Agoraphobia

New Website for Agoraphobia Help

2008-07-09T23:17:00.000-07:00

Need help with agoraphobia? If you haven't already, I would like to invite you to visit my new website for help with agoraphobia.

This new website features:

Free "Keys to Freedom" 7-Part Video Series in which I talk about the most powerful self-help techniques for recovering from agoraphobia.

Check out the new website and sign up for the free videos today! I care about your recovery from agoraphobia.

Beat Agoraphobia with Your Eyes Closed

2008-07-02T00:23:00.000-07:00

Have you noticed that people who have agoraphobia often have
powerful imaginations?

That's probably because it takes an extraordinary imagination to
create mental pictures that are vivid and fearful enough to
trigger panic attacks. Those of us who have panic attacks can
become quite good at scaring ourselves with what we see in our
minds.

When I had agoraphobia, I could bring on a panic attack just by
picturing myself in a classroom. I would imagine the doors and
windows of the classroom locking, and the air leaving the room.
Just imagining this left me feeling trapped, panicked, and
gasping for breath.

There is a positive side to having an imagination powerful enough
to trigger panic - its power can be harnessed and used as a tool
for recovery.

Your imagination has a major effect on your emotions because
visual images are housed on the right side of the brain. Brain
researchers say the right brain doesn't distinguish between real
and imagined experiences. For better or for worse, what you see
in your mind's eye is recorded in your brain as if it actually
happened.

This means that by simply closing your eyes and picturing
yourself successfully overcoming your fears, you can program your
mind and body to do so in actual life.

By practicing positive visualization, you can put the power of
your imagination to work for you and literally beat agoraphobia
with your eyes closed - or at least make tremendous progress
toward recovery.

Agoraphobia Story: Finding a Purpose Greater than Fear

2007-05-28T21:27:00.000-07:00

Since I recovered from panic disorder and agoraphobia, people often ask me what the major turning point in my recovery was. There were many turning points, but if I had to choose just one, I would pick the night I made a deal with God in one of my darkest hours of fear. That’s because it changed the orientation of my life.

I wasn’t sure if you can really make a deal with God, but I didn’t care. In complete and utter desperation, I prayed to God that if I could be freed from suffering and have my normal life back, I would use whatever abilities God gave me in the service of other people. I told God that if I were made well, my purpose in life would be to help others in times of suffering. Though I didn’t know it then, this change in purpose made all the difference.

To that point my life had all been about me. My life had been about doing whatever I needed to do to achieve everything I wanted for myself. Though I hadn’t realized it, the purpose I had given myself actually created fear – fear of failure.

When my life was all about meeting my personal goals, fear of failure always loomed in the back of my mind. I lived with the anxiety that I may not reach my goals or get what I want out of life – and then what would my life have meant? Constantly striving, fulfillment and satisfaction always seemed to be far away in the future.

In making this promise to God that I would live to do good for others, I let go of the anxiety over reaching my personal goals and found a new sense of purpose in giving to others. This new sense of purpose offers meaning and satisfaction along the way. I have since found that when the purpose of my life is to do good for others, I have a purpose greater than fear, including the fear of failing.

The need for purpose is one of the most basic human needs. A strong sense of meaning can be powerful in overcoming a fearful situation. German psychiatrist, Viktor Frankl, wrote about this in his book, Man’s Search for Meaning.

Dr. Frankl had the unique experience of living through the horrors of the Nazi death camps of World War II. Approximately one in twenty-six of Frankl’s fellow prisoners survived. From observation and interview, Frankl discovered that the main difference between those who lived and those who died was a deep sense of meaning or purpose in life.

Simply put, the men who lived were the ones who had the strongest reasons to live. The disproportionate survival of men who practiced religious faith intrigued Frankl greatly. He watched spiritual men of inferior constitution outlive more robust prison-mates. As a result, Frankl emerged from the prison camps firmly convinced that a sense of meaning or purpose in life is as vital to our existence as food, water or clothing.

I first read about Frankl’s experience when I had agoraphobia. When I read about his experience I related to the men in the Nazi death camps because I felt like I was in prison also, only my prison was a psychological one instead of a physical one.
Agoraphobia had turned my own home into a prison. The difference between my prison and a Nazi death camp was that I had a lot more control over my release. My prison was of my own making.

I decided that if a strong sense of meaning and purpose in life could sustain a man through the horrors of a Nazi death camp, then certainly a sense of meaning and purpose in life could carry me through to the other side of panic disorder and agoraphobia. I just needed a purpose in life that was greater than my fear, especially my fear of failure.

Personal Story: There is No Fear in Love

2007-02-10T12:14:00.002-08:00

Before I suffered from an agoraphobia many of my relationships were based on fear. I feared the disapproval and rejection of the people that mattered most. I was afraid of not meeting my parents’ expectations for me in the classroom. I was afraid of not meeting my own expectations in sports. I was afraid of not meeting the expectations of my peers and getting rejected at school. Worst of all, growing up in a religious family, I feared the disapproval and rejection of God.

When I was suffering from agoraphobia, hiding in my house every day, and afraid to go outside and suffering from relentless panic attacks, one night I turned to the Bible for help. It fell open to these words.

God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. - 1 John 4:16,18

These words helped change my life.

Like many agoraphobia sufferers, I was prone to feeling an excessive need to please others and an equally strong need to win their approval by living up to their expectations (or what I thought they expected of me). I feared losing relationships if I failed to meet certain expectations. Fear of losing relationships caused me a lot of anxiety.

To overcome the anxiety that comes with needing to please people and fearing rejection, I traded my fear-based relationships for relationships based on unconditional love.

When I first read the words of the Bible passage above, I took them at face value. Plainly and simply, they told me that God loved me and that if I let God love me there wouldn’t be so much room for fear in my life. I didn’t need to fear God’s judgment or worry about what God thought of me.

Please understand that this passage meant a lot to me because somewhere in my religious upbringing I had understood God as someone that could be angry with me and might punish me for something if I didn't do everything right.

God's unconditional love spilled over into my relationships with others. As I gained confidence that God loved me, I was able to love and accept myself. I became less needy for the approval of others. I still wanted to please others. I just wasn’t motivated by anxiety from a fear of being rejected. I was just motivated to share God's love.

I stopped feeling the anxiety of trying to get love from other people and started feeling the joy of giving love. With God's love in my life, there was plenty of love to go around.

Besides changing my orientation in relationships, I also made some changes in my closest, most significant relationships. I replaced fear-based relationships with relationships based on unconditional love. In some cases, as with my parents, I changed the nature of existing relationships. In other cases, I had to replace old relationships with new ones.

