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Does anyone feel weird in open spaces?

Posted , 73 users are following.

Moo88
Moo88

So ive been complaining about this for so long but with little support or answers to what it is i just get told its all anxiety. Anyway when im in any open spaces mainly in supermarkets or shopping centres and even in my house, i feel panicked in open spaces like i feel detached from my body and numb and loss of control so i feel on edge because i feel like i need to hold on to something. The strange thing is if im pushin a trolley, or the pram or holding on to someone i feel fine. I just feel like i cant feel my body when im walking unaided in open spaces. Does anyone get this? I cant remember the last time ive went to town on my own because of this feeling, its almost a feeling of unbalance like i feel like i could fall x

11 likes, 173 replies

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  • julie57374
    julie57374 Moo88

    Posted

    Hi there

    im happy to have found this discussion. Yes I feel that way too in open spaces. It comes and goes. It has been happening for a few months now. I will be in a line up where when it's my turn I have to cross an open area to the cashier. I start panicking as to how I'm going to do it, I manage by deliberately trying to distract myself with other thoughts. And at work I walk close to walls, if I have to cross an open area I count. I used to teach Parkinson's patients to count when they got stuck while walking, it helps. 

    Shopping malls are becoming a problem too. I find myself going out of my way so I don't have to cross that open space. 

    My fear is that this condition is getting worse. 

    I spoke to my gp who has referred me to a psychiatrist. I see him Monday and will let you know what he says. 

    I read all the other comments, they are helpful, will get my ears checked too I think 

    • Moo88
      Moo88 julie57374

      Posted

      Hi Julie I can relate to what you said I also get those same thoughts ie If I walk out of a shop I will think I need to get to the next shop but Its means going in to open space and I will start to feel uneasy and I will clench my body up and rush to get there just to avoid what ever my mind is trying to make me think will happen. I have not had this feeling much lately but I have not been tested in real open spaces like shopping centres. I still feel dizzy every day and having problems with my ears so I am confused now weather its ear, anxiety or heart related because of the different symptoms I keep experiencing.x
    • madonn95250
      madonn95250 julie57374

      Posted

      Dear Julie , I just found this web site while searching in web browser.  I read your text and couldn't believe how similar our symptoms are and ongoing.   My symptoms started nearly 6 years ago and came on suddenly.  Naturally, I had any physical reason ruled out by neurologist, radiologist, physical therapist, and attending physicians at a major U.S.teaching hospital as well as experts on "dizzy" @ Mayo Clinics in USA.   The only thing they could come up with after thousands of dollars in tests is that it is psychosomatic response to an old traumatic memory, like PTSS.  It is all in your head?   B/C there is no physical reason for the symptoms.  

      The therapy of choice is EMDR and of course a trial of anti-depressants or anti-anxiety prescriptions.   I opted out on the prescription and am trying the EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) for treating an un-conscience  trauma. Of course nearly anyone can look back at childhood and find something that may have had a negative impact emotionally, right? 

         So,  the verdict is still out.   I am not cured (after recent weekly visits to a qualified health care counselor)  nor wonder if anyone really knows how to cure this mysterious syndrome shared by everyone posting on this site.  It just seems so strange, doesn't it, very mysterious at the least.   Shouldn't someone have found   a cure by now, something that really works!   

      Meditation, nutritional supplements, hypnosis?  Anything?

      PS Shopping use to be fun, now it can be terrifying.  These symptoms have limited my lifestyle choices and can be a verdict in isolation in an aging in place society. 

       

  • pinkcatfairy
    pinkcatfairy Moo88

    Posted

    You are describing exactly how i feel!! I have had this since i was about eleven, i am now 51! Yes if i hold on to something i am better but i cannot walk unaided into an open space. My body goes into panic and artifical lighting and certain tiled floors make it worse. Wearing sunglasses seems to help but i cant do that in a supermarket! Yes i feel dizzy and then the panic starts and at worst hyperventilating!!
    • Moo88
      Moo88 pinkcatfairy

      Posted

      Hi do you feel dizzy all the time? Did you ever get any diagnosis from a doctor? Do you think yours could be ear related?x
    • pinkcatfairy
      pinkcatfairy Moo88

      Posted

      Yes i feel dizzy too, i never really thought about whether it could be the ears, i always felt it was a deep seated phobia that i have and i would love to be cured and to find out what triggered it. I feel if it was my ears then i would feel it all the time, like at home, it is the open space that sets my anxiety off x
  • kathie37110
    kathie37110 Moo88

    Posted

    I feel exactly the same way!  I notice this post was a year old.  How are you doing now?

