Does anyone feel weird in open spaces?
Posted , 73 users are following.
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
Pesty_Wadoo Moo88
Posted
I finally have time and i read all the responses. I can relate to the walking near walls...shiny floor..wide open parking lots...no barriers...Can I add driving downhill on a steep grade and most freeway driving especially if it is a WIDE freeway?This is the first place I found that actually makes me feel like I'm not crazy. I'm 57 and been dealing with this since 8...I went to neuro-opthamologist and he found my eyes do not focus together. He also wanted me to have an MRI for MS and it was clean. The neurologist told me I have a classic case of agoraphobia. If I have a shopping cart I'm fine...or walking my dog. When I take exercise I stand in the back NEXT to a wall. I can't stand in the middle of a room....i have to have barriers. Just got back from a cruise and the worst part was walking off the pier to the island with open water on both sides. THAT to me is frightening. Escalators are horrible. I just really feel all alone here.We retired from Michigan which is flat...to Tennessee and it has gotten so much worse with all the wide open atmosphere. Sometimes I feel like I am in jail.....
Eiffel Pesty_Wadoo
Posted
I think it's my eyes too and that I can't focus. I assume that triggers the fight or flight system in our brain but logically we don't find any reason to be frightened? That's my latest theory anyway. I get this in cars as well as supermarkets/malls.
nbw70 Pesty_Wadoo
Posted
hi there, its strange you mention shiny floor surfaces, Iv suffered too like alot of you, when or if I walk in a supermarket the shiny floor kinda freaks me out and in shipping crntres I have to walk by the walks holding onto a trolley, im just wandering if there is any specific treatment or help to make my fesr go away because im scared i will become a recluse
Lulubeck nbw70
Posted
hi, i've been following this post for a while and unfortunately, it doesn't seem like anyone has found a solution. The good thing is we found each other, as most of us had thought we were the only ones...
linda88765 Moo88
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roslyn78288 linda88765
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roslyn78288 Moo88
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sandra53186 roslyn78288
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sandra53186 Moo88
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nbw70 sandra53186
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hi, its strange you mention concrete or tiled floors as i feel the same yet on grass or an open field i am absolutely fine, as soon as i see the concrete or the shiny tiles i feel wierd, and i have to wslk next to something or someone, i cant wslk in a big open space on my own on concrete
jennifer40117 Moo88
Posted
Hi I am thankful I found this post. I have had some sort of anxiety my whole life, but this "thing" I have been dealing with when I go out in public is pretty new to me. Mainly happens in large places. I am okay at home and smaller grocery stores etc...but as soon as I walk up to a large place it triggers. Might sound strange, but I get this weird sensation in my head, then I feel like my legs lock up and have a hard time walking. I need to walk near walls or bars or anything I feel I can hold onto in case I fall. Thankfully I am usually with my husband, but if I lose sight of him if he wanders off to look at something I panic. I feel like people think I am drunk because of how I am walking. It eventually does go away but in the middle of it you feel like hell. I know some of these posts are a few years old, but it gives me comfort knowing I am not alone, and you are not alone either.
Agro1967 Moo88
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I feel the same feelings as you do Moo88. The same feelings return everytime I have to go somewhere that for ''me'' is scary e.g. along a a main long and wide street, being in a multistorey car park, or an enormous department store or even worse at a bus or train station, or on a bus. being in a lift. and most of all flying. the list is quite common for most people but for me all the listed places for me are an enormous threat for my life and health. the sad thin hat all these things create a limit that forbids me to enjoy life and makes constantly refuse beautiful events like going for a simple day out with friends or family, or going on holiday. life is not easy i reassures me that I am not alone. I ask myself why do I have to feel dizzy, unsure and unsafe, have wobbly legs, racing heart, feel sweaty and have difficulty in breathing and blurred sight ... it is just so crazy and unjust.
pinkcatfairy Moo88
Posted
I can totally relate to this, I think that I have always had a sort of agoraphobia but in menopause itbseems worse. I don't like open areas, OK with small shops but big supermarkets and open spaces I cant deal with. There's something about the artificial lights and tiled floors just makes me want to panic. Like one of the other ladies, I too cling to my husband when I feel the panic. In open areas I have to walk to the side and not bang in the middle. I feel like I have to have some sort of 'anchor' like a trolley in the supermarket to hold on to. The fear I feel is so real , I avoid places and I feel it does restrict my life.
Agro1967 pinkcatfairy
Posted
pinkcatfairy Agro1967
Posted
Dear Agro
So sorry you feel like it too, I know exactly how you feel. It does help to know that I'm not going mad and the only person like this. I do feel isolated feeling like this as people I know dont feel like I do! I even have to look at something on telly which looks 'open' and I feel anxious! X
barbara88529 pinkcatfairy
Posted
I feel exactly as you've described. I seem to have had increasing symptoms for about 5 years, and now I use a walker to be sure I don't fall. It is frustrating that people who have seen me using a walker keep asking why I am using a walker. My response is "because I am tired of falling." I saw a vestibular therapist for a while, but that was not greatly helpful. If I can hold onto a cart in the grocery store, even lightly hold my husband's arm, touch a wall, it helps. I can no longer walk to my car or to the mailbox with nothing to hold onto. This has changed my life, and I would so like to "get over this." I had one fall resulting in a hip fracture and replacement and one destroying my shoulder. There have been numerous falls. I am soooo sympathetic with those of you suffering from this disorder.
pinkcatfairy barbara88529
Posted
So sorry you are suffering too and have had falls and fractures. Yes it does control my life and I often think how wonderful it would be to go anywhere and not worry or panic!
Lulubeck Agro1967
Posted
i posted here before. I've tried everything. I've had brain scans, MRIs, all kinds of blood tests, physical therapy and now i'm seeing a psychiatrist. So far, no change. It started 6 years ago but it was only when i wore high heels. Now it has gotten worse no matter what i wear. Even though no one has posted a solution, it's so helpful to have this support because i feel like i'm going crazy and no one else seems to understand what i'm going through. I'm curious though if all of us here are women and what age group? Also, mine started right after i had my second child (i was 40). just wondering if there's a pattern here with all of us.
madonn95250 Lulubeck
Posted
Hi Beady, 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?
Yes, I see what you are saying, a pattern.