Feeling loved by God, loving myself, and loving other people was very freeing. I began to surround myself with people who really loved and accepted me for who I am, people for whom I didn’t have to constantly perform to earn their approval. My most significant relationships no longer produced anxiety.

Do you need to change your relationships?

If your relationships with others are based on fear of what might happen if you did not live up to their expectations for you, then it is time to make some changes.

You may need to have some serious talks with people in your life and tell them directly that you will no longer live according to their expectations for you. (Be nice when you do this). You may need to cut some people out of your life altogether. You may need to surround yourself with more loving and accepting people.

Ultimately, when I experienced unconditional love and build most of my relationships upon it, some funny things happened. I began living with the security of being loved no matter how I performed. I was free to trade the anxiety of trying to constantly win the love of others for the satisfaction of offering love to others.

When I focused on giving to others in relationships rather than trying to get it, I wasn't as needy, and my fears of disapproval and rejection faded away with my anxiety.

Here is a truth that has helped me live free from agoraphobia for nearly twenty years:
Where there is perfect, unconditional love, there is a lot less room for fear.

How to Offer Unconditional Love and Acceptance to Someone with Agoraphobia

2007-02-10T12:14:00.001-08:00

If you want to be an effective support person for someone with agoraphobia, your first job will be to establish a relationship of unconditional love and acceptance with the person who is suffering.

It can be tricky to offer a loving, accepting relationship with a friend or loved one with agoraphobia, even if you had a good relationship with them before.
However, It is important to build this type of relationship before you start trying to help someone with agoraphobia. A safe, supportive relationship of unconditional love and acceptance can be therapeutic, and is the vehicle through which real help can be offered.

Unconditional love and acceptance is much needed by those of us who suffer from agoraphobia because we are often self-critical and have a hard time accepting ourselves. Its even harder to accept yourself when you have agoraphobia and can't function normally. That is why it is so important to have people who accept us no matter what we do or go through. Experiencing the acceptance of others helps us to accept ourselves.Offering unconditional acceptance means being non-judgmental and non-critical.

It means not thinking of agoraphobia and the behaviors that go with it in terms of good and bad or right and wrong. It means not putting the person down or voicing disapproval when they do things you don't understand. It means letting the person know that you love them, care about them, and will not abandon them whether or not they recover from agoraphobia.

Offering unconditional acceptance means not only accepting the person with agoraphobia but accepting the condition of agoraphobia as well - at least for the time being. It means not trying to fix them all the time, refraining from constantly offering advice or suggestions, and not needing to always correct their irrational thinking. It means being able to relax and have fun with them - and talk to them about subjects other than what they need to be doing to get well. It means being willing to let the agoraphobic act agoraphobic - not that you don't want to help them get well - just that there is no pressure from you to hurry in doing so. Nobody wants to feel like a project or like they are letting someone down if they aren't getting better fast enough.

People with agoraphobia need people around them who accept them just as they are. Just like someone suffering from a physical illness or injury - it takes time to heal. If you are able to show your loved one with agoraphobia that you will love and care for them without conditions and will stand by them through the ups and downs - you will have taken a big, first step towards building a relationship with them that will contribute to their recovery from agoraphobia.

Note: Offering unconditional love and acceptance does not mean enabling someone. Part of your job as a support person is to help them find their own motivation to recover. To read more on this topic, click here.

Agoraphobia Recovery: What Does Love Have to Do With It?

2007-02-10T12:13:00.000-08:00

Actually, love has a lot to do with recovering from agoraphobia and there may be a biological basis for this. In a book entitled "A Complete Guide to Your Emotions and Your Health," Emirika Padus and the editors of Prevention Magazine suggest that when you feel loved, you experience a healthy biological reaction in your body's cells, similar to the effect of a good diet or exercise.

Dr. Bernard Siegel, who wrote "Love, Medicine, and Miracles," was quoted as saying "I am convinced that unconditional love is the most powerful known stimulant of the immune system. The truth is, love heals." Dr. Siegel is talking here about two kinds of unconditional love - both self-love and the love of another person. He believes that if you love yourself and are in a strong loving relationship, your chances of recovery are better and you can get through almost anything.

If you are a support person for someone with agoraphobia, your unconditional love may be the most powerful gift you can give someone who suffers from this dreadful psychological ailment. I am writing to encourage you by letting you know that your love and acceptance of a person with agoraphobia is vital.

As someone who recovered from agoraphobia, I know this firsthand. My parents, who were the support people who loved me through my disorder, were at times the only people I had contact with and my only link to the world outside the dark, isolated environment of the bedroom I hid in for the better part of two years.

Release-Only Muscle Relaxation

2006-11-13T07:11:00.000-08:00

Most people who have agoraphobia practice progressive muscle relaxation. That is the practice of tensing, holding, then releasing, each of your body's major muscle groups. The purpose of progressive muscle relaxation is not only to relax your muscles, but also to learn to feel the difference between what each muscle group feels like in the tense state versus the relaxed state. That may sound like an obvious difference, but tension can often be subtle, and many people with agoraphobia let tension creep into their body and become quite pronounced before they notice its presence.

Once you have learned to feel the difference between the tensed and relaxed state of your muscles, you are ready to move on to a shorter version of progressive muscle relaxation called "release-only relaxation."

In release-only relaxation, as the name suggests, you relax all of your muscles in progressive fashion but you skip the first step in traditional muscle relaxation. Instead of first tensing each muscle group before releasing, you relase each of the body's major muscle groups.

Relase-only relaxation allows you to practice progressive muscle relaxation in half the time.

In practicing release-only relaxation, the goal is to develop the mental concentration to be able to let all of the tension go from each muscle. Developing this ability will depend upon your ability to recongize the difference between the feel of a tense muscle and a deeply relaxed muscle.

How to practice release-only relaxation:

Sit or lie down in a comfortable position and in quiet place where you will not be disturbed. Loosen any tight clothing. You may close your eyes or leave them open if you wish.

Work through each of the following muscle groups each time you release-only muscle relaxation, concentrating on each muscle group and letting all of the tension go:

· Face
· Neck and shoulders
· Chest
· Back
· Stomach/abdomen
· Biceps
· Hands and forearms
· Buttocks
· Thighs and hamstrings
· Calves
· Feet

As you focus on each muscle group, practice deep, lower abdominal breathing. Breath in slowly through your nose, hold each breath for a few seconds, and then breathe out slowly through your mouth while picturing the tension leaving each muscle group with each exhalation. As you focus on each group of muscles, it may help to imagine them getting warm and heavy.

