Hello and welcome!

[shrinkingviolet]

Hi,ShrinkingViolet here. I'm a 40 yr old agoraphobic housewife. I've struggled with varying degrees of anxiety and panic throughout my entire adult life. I've had some great years and, more recently, some horrific ones. The panic got increasingly worse through the years and I just got so tired of the constant struggle to feel safe when out of the house without my husband, something that I used to truly enjoy. I'm now going on the third year of self-imposed exile and decided I've had enough. I need to get out on my own again and I hope to find the support here on this website that I can't seem to find in my 3-D life.

[tobin]

Hi ColourGirl!

Congratulations,

Hello all, I would like to...no scratch that, I feel the need to introduce myself as Tobin. It is not out of self-admonishment so much as necessity that I type this introductory message. Were it a situation of convenience as apposed of that of necessity, I would not be here.

I have chosen this site to work out my problems that couldn't be adressed by professionals for this simple reason; they chose to label themselves as a "not for profit" as apposed to a "for profit" organization. This means that they only advertise to the extent that they need to support their initiative plus maybe 10%. We don't sell our stories for anything less, no?

Anywho...I was diagnosed with GAD about a year or more before I knew it. I came across the diagnosis by chance while waiting to check out from the doctor's office; I looked on the back of the chart. I'm not sharing this with you to make my situation more significant than yours but to better frame my mental decline; it is not pleasant. I was able to quickly identify the source of my distress; work...the irreconcilable problems, the insanity...

I have been through the gambit and am none the wiser. This is why I am posting.

If you are reading this then God Speed! Listen and share for this is the only hope that I feel we have.

Tobin

[ricki_girl]

hi everyone im a 36 yr old woman who has severe anxiety, im not too bad at home alone but it is imposible for me to go out bymyself,my doctor has me on ceperlex and seroquel, its not helping my goal is to be able to go out alone

[panicpanicpanic]

Hi everyone i have just joined today i suffer from panic attacks

[Colourgirl]

Hello to all you new friends that have joined in my absence!

Welcome to Phobics Awareness and we are so glad to have you with us. I must apologize, I've just gone through 2 surgeries, and recovery has been very difficult mentally. I'm sure you all can relate. This has been a wonderful healing site for myself while I've worked on my issues, and having that sense of community while we go through something quietly insidious is VERY IMPORTANT to keep us connected, grounded, and forward moving. I hope you all have found it as wonderful as I have in getting to know even just one other person who can relate to our personal struggles. I look forward to getting to know all of you, and seeing your posts as you share your struggles as well as helpful tips on how to cope successfully with our disorders.

On a personal note, I will be slowly coming back to the site and posting the Thought of the day regularly again. As I gather strength I will definitely become the motormouth I once was and respond to posts again, so please bear with me. I have been diagnosed with complex PTSD over 12 years ago, and though I've made great strides in my recovery, it's still a struggle from time to time to not slip back into agoraphobic and panic driven behaviors when the c***umstances are ripe for stress. I found this to be the case during these past 10 weeks in convalescence. The negative self talk, the depression, the extreme anxiety came flooding right back to me, and it's taken some time to readjust my brain to this situation. Welcome to being human.

I'm impatient to get back my full strength again and go full steam ahead!! But until that happens, this will be a lesson in patience I need to relearn again as I stabilize myself emotionally and learn to save enough energy for myself so that I have more to give to others. And patience is something I'm NOT good at. We want what we want when we want it. Isn't that the truth? I so look forward to getting to know all of you, and in the meantime, be gentle with yourselves and take some time everyday to do something restorative. Not only is it healing, but a necessary skill to learn in order to successfully cope with internal sabotage.

Take care of yourselves!! Glad to have you all with us!

Colourgirl

[AnswerMeThis]

Hi there. I'm a 23 year old male who has suffered with major anxiety and bout of depression since I was a teenager. Currently going through my toughest point in a while, thought I'd turn to somewhere like here to vent/speak to others and hopefully help them too.

[stressedoutinohio]

Hello one and all. I am a 49 year old male. I have 3 adult kids, 2 grand-daughters, and a niece. Two of the kids are living on their own but, the rest live with me along with my wife, whom I have been married to for 30 years. I have never really been diagnosed with any phobias but, have read about quite alot of them and feel that I may have a couple. I was in therapy and saw a psychiatrist for awhile. But, they were getting too expensive and the medication I was on for depression was giving me other problems that I wan't to thrilled about. I work at a stressful job and feel that, that's where most of the anxieties began. I also believe that I have a small case of OCD and ED. I believe in self therapy and if I could just discuss some of my problems, I would feel alot better. So hopefully this will be a good place to get some relief and maybe help others. Thank you.

[OliviaJHR]

Hey everyone, my name's Olivia, I'm 20 years old and I'm from the east coast of Canada. I am currently suffering from MDD and a panic disorder. The depression has been with me for about 4 years, while my panic is relatively new (just under a year). I've been on an off various medications over the past two years for both. In November this year I was admitted to the psychiatric unit in our local hospital for 3 weeks. I thought it was the most productive help I've received so far (I have been to a number of doctors and councellors), mainly because of the other patients in with me sharing their experiences and advice. That's what brought me here.

Anyway, in the past month my progress took a significant turn for the worse. It feels like there's a string of terrible c***umstances hitting me over and over, and it's starting to get out of hand, like the momentum is too much for me to fight my way out of. I've been mixing my medications with alcohol, which is obviously a terrible thing to do but it's not easy to stop. I need to get myself back on track before something real happens.

I'm an extremely open and understanding person, so if anyone ever needs someone to talk to, or if you want to ask questions feel free. I'd love nothing more.

[nursek555]

Hi all
I am new to the group- I suffer from Generalized Anxiety Disorder with panic attacks for about 10 years, but, the last 3 have been the worst. I am always looking for new ways to try and manage/help anxiety attacks, and I like to know I am not alone. Would also like to say hi to everyone out there, and I am always here to chat for support, advice etc. Cheers all!

[Sparks]

Hello Colourgirl. I'm back in the forum after laying low for about a year and a half. I have panic disorder with agoraphobia and have had episodes of manic-depression in the past. The panic disorder is under control now thanks to a dutiful therapist plus of course my adherence to my medication schedules. I was in shambles when I first joined this forum and now that I'm better I will try to support those who need someone to listen to them. See ya around.