Agoraphobia and dizziness for over a year triggered by a traumatic event.
Posted , 2 users are following.
Last March I was at a busy store with my 8 month old baby. I was carrying him with a baby carrier and since it was still cold out I was wearing a pretty warm coat. I started sweating while I was shopping but figured it was just too warm in the store. It was when I got to the register that I started to sweat profusely almost like cold sweats you get when you're sick. As soon as I stepped outside the store I became very dizzy and started to almost black out from the stars I was seeing. I knelt down and called for help from a nearby employee. At that point I felt like I couldn't control the spinning and blacking out but I had my baby attached to me so i somehow managed to not faint. I spend the next two hours in the same spot with such horrible spinning that I couldn't open my eyes or breathe normally, scared to death that in any moment I could pass out with you baby on my chest. As I could no longer walk or move I agreed to have the ambulance come and get us. They had to carry us in to the car because I couldn't stand on my own without falling over. At the emergency room they did a mri and blood test and after 4 hours I was able to wobble out of the hospital with the help of a family member. All the door said was that it could've been vertigo. Ever since that day I have a hard time going anywhere with my child in fear that it could happen again. And now that's he's big enough to run away I wouldn't be able to hold on to him if it happens. It has gotten a little better now but in the beginning if I went out even down the street I would feel the same thing happen, the sweating, dizziness, and extremely afraid of making a fool of my self again. So basically I always need someone to go anywhere with me and it sucks because I miss going shopping alone and have time to myself. Walking up to the register is what triggers it most of the time. I cant go on any rides or anything like that because I'll start spinning. May be a coincidence but I started my period a day after the initial incident. And now almost every time I get dizzy and faint before my period. I'm sorry this turned in to such a long post but I was wondering if there was anyone out there with a similar story. Thank you
1 like, 5 replies
Sillymop Hazuchan81
Posted
I have been dealing with a boat like woozy sensation for the past ten months. Feeling dizzy is horrible and frightening. All your senses feel thrown out the window. You no longer feel a calm in your own head...
Since my dizzyness began I have been trying to read up on it, as like you I suffer from anxiety and feel this could be a huge factor in what in feeling... Something I found may help you. In fact after reading your post, what I found out could almost have been written for you.
Dizzyness without any known cause can linger...because it becomes a learned behaviour.
You fear it happening..which is making it happen, especially when you feel you are in certain areas or places that trigger your memory of that day...
You fear it because ultimately, you fear for your child's safety.
Now that you have had all the relevant tests you know that there is no physical reason...which means it is you.
I would - if it were me - be tempted to tackle this head on.
experience dizzyness. You're running from it now but perhaps if you tackle this it will take away the fear. Spin in circles and feel what it is to be dizzy. Then feel it pass.
Know then that it will always pass... And that you have nothing to be afraid of.
Look into anxiety related dizzyness too.
You are in control. It threw you once, but it won't again.
Hazuchan81 Sillymop
Posted
Sillymop Hazuchan81
Posted
I deal with it badly haha. I've always been good at giving advice..not too good taking it!
Mine started with a virus that gave me vertigo. It lifted after a while and then I was fine...one day it came back. I do think mine is inner ear related but I do also very much believe it is learned behaviour.
Some places trigger it so badly I feel I am spinning. Sometimes just thinking about being in certain places or doing certain things can make me imagine the feeling of dizzyness that I experience. Does that make sense?
I try hard not to give into it, but some days are very hard and I get very upset.
I do believe that we can bring on sensations. For instance, talking about this makes my head feel as if it is full of pressure...I know walking around will make me dizzy.
Another thing that I think it is important as I know you probably do this too? - I think about it. All the time. It governs my thinking now...
But ...you had tests and they found nothing. Anxiety attacks can be bloody terrifying , that is why people end up in A&E with suspected heart attacks. Your baby, I believe, is at the centre of your anxiety.
If you had a true spinning fit and we're going to faint, you would have fainted. You can't stop yourself from fainting...but you didn't because your baby needed you and you knew you had to not faint.
You controlled it... You may not have controlled the whole thing as you would have liked..but you did control it where it was important.
Once you fear something it governs you because you the. Spend your entire time running from it.
Out of sight is not out of mind in these cases, because even wen you don't 'feel' dizzy you are thinking about it and wondering when you will next feel it.
Then..you go to do something and bang - dizzy.
Tackle it head on.
Hazuchan81 Sillymop
Posted
It's like you're reading my mind! All the things you said about just imagining being in a certain place or boat like woozy sensation is exactly what I deal with! Thanks for your replies! It has made me feel so much better knowing someone is going through such similar things....haha I guess that sounds kind of bad tho.
Sillymop Hazuchan81
Posted
I know what you mean
it is nice to know you aren't alone. Dizzyness has been the most debilitating thing I have yet experienced. It has been, for me, the first anxiety symptom that I have sometimes doubted as to whether I can deal with or not. But we have to.. So I try to learn as much as I can about what I am experiencing.
Dizzyness makes us feel out of control of ourselves and our senses. It's terrifying.
But you can 'play' with dizzyness just as you probably did when you were little.
Spin until you are dizzy..walk around and bounce off the walls. Is your child able to walk around yet?
Spin together. Make it a game.
Change your memory of it..you will see it differently.
You can send me a private message any time...if you need to chat or swap 'dizzy stories'
you aren't on your own.