Although release-only relaxation may seem simpler than traditional progressive muscle relaxation, don't be fooled. It takes a lot more skill and concentration to release the tension from your muscles without tensing them first. You must also become acutely aware of what muscle tension feels like so that you do not let tension creep back into the muscles when you move on to focus on a new muscle group.

Here are some tips for successful practice of release-only relaxation:

1) Don't try to force your muscles to relax, just let go and let the muscles relax.

2) If you have any problems relaxaing a certain muscle group, just take a deep breath and try again. If you keep having trouble it's okay to skip it and move on, or come back to that muscle group later.

3) Don't be critical if you can't do this perfectly the first time. Most people take time to learn this skill.

4) Allow yourself at least two weeks with two practice sessions per day to master this skill. Keep practicing until you can relax your whole body in 5-7 minutes using release-only techniques.

5) Just as with traditional progressive muscle relaxation, you may want to record a script with soft relaxaing music in the background to guide you through your practice.

Learning to relax your entire body in a shorter and shorter amount of time is an important skill to learn in recovering from agoraphobia.

Hypnotherapy for Agoraphobia

2006-09-11T16:40:00.000-07:00

Some form of hypnosis has been used to help people overcome fears, problem behaviors, and illnesses throughout much of recorded history. Modern clinical hypnosis began in about 1773. Clinical hypnosis is the form of hypnosis used today to treat psychological and physical problems, including agoraphobia, in which the patient goes into an altered or relaxed state and is guided by a therapist’s suggestions.

Hypnosis is a method of harnessing the power of your subconscious mind to work for you in overcoming agoraphobia. How well hypnotherapy works for you will depend on how willing you are to be hypnotized and the degree to which your fear is rooted in your subconscious mind.

Hypnotherapists who treat agoraphobia believe that agoraphobic fear finds its roots in the subconscious. Proponents of hypnotherapy also believe the subconscious mind has tremendous power to influence the autonomic nervous system. They believe that if the subconscious mind perceives danger, it sets off the fight or flight response. In this context, panic disorder and, in some cases, agoraphobia occur when the subconscious mind gets confused about when to set off the fight or flight response and when not to.

The process of hypnosis resembles a very relaxed day-dreaming or a wakeful sleep. During hypnosis, your brain wave cycle rhythm lowers into a meditative state sometimes called the “alpha state.” During the alpha state, electrical impulses in your brain cycle at a rate of about ten cycles per second. In this state, you are fully aware of the messages and images in your subconscious mind.

When you are hypnotized, a therapist guides you through the reprogramming of your subconscious mind while in the alpha or meditative state. Negative subconscious thoughts and associations are replaced with positive ones.

It is important to undergo hypnosis in a safe and comfortable setting. Since people with agoraphobia naturally have trouble getting to and staying relaxed in a therapist’s office, many hypnotherapists make home visits for agoraphobics.

Agoraphobia Recovery Tip: Never Give Up!

2006-09-07T00:08:00.000-07:00

Setbacks can be one of the most discouraging things during your recovery from agoraphobia. They can make you feel like you have lost weeks, months, or years of hard-won progress and that you are back at square one. Fortunately, this is not the case. Don't give up when you experience a setback.

My recovery from panic disorder with agoraphobia didn't happen overnight. It was a hard fought battle with many setbacks. But it did happen, and today I am totally free from panic attacks and agoraphobia.

Your recovery may not happen overnight either, and your progress toward recovery may not all be forward. You may experience some tough setbacks along the way. I am writing you today to tell you not to make too much out of these setbacks.

I can remember working really hard with my desensitization program and getting to where I could go to four high school classes in a row before going home. It had taken me the better part of the past year to achieve this and I had started by going to only one class per day and slowly added classes over time.

Then one morning early in my junior year of high school, I had a major panic attack during first period and had to go home. I was devastated. I thought all of my hard work had gone down the drain and I would have to start my recovery over from scratch. I was so consumed by these thoughts that I didn't go to school at all for the next couple of days.Looking back, I am glad to be able to tell you that my thinking was totally wrong. This happened in September. By mid-November of that year I was playing on my school basketball team and attending almost a full day of school on a regular basis.

My encouragement to you is that all progress toward your recovery from agoraphobia may not be forward progress. There may be days when you experience so much panic or anxiety that it feels like you are right back where you started. But take heart, days like this do not mean you are starting your recovery over.

Each time you reach a new level in your recovery, you can get back to that level fairly quickly no matter what setbacks you face. It's best not to gauge the progress of your recovery from agoraphobia on a day to day basis. In most cases, recovery from panic disorder and agoraphobia is more like a marathon than a sprint. You can best measure progress toward your recovery over longer intervals of time.

Because of this, don't take setbacks too seriously no matter how bad they may feel. In fact, it might be better just to expect to have some setbacks along the way. In the end, if you persist in doing the things you need to be doing to recover, you will recover from agoraphobia and get your life back, no matter what happens on any given day.

Take it from someone who went through lots of setbacks but ended up overcoming a case of severe agoraphobia with panic attacks. Persistence wins in the end. I know this because I did it – and if I did it, so can you.

Always remember:

“Being defeated is a temporary condition. Giving up is what makes it permanent.” (Anonymous)

Never give up on your recovery!

Anxiety and Pregnancy

2006-09-04T19:07:00.000-07:00

If you have an anxiety disorder like agoraphobia while you are pregnant, does this mean that you are more likely to give birth to an unhealthy baby?

The answer is no - that is, according to a review of available data on this topic conducted by a team at the University Of Texas Medical Branch.

This is good news for pregnant women with agoraphobia or other anxiety disorders.

After reviewing 50 studies from a period of 39 years, the team concluded that there is no relationship between anxiety and pregnancy outcomes. In other words, if you have agoraphobia and are highly anxious during pregnancy, this does not increase your risk of birth complications such as having a low-birth-weight baby or longer labor.

These conclusions were presented recently at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association in New Orleans."Pregnancy can be an emotional time for women and, for some, anxiety associated with the pregnancy can be compounded by pre-existing difficulties such as having an inadequate social support system," said Heather Littleton, the lead author of the team that conducted the literature review.

Even though anxiety didn't show any effect on birth outcomes overall, Littleton and her team members did acknowledge that more research is needed to be sure that their findings apply to people with the highest levels of anxiety, such as people who have been diagnosed with anxiety disorders.

In Littleton's own words, "This review of the literature clearly shows that additional research is necessary to completely understand how to best treat an anxious pregnant woman, and such work evaluating the mental and physical health of women during pregnancy could help to increase the number of healthy babies that are born."

