My Panic Attack Solution

You need to relax and stay busy. Your mind may seem busy with those thoughts and fears but you need to do something that takes your mind off of your anxiety and fears even if its only for an hour or so.. Its a start. You really need to relax though, huge key part in anxiety and panic. Agoraphobia you just need to put yourself out there.. Once you put yourself in situations that make you fearful you will start to think hey last time I was here I was anxious but nothing happened.. And slowly its a cure.. Good luck!!

I have panic attacks with servere agoraphobia, I am a lot better with the depression & attacks are better but the agoraphobia isn’t. My doctor started me on 10 mg of prozac and worked my way up to 40 mg, ( I think I will have to go up but my doctor’s appointment isnt’t until another month, so I thought I would get you guys input or advise). I have heard agoraphobia is hard to beat and I think the prozac my be working. What is the normal mg of Prozac for sereve agoraphobia? Thanks!!!!

I believe that with Prozac, 20mg is the normal dose for depression, while for eating disorders and OCD the dose is 60mg. However, your psychiatrist may be able to give you a higher dose, maybe 80mg, if necessary. You should phone him and ask him if you should be raising the dose – DON’T alter the dose without speaking to him first!

Remember that Prozac can take up to six weeks to really work properly.

does anyone else here deal with agoraphobia?
have you recovered from it? what did you do to get over your fears??

Ive had agoraphobia for about 2.5 years now. it was really bad to the point that i wouldnt leave the house hardly at all, not i leave the house a lot but i dont drive myself anywhere. i only go if someone is taking me because Im scared to have a panic attack while i drive.

would love to hear from other people who have dealt with agoraphobia!!

I used to have it really badly. Now it’s only moderate. I went to counseling for a while for it, and although it still affects me, I try to tell myself that nothing bad is going to happen to me. Still I feel really awkward when I leave the house sometimes.

My anxiety/panic disorder and agoraphobia are making me miserable. How have other people gotten through this?

First, you want to educate yourself on what anxiety / panic disorders are and what its all about. The more you know, the better you will be able to help yourself avoid having them. Second, talk to your family doctor. There are many different kinds of medication that you can take to help. I suffer from panic disorder. I have been taking medication for several years with little to no side effects and it has help tremendously. You can get lots of into on line or at the library or from your doctor that can help you.

my mom just left me today and im 18 and i have very bad panic attacks and agoraphobia and i dont know what to do i dont have a car or a job my heart is broken its like im comfortably numb please help someone

Try friends, real ones, they can be of greater help than this site will ever be.

I have social phobia, panic attacks, agoraphobia, ocd and depression. I have applied for SSI and even if I get it, it’s so little that it’s hardly worth the time. I want to be able to work, but haven’t been able to. I’d be fine with a work-at-home job, but have yet to find a legitimate one. Any advice on a good work-at-home job or regular jobs that are more understanding with people with mental disabilities.

clothing repairs, cooking, ironing, silver polishing, trading on an internet auction site, proof reading for foreign language web sites and publishers of trade / product catalogues, dog or cat sitting, tropical fish breeding, therapeutic massage (yes – i am serious), dog grooming, book binding, etc. get someone to assist you to get in touch with organisations who assist people with your challenges into work.

i had 2 panic attacks in my life
the very first one i experienced was smoking weed (i was supper high and didnt know what the hell was happening to me. i felt feelings of derealization. so i freaked out)

the second one i had because i felt extremely full after eating alot of junk food and i began to feel a shortness of breath and felt like i couldnt breath (the truth was i could breath, but i started freaking out so bad i felt light headed and it gave me a sense of derealization again)

i went to multiple doc’s and they ran several test
the results showed i had NOTHING physically wrong with me

i am currently seeing a psychologist, which has helped.

but i am just curious,
is it possible to have agoraphobia without panic disorder?

because i DO NOT have recurring panic attacks,
and they DO NOT just come out of the blue

i feel extremely safe when i am around people or school because i feel i have the support of my dad (who also works at my school) and my counselors if anything were to happen.

the problem is being alone.
i dont like being alone becuase i feel if i start to have a panic, then no one will be there to help me.
and i hate that feeling.

i would ALWAYS, ALWAYS like to be alone before my episodes of panic.

i do not feel the triggers of panic because i am around people the majority of the time, but i want to shake this cuz i want to be alone again and stop bugging people.

any help?
i havent been able to go out lately and party or drink cuz i fear that i will start feeling the symptoms of panic..

it sucks cuz i really want to go outt but i always end up staying stuck with my parents.. :/

Well, I have to say, panic attacks ALWAYS come "just out of the blue". You say yours don’t… maybe you’re confused with anxiety attacks?

Anxiety attacks are always caused by something. Maybe because you’re nervous or uneasy or scared about something… But panic attacks are purely spontaneous and uncontrollable.

Of course you can be agoraphobic without suffering from panic attacks. People with agoraphobia fear going into open places because they’re afraid of potentially having a panic attack. Which is silly, because if they DID go outside, they would most likely have an anxiety attack do to their own fear. Not panic attack. But, just because they’re scared to go outside doesn’t mean they have panic attacks. I can’t say I’ve ever heard the 2 lumped together.

Sorry, I’m slightly annoyed by people assuming that panic attacks and anxiety attacks are the same thing. They have distinct differences, and assuming that they’re the same downplays the seriousness of panic attacks… people don’t understand how uncontrollable and extreme they are.