     

  • kathie37110
    kathie37110 Moo88

    Posted

    Would love to see is anyone has had success getting a handle on this.  My problem started when I had vertigo.  Super shiny floors and open surfaces and any water (i.e., rain on the road) are my biggest issues.  I know because of my balance I do much better with a shopping cart.  I even thought about getting one of those carts that fold up and you can put in your car, not a walker, more like a basket with a long handle, just to give me a sense of stability.
    • pinkcatfairy
      pinkcatfairy kathie37110

      Posted

      I hate open spaces, yes shiny floors, i feel dizzy in any open space, always need a shopping trolley in supermarkets, hate bright lights too. I always feel the need to walk on the edge of any open space
  • Joe131364
    Joe131364 Moo88

    Posted

    I Have panic an anxiety attack because of traumat events. I do take mediocation for both. I use Klonipikn and Paroxitine and when I feel nervious I use Melatonin, maybe 50 mgs during the day as needed and 100 mgs at night.

    It is actually used for time changes. I used to fly out every other week for many years, and the melatonin does work on time changes.

  • elena4442
    elena4442 Moo88

    Posted

    Hello. Refereshing to know other people have similar problems. I am going to try tapping next time I am abvout to cross the street- with my walker!. I have an ear problem that at 74 years old has no solution. I walk along walls, not where it is dark, abnd avoidc open spaces. So I use the walker all the time outside= or hold onto someone's arrm.  The problem is that I get panicky and stop. when crossing the street or open spacwes sometimes. With the walke. Just happened when I voted. I had criossed the street to get to the  voting center OK but returning, I took 2 steps  into the street and stgopped, Tried again. Panicky and felt like throwing up. Do not get dizzy ort fall over. Just freeze. I have worked through it sometimes by focusing on a sign or letter or something.  Today, I found a policeman whose arm I held- along with my walker. This problem developed after i had a hip replacement and used a walker when I recovered. Putg away tghe walker and this imblance problem developed (5 years ago.) But this new panicky started about 1 year ago. Ear doctor diagnosed the inner ear problem and suggested exercizes to help cope with balance. But nothing about the panicky. Looking forward to hear from you. Have to think abiout "detached feeling"  I like crowded places as being around people males it easer for me!

  • Jcclar1
    Jcclar1 Moo88

    Posted

    Well I thought I was the only one in the world who felt like this lol. I have had it for around 16 years. Feels like a strange spaced out disconnect mind from body when I step out into an open space that makes me want to freeze. Has at times affected my working life and made me give away any sports that involved open spaces like on ovals when I was younger. I have found shiny flat hard surfaces to be worse, long grass ares not so bad. Pushing something like a trolley takes the feeling away.
    • 62short
      62short Jcclar1

      Posted

      Hi! Yours sounds similar to mine. I will freeze up in open spaces if I cant at least touch my finger tips on someting. Im fine in my own house (I wasnt at 1st) and have gotten much better in other peoples homes. I work in retail behind the counter, which im fine behind, but need a cart to get to other places in the store. I move pretty fast with the cart! I had a problem in my spine that I had surgery for 13 yrs ago but walked with a occassional limp right before and ever since. I have had falls since my foot doesnt always lift completely but I didnt have any problems walking until a fall I had about a 1 1/2 yrs ago. My brain will say" Lets go!" and my legs lock up. My husband says that when I fall my body stiffins and I fall like a tree. Sometimes I do feel like it is balance though, especially when I stand still for a long period of time. Everybody thinks they have the right advise to solve my problem. I would love to walk anywhere without assistance again.

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