Source: "No Direct Link Between Anxiety, Pregnancy Outcomes Women with symptoms have no increased risk for birth complications, researchers say" by Robert Preidt, Aug. 14 (HealthDay News)

E-Therapy for Agoraphobia?

2006-08-04T00:19:00.000-07:00

Can a software program treat agoraphobia as well as a live therapist?

Well, E-therapy for agoraphobia is now available. “Beating the Blues” is an interactive software program that provides cognitive-behavioral therapy for sufferers of anxiety and depression. “FearFighter” is another form of cognitive behavioral e-therapy for people with anxiety disorders and phobias.

To give you a quick review before describing the software, cognitive-behavioral therapy, or CBT, is the most effective treatment for agoraphobia according to research. It is a combination of cognitive and behavioral approaches to therapy.

Cognitive therapy focuses on identifying and correcting irrational thought patterns. In behavior therapy, a person with agoraphobia learns to face feared situations instead of avoiding them through one of two types of exposure therapy. The person can practice exposure to feared settings in small steps (as in systematic desensitization) or all at once (as in flooding).

Developed in the UK, Beating the Blues is designed to be a first-line treatment option for anxiety and depression, similar to live therapy. It is to be considered before medication. Right now it is not available for sale online, it is only available through health care professionals in the UK, US, Canada and Australia.

Beating the Blues uses interactive modules, animations and voice-overs to motivate and engage the user. A major feature is a series of filmed case studies of fictional patients who model the symptoms of anxiety and depression and help demonstrate the treatment by cognitive behavioral therapy.

During the 8-session program, users identify specific problems and realistic treatment goals. They work through cognitive modules which focus on the identification and challenge of automatic thoughts, thinking errors, distractions, core beliefs, and attributional styles.

Interwoven with these cognitive elements are problem-directed behavioral components where patients can work on any two of activity scheduling, problem solving, graded exposure, task breakdown, or sleep management according to their specific problems. The final module looks at action planning and relapse prevention.

FearFighter is available online, but only to users who are registered with health professionals in the UK. It offers cognitive-behavioral treatment for anxiety and panic disorders, phobias, obsessive-compulsive disorder, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.

If you have agoraphobia, then e-therapy might be as effective (or more) than live therapy, or so a 2004 study suggested.

This study demonstrated the effectiveness of computerized cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) for treating anxiety and depression in a clinical setting.

For anxiety, computerized CBT was more effective than traditional CBT in more severe cases. The more severe the anxiety disorder, the more effective computerized CBT was in comparison with traditional CBT. Computerized CBT also led to greater satisfaction with treatment.

Pregnancy Risk Categories of Agoraphobia Meds

2006-08-01T20:08:00.000-07:00

In this post, I will share a rating scale used to assess the potential risks of medication during pregnancy and then let you know where various anti-anxiety medications used for agoraphobia fall on the scale.

The United Stated Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has assigned pregnancy risk categories to medications. The pregnancy risk category reflects the medication's potential to cause birth defects.

While it is not advisable to take medications during pregnancy, some people have to. The following rating system, designed by the FDA, is designed to help you decide which medications are a fairly safe risk and which are not.

Drugs in Category A are generally considered safe to use in pregnancy while drugs in category X should be avoided unless it is absolutely necessary to take them.

Category A: Adequate studies in pregnant women have failed to show a risk to the fetus.

Category B: Either one of two scenarios:

1) Animal studies haven't shown a risk to the fetus, but controlled studies haven't been conducted on pregnant women; or

2) Animal studies have shown an adverse effect on the fetus but adequate studies in pregnant women have failed to show a risk to the fetus.

Category C: Animal studies have shown an adverse effect on the fetus, but adequate studies haven't been conducted in humans. The benefits to pregnant women might be acceptable despite potential risks.

Category D: The drug may cause risk to the fetus, but the potential benefits of use in pregnant women may be acceptable despite the risks (such as in a life-threatening situation or a serious disease for which safer drugs can't be used or are ineffective).

Category X: Studies in animals or humans show fetal abnormalities, or adverse reaction reports indicate evidence of fetal risk. The risks clearly outweigh potential benefits.

Now, here's how various anxiety medications rate:

Xanax is in category D

Buspar is in category B (Buspar takes a few weeks to start taking effect in the body but is a much safer anti-anxiety medication than most).

Librium is in category D

Valium is in category D

Ativan is in category D

Serax is in category D

Now here are the ratings of some anti-depressants commonly prescribed for panic attacks:

Anafranil is in category C

Lexapro is in category C

Prozac is in category C

Paxil is in category C

Zoloft is in category C

I hope this information has been helpful. This info has been taken from the Nursing 2007 Drug Handbook. Always consult your doctor before taking any type of prescription medication.

The First Step to Offering Good Support for Someone with Agoraphobia – Learning About the Disorder

2006-07-28T00:08:00.000-07:00

Besides offering someone with agoraphobia your unconditional acceptance, a second vital key to offering good support is increasing your own knowledge and understanding.

In other words: Read all you can about agoraphobia and listen to the person who is suffering about their experience.

One of the problems people suffering from agoraphobia face when trying to find good support from others is that too many people overestimate their psychological knowledge. When I first decided to study psychology in college I had people say to me, "Isn't psychology all just common sense?" No one ever said that to my roommates who were studying bio-chemistry - yet psychological phenomena are just as complex.

If you had cancer or heart disease none of your friends or family members would presume to know what you should do for treatment. When you have an anxiety disorder like agoraphobia, everyone seems to think they know what you should do.

Psychology is not all common sense. Anxiety disorders like agoraphobia are just as complex as any medical problem. That is why it is important to read all you can to understand your friend or loved one with agoraphobia.

People with agoraphobia are likely to behave in ways that are hurtful or open to misinterpretation if you don't know what they are experiencing. For example, my family used to accuse me of not wanting to go to school, trying to mess up family vacations, or in general, thinking only myself and my own feelings. If you know someone with agoraphobia, chances are that you have probably thought of them as selfish or thoughtlesss at some point.

However, the more my family read up on agoraphobia - the more they realized that I wasnt trying to skip school or do anything intentionally to make the family miserable. They realized that I was suffering from a real disorder and wanted to recover, just as if I had been sick with cancer or a heart disease.

People with agoraphobia are famous for coming up with excuses to get out of things that scare them. They are also famous for becoming self-absorbed, in tune with their own emotions and out of tune with the feelings of others. The more you read up on agoraphobia, the more you will understand the reasons why and be able to support your friend or loved one with care and patience.