Good luck!

Hi,
I’m currently part of a drama group creating a play that deals with the issues of panic disorder and agoraphobia. We really want to have an honest, realistic portrayal of these conditions – would anybody be willing to share their experiences?

More specifically:
How does it affect your every day life?
What are the things you struggle with most?
Are there certain triggers for panic attacks?
Do you find it’s hard for others to understand?

And anything else you want to add.
Really, anything personal – thoughts and feelings, stories of every day experiences – is the best. At the minute, we’ve got lots of medical lists of but nothing on how it actually feels to live with agoraphobia!

Thank you for your help!

I was involved in a near fatal car accident with a drunk driver and I was diagnosed with PTSD which was accompanied by acute panic disorder. I have panic attacks nearly every day, and they can last anywhere from an hour to 24 hours. I also had a touch of agoraphobia for about 3 months after my accident.

The agoraphobia aspect was terrible. Because I was in a car accident the very thought of being in another car would send me reeling in to a panic attack. I was terrified of anything outside of my door and in fact I had certain side of my couch that I HAD to sit on. If I sat anywhere else I would instantly have a panic attack. Through therapy and the love of my family and friends I conquered the agoraphobia aspect, but I’m sure I will always have panic attacks.

Absolutely my panic attacks affect my everyday life. I can have a panic attack in my sleep and wake up with one. I can have them as I’m driving to work, grocery shopping, I even had one during a job interview. The things I struggle with the most is definitely driving and trying to hide the fact that I’m having a panic attack. People who don’t know me and especially people who have never had a panic attack DO NOT understand. They have no idea what a nightmare having a panic attack is. The most common thing people tell me is to "Stop freaking out". That is the worst possible thing to say because I would LOVE to stop freaking out but my body/mind literally will not let me.

Literally anything can trigger a panic attack. For example: I recently saw the check engine light come on in my car and I immediately had a panic attack. My train of thought went like this: "OK your car is going to break down, probably on the freeway and you don’t have road side assistance so it will cost a fortune to tow your car, not to mention the cost of fixing whats wrong with the car. Then you wont be able to pay bills and you be buried under a mountain of debt and you’ll lose you apartment which means you’ll be out on the street and become homeless and die." Even though I can now see this thought process is irrational and ridiculous and there is no way my family or friends would let me go homeless, there is no way to think rationally when you are having a panic attack. I feel like my entire world is coming down around me and I’m going to die. There is also a physical side to my panic attacks. When I’m having a "grand mal" attack they are extremely painful and scary. Of course theres the feeling that an elephant is sitting on my chest and I cant breathe. There is also severe pain in my cheek bones and nose. My knees will lock and if I move them they feel like they are going to explode out of my skin. I also either lose complete feeling in my feet and hands or they constantly tingle like I’m holding something that is vibrating.

I hope this helps!

Hello everyone, have suffered with anxiety/panic attacks for about 20 years now. Usually, an anti-depressant will work for about 4 years, poop out, then another will be found to be helpful. Used Pamelor, Nortriptyline 150 mgs, from 1996 to 2000 with great results. Then used Paxil 40 – 60 mgs from 2001 unitl this year. Noticed that Paxil was really losing it’s effectiveness about 2 years ago and would poop out more and more. Finally, in early May of this year switched from Paxil to Zoloft. Started Zoloft while still on the Paxil and tritrated up on one down on the other. Was pretty tough but handled it okay. Problem is I’ve been on the Zolfot 150 mgs for over three weeks now and still don’t want to drive anywhere. Depression is pretty much all gone and no panic attacks unless I drive out of my "safe" area (currently about 1 mile). Pamelor and Paxil corrected this phobic behavior but no help from Zoloft thus far. Going to pdoc tomorrow (Thursday, July 26) and hoping he has some answers for me. I’ve been thinking, as has the pdoc, that maybe Effexor XR or Cymbalta will do the trick. By the way I do take Xanax in the a.m. and p.m. Usually, only take half of a .25 mg. I take a whole .25 when going out. Haven’t been to work since mid-July and need to get back as quickly as possible. What do you all think? I really need some good advice. Thanks for all your help
Another thought is should I try another SSRI like Lexapro?

wow you’ve tried a lot of things. i have also, it seems most of the anti-depressants flip flop on you after a while. now i am on lithium carbonate and lamictal for bipolar I and depression. i used to be on xanax for anxiety disorder but started abusing it so i quit that all together. i was breifly on effexor and found it to be a wonderful ‘quick fix’ it just didnt seem to help me long term, and i found little anxiety relief from it. i’ve never tried lexapro but some friends of mine are on it and are very happy with the results. you know as well as i do that it may take trying 100 medications before you find the right one, so keep an open mind and do the best you can everyday.

do you see a therapist? i find it very helpful to talk to mine twice a month.

I mean really bad anxiety, panic attacks, agoraphobia. Not just a bit of nerves. I think im getting worse, even tho im taking meds, sometimes i feel like im going mad. I dont want to go back to my GP cos he might think im bonkers. I also have a phobia of doctors and had a panic attack last time i was there which just makes it harder.

You could always commit yourself voluntarily. It’s unlikely you would be sectioned because it’s generally people who are a danger to themselves or someone else, and people that don’t realise their mentally ill. If the doctor suggested you be admitted to hospital and you agreed then they wouldn’t section you.