didn't help these feelings of
isolation
at all. Though the people at my support group all said they
had
anxiety disorders and some even said they had agoraphobia,
they
could all sit through the whole group session without
leaving. I,
on the other hand, could only stay about five or ten minutes
without being overwhelmed with panic and walking hurriedly
to the door – and I was on lots of valium.
So I felt like the freak, even among a support group of
other
people with anxiety disorders.
The truth is, you are not alone if you suffer from
agoraphobia. In fact, you are in good company. About 3.2
million
Americans suffer from agoraphobia at any given time (Anxiety
Disorders Association of America, 2005). That's a lot of
people who share your experience!
They are not necessarily losers or societal outcasts either.
There are some pretty big names among these 3.2 million
agoraphobia
sufferers, too. Former NFL football star and Heisman Trophy winner, Earl Campbell, has
suffered from debilitating agoraphobia at times, as has
Oscar Award winning actress, Kim Basinger.
I said all
of this to say that if you have agoraphobia, it might be
helpful to find someone else who has been through
agoraphobia and recovered. The best support and help may
come from someone who understands your disorder from their
own experience - and can share what they did to get their
life back.
back to
articles
home
|
|
|