I can say from personal experience, your friend or loved one with agoraphobia probably doesn't want to be selfish or do anything to upset you, frustrate you, or hurt you. They are just sick and need you understanding and support to get better.

Remember, almost no one wakes up one day and decides they want to screw up their life. Most people with agoraphobia really do want to get better. They just need a little live and support from a few understanding people.

If you read up on agoraphobia - a little knowledge and understanding will go a long way in supporting your friend or loved one in their recovery from agoraphobia.

Why and How to Offer Unconditional Acceptance to Support Someone with Agoraphobia

2006-07-28T00:06:00.000-07:00

If you want to be a support person for someone with agoraphobia, your first job will be to establish a therapeutic relationship with the person who is suffering. It can be tricky to offer a safe, supportive relationship with a friend or loved one with agoraphobia, even if you had a good relationship with them before.

It is important to build a therapeutic relationship before you start trying to help someone with agoraphobia. Thats because a safe, supportive relationship is the vehicle through which real help can be offered.

Offering unconditional acceptance to someone who is suffering from agoraphobia is critical to building a healing relationship with them. Those of us who have had agoraphobia know that we are often self-critical and have a hard time accepting ourselves. Its even harder to accept yourself when you have agoraphobia and can't function normally. That is why it is so important to have people who accept us no matter what we do or go through. Experiencing the acceptance of others helps us to accept ourselves.

Offering unconditional acceptance means being non-judgmental and non-critical. It means not thinking of agoraphobia and the behaviors that go with it in terms of good and bad or right and wrong. It means not putting the person down or voicing disapproval when they do things you don't understand. It means letting the person know that you love them, care about them, and will not abandon them whether or not they recover from agoraphobia.

Offering unconditional acceptance means not only accepting the person with agoraphobia but accepting the condition of agoraphobia as well - at least for the time being. It means not trying to fix them all the time, refraining from constantly offering advice or suggestions, and not needing to always correct their irrational thinking. It means being able to relax and have fun with them - and talk to them about subjects other than what they need to be doing to get well. It means being willing to let the agoraphobic act agoraphobic - not that you don't want to help them get well - just that there is no pressure from you to hurry in doing so. Nobody wants to feel like a project or like they are letting someone down if they arent getting better fast enough.

People with agoraphobia need people around them who accept them just as they are. Just like someone suffering from a physical illness or injury - it takes time to heal. If you are able to show your loved one with agoraphobia that you care without conditions and will stand by them through the ups and downs - you will have taken a big, first step towards building a relationship with them that will contribute to their recovery from agoraphobia.

How to Be a Good Listener for Someone with Agoraphobia

2006-07-28T00:04:00.000-07:00

Being a good listener is another important quality in being a good support person for someone with agoraphobia. Being a good listener makes you someone the person with agoraphobia can share their feelings with. This is important because much of the anxiety someone with agoraphobia experiences could be coming from holding feelings in and not expressing them.

As someone who has suffered from agoraphobia I can tell you that one of the reasons people with agoraphobia (or anyone else for that matter) don't share their feelings with others is because most people are not good listeners and will just hurt your feelings even worse by not really listening or not validating them.

Probably the most crucial element to being a good listener for someone with agoraphobia or an anxiety disorder is being able to hear and validate someone's feelings or emotions by making reflective statements to let the person know that you heard and understood.

For example, if a friend with agoraphobia tellls you they are afraid they might have a panic attack and embarrass themselves if they go out on a date the best response would be:

"It sounds like you are really scared."

This lets the person with agoraphobia know that you heard their feelings. It lets the person know that you have heard their initial feeling and invites them to share more about it.

Some bad responses that do not show that you heard their feelings (and responses the average person would give) are:

"If you weren't so worried about having a panic attack you probably wouldn't have one."

"Maybe you won't have a panic attack and there's nothing to worry about."

These responses let people know that you think its silly for them to be worried about having a panic attack. They do not let the person know you have heard their feelings.

Hearing and making reflective statements about feelings is part of a skill called active listening. Active listening is a way of listening to someone that lets them know you care about them and are really hearing them. Since many people with agoraphobia say that what they need most in a support person is someone who will listen to them, here are some guidelines for active listening:

Be attentive. You have to make an effort to listen carefully. Don't daydream and don't talk.

Think about the main point the speaker is trying to make. Also, don't be thinking about what you are going to say the whole time the other person is talking.

Make reflective statments at first by paraphrasing or restating in your own words what the speaker is saying. Especially when they share a feeling (fear, anger, sadness, regret, guilt, etc.)Good phrases to use when making reflective statements are:"What I hear you saying is.....""It sounds like......""So in other words....."

Try to leave your own emotion out when you're listening. Try not to argue back in your mind. These things detract from what the speaker is saying. In other words, be objective and try not to let your own judgments and biases cloud what you are hearing from them. Try to really see things from the other person's perspective and wait to hear their whole message before forming a response.

Ask for clarification if you don't understand a point the speaker is making. Ask questions to invite them to elaborate on points that seem important.Avoid distractions. Sit close to the speaker, if possible.

Be aware of more than just the person's words. Look for body language, gestures, tone of voice, posture, etc. See if you think the persons non-verbal communication is congruent with what they are saying. (For example - some people smile when they are telling you they are upset). If the person's words and body language don't match, ask for clarification about what they are really feeling but be gentle about pointing out the descrepency.

When you do offer feedback, try to do so honestly but without passing judgment or expressing approval or disapproval of them as a person.As you can see, good active listening is more than just not saying anything and nodding. Good listening is a skill that may take some work to develop if you don't come by it naturally. However, developing good active listening skills will make you a good support person for your friend or loved one with agoraphobia.

Plus - being a good listener will help you in your other relationships, too, even with people who don't have agoraphobia.

How to Take Care of Yourself as a Support Person for Someone with Agoraphobia

2006-07-28T00:02:00.000-07:00

A person with agoraphobia may be prone to having a lot of needs or placing a lot of demands on the people they are close to. If you are going to be a good support person for someone with agoraphobia - then you may need to know where and when to draw the line. In other words, if you are going to support a friend or loved one with agoraphobia, you'll need to also be good at remembering to take care of yourself.Here are some things to do to take care of yourself:

1) Keep up with your friends. Don't let the person with agoraphobia isolate you to the point where they are the only person in your life.

2) Keep up with your job if you have one. Also keep your outside hobbies and interests. Although you may make lots of sacrifices to spend time with your friend or loved one with agoraphobia, its good to remain functional with your normal responsibilities and participate in recreation.

