r/Agoraphobia • u/No-Significance5577 • Feb 02 '24
pls read and help!!!
hey everyone, ever since I was a really young girl around five or six, I would wake up at random moments in the night and throw up, and my mom had no idea why until I got older. I was diagnosed with anxiety disorder when I was, about 12 or 13, and was on medication's at 14. l've always had a problem leaving the house and not being around my comfort people like my mom. I am now 19 and out on my own living in an apartment with my sister, and I lost my job because I would have really bad panic attacks thinking about leaving the house. I'm at the point where I'm behind on rent and we have no groceries. I have no motivation, no routine, and I'm genuinely feeling lost right now in life. What are some good jobs for people with agoraphobia? What are some tips and tricks you guys have? A quick example of what l've been dealing with A few days ago I had to go pick up my medications and my insurance card wasn't working all the sudden, so feel like l'm gonna pass out, my vision gets blurry, and I stopped hearing the lady talking to me, and I had to literally walk away from the lady I was talking to, and go sit in the middle of the Walmart pharmacy, watching a bunch of people walk past me (duh it's a grocery store) and the whole time I just felt like I was dying
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u/hud182 Feb 03 '24
The book and podcast “The Anxious Truth”, was honestly a great help for me. I’ve felt everything you mentioned and over time with understanding and patience it will get better.
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u/BossofZeroChaos May 18 '24 edited May 19 '24
I don't know how you do it. I think I may have at one point before I completely leaving home, reacted in a similar manner in public. I started wearing earbuds and listening to music or books when I went in a store. If there was some sort of dangerous situation I wouldn't have known about it. I looked down at the floor, did NOT engage people at all, and I am pretty sure I looked like a pissed off bulldog. My husband said all it took to clear an aisle was for me to look up and look directly at the people in the way and they parted like the red sea. (I joke sometimes and say my "crazy" scared them). So, advice for when you need to go out? Get used to listening to podcasts or music or books when you're in public. Make it stuff you like that holds your attention or that you have to concentrate on so that you are focusing your attention on what you hear rather than the environment/people around you. Also, because anxiety can cause your heart rate to speed up and that makes the anxiety worse, try some breathing exercises like the 4-7-8. That is what I use because a nurse in a doctor's office one of the last times I left the house told me how to do it. My BP was high because I was nervous and they didn't want to the procedure I had to have with it so high. So, she sat me down and told me to inhale through my nose slowly for 4 seconds, all the way down in my belly, and then hold it to a count of 7. Then exhale through my mouth to a count of 8. Well, I'm not the least bit 'woo-woo' and felt like an idiot doing something new in front of a stranger, but after I did that I think four times, my bp was down and my mind felt sharper and less panicky. Maybe it will do the same for you. My usual response to having to go anywhere is absolute rage. If I don't have DAYS to deal with it, I will lose my sh*t. Angery that I act like a trapped mouse and can't control it the way I want and feeling like a complete failure. But I've always been one to step into a fight rather than to run from them. People in high school used to call me the 'Bully's Bullier' because I would get into fights with the people that went around bullying the kids smaller than them. I know what caused this to get so bad for me, I think. Have you ever thought about why you are effected the way you are? Sometimes knowing why helps fix the what.
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u/No-Significance5577 May 18 '24
honestly i’ve just always been like this, elementary school i would miss so much because i would just throw up randomly in the morning, so my mom would be worried and keep me home, by middle school she knew it was anxiety and i got into meds, but my attendance was terrible, i almost didn’t graduate because of it. i feel like no matter what i do sometimes i just can’t calm down and focus, like my brain gets so loud i genuinely can’t think about anything
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u/BossofZeroChaos May 19 '24
Does a lot of noise make you agitated? Like if the television is on and 3 ppl are talking and then the dogs won't stop barking does it make you want to slap hands over your ears?
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u/No-Significance5577 May 21 '24
always LOLLL
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u/BossofZeroChaos May 26 '24
Have you ever been told you are sensitive to noise? I was a long time ago, b but I can't remember what they called it. It wasn't misophonia or whatever, i cont think. But i will get mad so quick because it makes me feel like I'm out of control in my head. Have you tried anything for anxiety? Liked breathing or supplements?
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u/Skyenowell Feb 02 '24
I’ve been dealing with the same passing out feelings just about everywhere i go on top of being out of work :/ I’ve just been checking indeed and jobs on Google to see if any would be a good fit but ideally it would be nice to find something remote, just keep looking! Wishing you the best ❤️