I'm still afraid to leave my house!!

Hello there -

I've not dealt with panic attacks in quite awhile, however, there was a time about 20 years ago while I was in my 30s where I was unable to really go anywhere by myself without having anxiety and/or panic attacks. I was able to go out with another person kind of like what you would call a "support animal" nowadays but wasn't able to go by myself.

I grew very, very tired of living like that and eventually made an effort to go short distances from the house. I'm talking 1/2 mile to the post office to begin with. I used a lot of cognitive behavioral therapy and told myself that I wasn't going to die and that I was able to handle the discomfort of the anxiety......It is such an dreadful feeling but I just kept telling myself that it would be ok and that I could handle the uncomfortable feeling. It was never fun but ever so gradually I would take trips a little further away knowing that I would return home afterward. It took awhile but I eventually conquered the fear.

It's not to say that I don't ever have anxiety or panic but got tired of being house-bound by it. I function quite normally now and have for years. I basically got fed up.Some of us that live with or have lived with panic disorder already know what this COVID quarantine feels like because we have been bound to our house by anxiety. So welcome to our world! (When people feel frustrated not being able to go anywhere)

And by the way, slow, deep breathing actually will help calm your nervous system. Start practicing it at home. Youtube some good videos on it. It helps when I get racing heart from hot flashes.

I hope my experience with this helps you over come!!

ok so this is EXACTLY how i was. the heat flashes when they hit i felt like i was dying. ive been in the house for almost 2 years. trust me, u have to figure out a way to try to deal with whatever symptoms u have. i wasted two years of my life. i hate that i let those feelings take control of me. i misses out on soo much. im tellimg you, you will regret it if you let this darkness evil son of a b***h take over. the more u give in to it, the stronger it becomes and its so much harder to fight.

if u wanna talk about what symptoms u have or anything else, please feel free to contact me

Hi there

I can relate to this. I started with bad anxiety and panic attacks after moving country and my mum in law dying(she was my rock).

I always thought it was grief but looking back my symptoms seem to be the same as peri menopause. I now get stressed about pathetic things and im off work trying to get my head together. Before all this I loved life, was adventurous and was very resilient. Its so frustrating and upsetting at times. Hoping we get thru this sooner than later x

Hi

Got your reply this time. Ive been on an anti depressant mirtazapine for the last 4 years. It helps with sleep definitely but my daytime moods are all over the place!! Some days I feel like my old self and its a great feeling. Others I want to hide away from the world. Its s**t!!! Have a very grumpy husband who has no empathy so that doesnt help. No idea why writing is now in bold??? Im not shouting honest lol. What meds do you take do you feel they help? x

Same with me dear

i feel very uncomfortable to go out because of my head issues..i had drunk feeling every day every time.

feel dizzy too

tk

I also don't like leaving the house too much. Even when I'm sitting I feel like I could pass out. I have a very spacey feeling if that makes sense, quite wobbly and weak. I just had an angiogram on my heart and also tests on my kidneys and came back fine so that's one leas stress. Can anxiety creep up on you and you not realise what's happening? Can perimenopause make you feel so light headed and dizzy, off balance and make you feel like you will pass out? I can not wait til I feel normal again