3) Get the sleep, nutrition and exercise you need to stay healthy. If you get too stressed then pamper yourself with a hot bath, a massage, or a good glass of wine. Don't feel like you have to be suffering all the time just because your friend or loved one with agoraphobia is suffering all the time. It doesn't help them if you let yourself get unhealthy.

4) Don't blame yourself or take responsibility for their condition or lack of progress if recovery is slow. Remember that it is their job to recover and your job to be there for support. If a bad day for them always means a bad day for you, you may be taking too much responsibility for their disorder.

5) Know your limitations and don't put unrealistic expectations on yourself to fix everything. Its ok to rest when you need to or ask for someone else's help in taking care of your friend or loved one with agoraphobia if you need a break.

6) Do something to express your own emotions and receive support for yourself. This could be in the form of a counselor, support group for people who support agoraphobics, or just a good friend you talk to often. Sometimes it can be almost as hard to watch someone you care about suffering as it is to suffer yourslf.

To use an analogy from lifeguarding - you are not going to be able to save someone from drowning if you start to drown yourself. This holds true if you are supporting someone with agoraphobia. To be a good support person, you've got to remember to take care of yourself.

How Do you Help Someone with Agoraphobia Practice Systematic Desensitization?

2006-07-27T23:58:00.000-07:00

Before helping someone with agoraphobia practice systematic desensitization, there are a couple things to learn.

First, get familiar with the anxiety scale. Ask the sufferer to rank their anxiety level at periodic intervals during practice and under no circumstances encourage them to persist in confronting a feared situation if their anxiety level gets beyond a three. While discomfort is necessary for desensitizing themselves to a feared setting, feeling anxiety beyond a level of three is likely to reinforce the very associations between the feared setting and anxiety feelings that the sufferer is trying to break. Staying below level three during practice will help the sufferer form new associations between the setting and lower anxiety levels.

Second, learn the following steps, referred to as five R’s, as a framework for guiding the sufferer through the systematic desensitization process. These steps are recommended by Dr. A. B. Hardy in Karen Williams’ book, How to Help Your Loved One Recover From Agoraphobia:

React: Confront fearful situations until the anxiety reaction is slightly uncomfortable, a #3 (or below) on the anxiety scale.

Retreat: Back away from the fearful situation. Walk toward the door, take a few steps away, or turn around and face the other way.

Relax: Distract mind and let self relax and calm down.

Recover: Completely recover from the anxious reaction.

Repeat: Approach the fearful situation again, repeating the five R’s process.

Here are some suggestions for preparing the agoraphobia sufferer for practice, adapted from Karen Williams’ book:

· Find out what the agoraphobia sufferer would like you to do if they get highly anxious or panic. Different people have different preferences. Some people will like for you to talk them through it or touch them. Others will like you to be silent and stand back while they work through it on their own.

· Remind the agoraphobia sufferer that risk-taking and discomfort are a necessary part of the recovery process and that you will be with them no matter what they experience.

· If the agoraphobia sufferer starts to back out of practicing and give excuses, confront the excuses with encouragement to go ahead and practice. If the sufferer absolutely refuses to follow through with practicing, don’t force them, but lead them to set another time and place for practicing in the near future.

· If practicing is going to take place in a social setting among others, agree upon a signal for leaving that the agoraphobia sufferer can use to communicate with you if they get too anxious and need to leave. This will prevent the agoraphobia sufferer from getting trapped in a situation in which their anxiety gets beyond a three and from embarrassing themselves or having to explain anything in front of other people.

· Don’t set any preconceived expectations for what the agoraphobia sufferer will accomplish during any one practice session. Allow for bad days and for progress to go up and down. Let the sufferer set their own goals for each practice session and never say anything to make them feel like they are letting you down if they don’t meet their goal for that day.

· Make some encouraging comments to give the person with agoraphobia your vote of confidence before beginning. Tell them you believe in them.

· Also let the person with agoraphobia know you will be there for them no matter what happens and that they are in control. Tell them they will be in control of the situation at all times and that you are simply there to help. State that when they want to leave, you will.

Agoraphobia Recovery Tip: Sharing Your Feelings with a Friend

2006-07-27T21:01:00.000-07:00

Many people with anxiety disorders like agoraphobia have a tendency to bottle up their emotions. Expressing your true feelings to a caring friend can bring short-term relief from anxiety.

Also, agoraphobia can leave you feeling lonely, and loneliness only increases anxiety. There is research to suggest that social support helps people reduce their anxiety levels. When you are feeling anxious, one of the best things you can do is to reach out and connect with a close friend or family member. Share what is bothering you. Share your anger, frustrations, worries and doubts.

Most of us assume that no one would want to listen to our feelings, but I am not suggesting that you talk someone's ear off with lots of whining or complaining. I am just suggesting that you let someone know what is really going on with you, then find out what is really going on with them.

Making an emotional connection with another human being is probably one of the most healthy responses to anxiety. It gives you an outlet for your emotions so they will not build up and cause more anxiety later. Plus, it helps you to focus outside of yourself and your circumstances as you listen to the other person.

Most of us turn to something when we feel anxious. Some people turn to destructive things like drugs, alcohol, or overeating. Next time you are feeling anxious, turn to a person. While this is not a long-term cure for agoraphobia, see if talking to someone and letting your feelings out doesn't relieve some anxiety in the meantime.

How to be a Good Listener for Someone with Agoraphobia

2006-07-25T14:21:00.000-07:00

(This post appeared in the 'Agoraphobia Newsletter' on July 18, 2006).

Being a good listener is an important quality in being a good support person for someone with agoraphobia. Being a good listener makes you someone a person with agoraphobia can share his or her feelings with. This is important because much of the anxiety someone with agoraphobia experiences could be coming from holding feelings in and not expressing them.

As someone who has suffered from agoraphobia, I can tell you that one of the reasons people with agoraphobia (or anyone else for that matter) don't share their feelings with others is because most people are not good listeners and will just hurt your feelings even worse by not really listening or not validating them.

Most people just try to fix you by pointing out what is irrational or wrong with your feelings. If you have agoraphobia, this just makes you feel stupid and/or misunderstood.

Probably the most crucial element to being a good listener for someone with agoraphobia or an anxiety disorder is being able to hear and validate someone's feelings or emotions by making reflective statements to let the person know that you heard and understood.

For example, if a someone with agoraphobia talks about being afraid of having a panic attack and being embarrassed when going out on a date, the best response would be: "It sounds like you are really scared."

This lets the person with agoraphobia know that you heard his or her feelings and invites the person to share more. Some bad responses that indicate you are not really listening to a persons feelings (and responses the average person would give) are:

"If you weren't so worried about having a panic attack, you probably wouldn't have one."

"Maybe you won't have a panic attack and there's nothing to worry about."

These responses let person know that you think its silly to be worried about having a panic attack. They do not let the person know you have heard his or her feelings.

Hearing and making reflective statements about feelings is part of a skill called active listening. Active listening is a way of listening to people that lets them know you care about them and are really hearing them. Since many people with agoraphobia say that what they need most in a support person is someone who will listen to them, here are some guidelines for active listening:

Be attentive. You have to make an effort to listen carefully. Don't daydream and don't talk.

Think about the main point the speaker is trying to make. Also, don't be thinking about what you are going to say the whole time the other person is talking.

Make reflective statements by paraphrasing or restating in your own words what the speaker is saying. Especially when the person shares a feeling (fear, anger, sadness, regret, guilt, etc.) Good phrases to use when making reflective statements are: "What I hear you saying is....." "It sounds like......" "So in other words....."

Try to leave your own emotion out when you're listening.

Try not to argue back in your mind.

These things detract from what the speaker is saying. In other words, be objective and try not to let your own judgments and biases cloud what you are hearing the person say. Try to really see things from the other person's perspective and wait to hear the whole message before forming a response.

Ask for clarification if you don't understand a point the speaker is making. Ask questions to invite the person to elaborate on points that seem important.

Avoid distractions. Sit close to the speaker, if possible. Be aware of more than just the person's words. Look for body language, gestures, tone of voice, posture, etc. See if you think the person's non-verbal communication is congruent with what he or she is saying. (For example - some people smile when they are telling you they are upset). If the person's words and body language don't match, ask for clarification about what the person is really feeling but be gentle about pointing out the discrepancy.

When you do offer feedback, try to do so honestly but without passing judgment or expressing approval or disapproval of the person.

As you can see, good active listening is more than just not saying anything and nodding. Good listening is a skill that may take some work to develop if you don't come by it naturally. However, developing good active listening skills will make you a good support person for your friend or loved one with agoraphobia. Plus - being a good listener will help you in your other relationships, too, even with people who don't have agoraphobia.

The Victim Mentality

2006-07-19T15:17:00.000-07:00

We all have people in our lives who have problems and are looking to blame them on someone else. This is called the victim mentality. People who are like this have usually been wounded early in life by a significant person or persons. As a result, they have adopted a passive approach to life and don't take responsibility for their own behavior or situation.

When you have agoraphobia, it is easy to slip into a victim mentality. It is easy to adopt a fatalistic mindset that you are powerless to do anything about recovery or making your life better. It is easy to start blaming other people for your condition.

Do not do this!

One of the keys to recovery from agoraphobia is taking responsibility for your own life. Maybe your parents scarred you emotionally. Maybe you have experienced a traumatic event that brought on panic attacks. Maybe you are in a relationship with someone who is abusive, overly controlling, jealous, or smothering.

No matter how someone has wounded you in the past, it is your responsibility to recover from agoraphobia and take control of your life. No one else can do this for you. You don't have to get other people to change to recover. It is your own thinking and behavior that you must change.

I would not be writing this if I had not suffered from agoraphobia myself - and recovered. Believe me, there are always people and circumstances to blame for your disorder - but no one has a perfect upbringing or perfect life circumstances. If you are in the mindset that someone else or something else needs to change for you to recover from agoraphobia, you may never.

Recovery is about acting on your environment - not allowing your environment to act on you. Recovery from agoraphobia is something that lies within your power, no matter how hopeless you may feel right now.

Its just about deciding to do the things that work (desensitization, changing irrational thinking, breathing and muscle relaxation exercises, visualization, etc..) , and doing them as if it were a second religion.

Nobody can do this for you but you.

Thoughts of an Agoraphobic on Independence Day

2006-07-05T11:20:00.001-07:00

I must admit that when I had agoraphobia, July 4th was not my favorite holiday. That's mainly because the thought of flashing bright lights in the sky followed by the sound of explosions didn't excite me in my overly-anxious state.

I hid in the house for at least two Fourths of July.

However, as I reflect on the Fourth of July that is coming up in a few days, I see it in a whole new way. As a recovered agoraphobic, I find inspiration from its themes of winning freedom and independence.

The Fourth of July is a time to celebrate the people who fought for our freedom and independence at all costs. They wouldn't settle for living their lives under an oppressive regime. Nobody offered them their freedom. Freedom was something they created for themselves.

That's how it was with my recovery from agoraphobia. Freedom was something I had to find for myself. It was a decision I made. I didn't find a magic pill or quick fix. I didn't wait for agoraphobia to go away on its own. I just decided that I could no longer live my life under its oppression.

You can make the same decision.

I can tell you from both experience and years of study that there is no easy way out of agoraphobia. The good news is, you can recover.

The journey to freedom from agoraphobia is often taken one hard step at a time. There may be setbacks and discouragements. There may be days when everything seems dark, and that you will never live a normal life free of anxiety again. I felt these things, and I am writing to tell you there is life on the other side.

I started the Agoraphobia Resource Center because I would like to be a partner in your journey to personal freedom. My goal is to improve the quality of life for people who suffer from agoraphobia.

As a recovered agoraphobic, I would like to bring you both information and inspiration to help you on your way to recovery.

I am still working on getting all of the information I would like posted on the site. I have shared my personal story with you in an e-book available in the resources section. Next, I am working on another e-book, "The Agoraphobia Treatment Guide" that will help you make informed decisions about your own recovery.

These things are just the beginning. If you have any ideas of how the needs of people suffering from agoraphobia could be better met online please let me know. You can email me any time at:
stephen@agoraphobia.ws

There is a link to the Agoraphobia Resource Center on the sidebar of this blog.

Here's to your freedom and independence. I wish you all my best this Fourth of July!

Sincerely,
Stephen A. Price
Recovered Agoraphobic

Breathing Away Anxiety

2006-07-03T10:43:00.000-07:00

On the road to full recovery from agoraphobia, sometimes we need ways to get short-term relief from anxiety just to get through a period of the day or even the next few minutes.

One of my favorite ways to get a short break from anxiety is by breathing it away. To do this:

1) Breathe in deeply through your nose.

2) As you breathe in, put one hand on your stomach and the other on your chest. Make sure the hand on your stomach rises first. This means you are breathing deeply and from the diaphragm.

3) Hold your breath for a slow count of five.

4) Breathe the air out very slowly. As you breathe out, make a slight sighing sound, as if you were trying to fog a mirror. Also, picture the tension leaving your body as you exhale.

5) Repeat these steps for a total of 10 breaths.

This simple technique should help relieve tension and anxiety because the way we breathe has a lot to do with how we feel. Quick, shallow breaths from the top of the lungs are associated with insecurity and anxiety. Deep slow breaths from the diaphragm are associated with confidence and well-being.

Could Amino Acids Provide a Natural Remedy for Panic and Agoraphobia?

2006-07-02T09:33:00.000-07:00

Natural Treatments Offer New Hope to Relieve Depression and Anxiety

by John Salerno, PH.D. and Lauren Salani (originally posted by Asbury Press, 6/15/06).

(Note: I have included this article because an imbalance in neurotransmitters, as discussed below, plays a role in the development of anxiety and agoraphobia).

Medical research has shown that fast foods, fast-lane living, inadequate sleep and genetics significantly affect the brain's ability to keep levels of neurotransmitters in adequate supply and balance.

Neurotransmitters, in specific amounts, are vitally important because they are the substances that create our moods, define our behavior, and establish the state of our overall health.

You may have heard some of their names. Serotonin, Norepinephrine, Epinephrine, GABA, Dopamine, Histamine and PEA are a few neurotransmitters with excitatory or inhibitory effects.
The brain extends communication to the organs of the body through nerve cells that "talk" with these substances.

The brain tells the heart to beat, the gastrointestinal system to digest, and the lungs to breathe.
Thus, the list of clinical conditions that could arise from neurotransmitter levels either being insufficient or exorbitantly high is extensive and includes both mental and physical health.

Addressing neurotransmitter imbalances may be the key to getting illness under control. The following is a list of commonly occurring neurotransmitter imbalance symptoms:

— Fatigue
— Chronic muscle and joint pain
— Inappropriate food cravings
— Irritability/hostility
— Inability to focus/concentrate
— Depression or agitation
— Excessive body fat
— Obsessive/compulsive behaviors
— Sleep disturbances
— Physical and emotional stress
— Recurrent diarrhea/constipation
— Headache/migraine

Many people are being treated with medications that either alter neurotransmitter release or imitate their function in the body.

Some medications such as Prozac, Paxil and Zoloft act to increase the time a neurotransmitter, such as serotonin, will stay in-between the nerve cells to increase the action.

Problems arise when serotonin levels are so low that the quantity is insufficient to make drug levels effective.

The study of the synthesis and metabolism of this and other neurotransmitters has led to the discovery of methods for detecting functional levels of these substances.

Subsequent treatment includes targeting the amino acids which are the building blocks of these excitatory/inhibitory neurotransmitters and providing these amino-acids at therapeutic levels so the body can start synthesizing its own supply and self-correct it's own imbalances.

This is very exciting news. Many patients seeking treatment for a variety of medical and psychological conditions are actually suffering from symptoms of an underlying neurotransmitter depletion or imbalance.

Discovering the root of the problem makes treatment efficient and true relief a reality.
John Salerno, Ph.D. and Lauren Salani, BCIA,C are members of the Behavioral Medicine and Psychophysiology Team at Physicians for Alternative Medicine, P.C.

Physicians for Alternative Medicine, P.C. offers free consultations to those who want to learn how natural medicine can best treat their medical and mental health problems. For more information about neurotransmitter (brain chemistry) testing or to make an appointment call (732) 542-2638.

Discover a Secret Weapon Against Panic Attacks

2006-07-01T12:46:00.000-07:00

I was watching a favorite movie just the other day and in one of the scenes, something peculiar happens. A man, armed with a gun, robs a bank. The police chase him up some flights of stairs and onto the roof of a twenty-story building where they corner him. In desperation, he kidnaps a girl (who just happens to be on the roof) and holds her for ransom. He threatens to shoot her if she doesn't do what he says.

Now here's the peculiar twist to the plot, the girl was about to jump off the roof and commit suicide when he found her. She doesn't care if she gets shot. In fact, she even begs him to go ahead and shoot her to save her the hassle of jumping.

Because the girl is so bold about inviting him to pull the trigger, the kidnapper can't scare her into doing anything.

This strange sequence in a movie scene illustrated the principle of non-resistance. Because the girl doesn't resist her kidnapper's threats, he has no power over her.

The principle of non-resistance, or using an opponent's strength against them, has long been a part of Eastern philosophy and the martial arts. This same principle can be your secret weapon against panic attacks.

You can use the principle of non-resistance to take away the power of panic attacks in your life.

If you stop resisting panic attacks and try to force yourself to have a panic attack instead, the panic will lose its power over you. I know it sounds strange, but just try it. More times than not, when you try to bring on a panic attack, you will find it nearly impossible to have a panic attack.

The strategy of non-resistance is so powerful that many psychologists offer it to overcome panic.

Next time you feel panic coming on you can try it. Go ahead. Try to hyperventilate. Try to get dizzy and faint. Try to sweat and get your stomach tied up in knots. Try to make your mind spin out of control.

Guess what? You probably won't be successful. Trying to bring on a panic attack is probably the best way to avoid having one.

So why does this work?

Think about it - panic attacks rely on tension and anxiety to fuel them. Those of us with agoraphobia have a lot of panic attacks just because we are afraid of having them. In other words, panic attacks rely on tension between you and the panic to occur.

On the other hand, there are some steps to ensure that you will have a panic attack:

1) Worry incessantly about having a panic attack.2) Avoid all places in which you are afraid you might have a panic attack.

3) Set the goal of never, ever having another panic attack again no matter what.

4) Try to ignore any tension in your body that feels remotely like panic.

5) Try really hard to brace yourself against panic and actively fight off a panic attack through sheer will and determination when you feel one coming on.

If you do these things, you are sure to increase the number of panic attacks you have because you are increasing the tension between you and the panic.

To stop having panic attacks, don't resist them. If you start feeling panic just go with it. Accept what is happening. Face up to the symptoms and just let some time pass. Whatever you do, don't put up a fight against it.

When you give up the fight against panic, paradoxically, it will lose its power over you.

What Does Love Have to Do With Agoraphobia?

2006-06-26T11:58:00.000-07:00

I just read an interesting few paragraphs in a boook this afternoon that I have to share. I was reading Karen Williams' book entitled "How to Help Your Loved One Recover from Agoraphobia" and I came across a part where she writes about the power of being loved by others and loving yourself when it comes to recovering from agoraphobia.

I thought this was interesting because I attribute a great deal of my recovery from agoraphobia to changing the nature of my close relationships - from relationships based on fear (of disapproval, rejection, etc...) to relationships based on unconditional love.

To read more, go to the Agoraphobia Resource Center website, click on "articles" and look for one called "The Power of Love for Healing Agoraphobia."