Agoraphobia

I find anger can be a more resourceful emotion over anxiety if directed toward achieving a goal or desired outcome.

At least, that is how I've tried to use it.

If anxious, I'm frozen, if upset, I try to move to get a resolution.

Anger is destructive. Anxiety comes from self doubt, and self awareness. Confidence comes from wisdom, patience and outward awareness

Emotions like anxiety and anger are destructive if they are used to in a negative way, but they can also be used in a positive way.

Confidence is a skill that can improve with practise.

Unfortunately anxiety and agoraphobia are usually not emotional but chemical when it comes to benzos. I feel it is one way that our body is telling us that we need to try to reduce our stress and stay somewhere safe because it is trying to heal.

I have read that pushing yourself too much when you are super anxious or agoraphobic can actually backfire and cause more withdrawal symptoms.

I know that if my agoraphobia is acting up too much and I try to leave the house I end up a blubbering mess with anxiety through the roof, that can't be good for a CNS that is trying to heal.

This too shall pass 

L-Theanine helps with anxiety and a clear mind if you can handle supplements.

Suntheanine is what to look for as it is a patented process and should be more consistent in strength.

It's concentrated green tea.

Reviews on some brands on Amazon show many people who used to be on anxiety meds and now manage with L-Theanine.

I have some and it helps but may kick up symptoms at times.

Here is from a quick search on "L-Theanine anxiety"  I'm posting the first 2 paragraphs and not the link as it is to a commercial site for supplements.

"Theanine vs. Xanax®: Comparison of Effects

One of the most compelling studies on theanine was published in 2004. In a double-blind, head-to-head comparison study, investigators compared theanine with alprazolam (Xanax®), a commonly prescribed anxiolytic (anti-anxiety) drug.27 Each of 16 healthy human volunteers took either 1 mg alprazolam, 200 mg theanine, or a placebo on separate occasions; thus, all participants were tested with all three treatments. Following each dose, the researchers obtained behavioral measures of anxiety in all participants, both before and after an experimentally-created state of anxiety.

The results were nothing short of remarkable. Theanine, but not alprazolam or the placebo, induced relaxing effects that were evident at the initial measurement of whether a person felt tranquil versus troubled. This study is even more impressive when the dose of alprazolam is taken into consideration. One milligram is a substantial dose of this medication—generally, most people use just 0.25 to 0.5 mg of alprazolam as a bedtime sleep aid. Theanine’s superior performance to a potentially habit-forming medication is truly stunning good news.27"

Thanks Nexttime,

The information on L-theanine is really interesting. Unfortunately I've been taking it 200mg 3X of suntheanine a day for about four months now. If I have decafe coffee I take an extra one. I can only imagine how bad I would be if I weren't taking this supplement!!!

I also take L-Glycine, magnesium, and fish oil. All of which are supposed to help with anxiety. Unfortunately I'm still home bound

Thanks again

Yes to all of those. I have a mindfulness guided meditation that I do everyday and then he adds exercises to be mindful throughout the day. I absolutely love the mindfulness!!

I have done stretching and yoga but for some reason they make me impatient and more anxious.

Thanks for the suggestions though. 

Try to completely be in the moment, and out of your mind. That's mindfulness. It should be mindlessness but that's how the english language interprets it.

If your driving, bring awareness to driving, and away from thought. Same with doing the dishes, walking. Anything.

When you feel anxiety, in the moment, stop and bring awareness towards what your affraid of. Observe it and deep diaphram breath. Bring awareness outside of yourself. Become one with everything.

Thanks for that wonderful description offeverything.

The first exercise the mindfulness app guy gave us was to pay attention to when we are sitting down or getting up. We do it so often throughout the day that we don't notice doing it. He says if you manage it once or twice a day you are doing really good!!

It is easy and hard at the same time because the mind wanders so much. The idea is to not get upset that the mind has wandered but to just note that it has and bring it back to what you are doing.

Trying to tame the monkey mind!! Not an easy task but well worth it I think 

Has anyone experienced long term agoraphobia that started before they started tapering and continued during tapering.

I've been experiencing agoraphobia for four months now. I CT'd off an AD on June 1, 2016 and my pdoc increased my benzo to compensate for the extreme anxiety and agoraphobia I was having. It helped for a little while and then about a month, month and a half ago my extreme anxiety and agoraphobia came back just as bad if not worse than before the up dosing.

I am planning on starting to taper my benzo on Nov 1 and I guess I'm just worried that the anxiety and agoraphobia will just get worse as I start to taper. The CT'd AD complicates things. Does anyone have any thoughts on this?

Thanks

Has anyone experienced long term agoraphobia that started before they started tapering and continued during tapering.

 

I've been experiencing agoraphobia for four months now. I CT'd off an AD on June 1, 2016 and my pdoc increased my benzo to compensate for the extreme anxiety and agoraphobia I was having. It helped for a little while and then about a month, month and a half ago my extreme anxiety and agoraphobia came back just as bad if not worse than before the up dosing.

 

I am planning on starting to taper my benzo on Nov 1 and I guess I'm just worried that the anxiety and agoraphobia will just get worse as I start to taper. The CT'd AD complicates things. Does anyone have any thoughts on this?

 

Thanks

If you want to get rid of benzos, you have to do it no matter what. You will learn to cope with agoraphobia. I had it really really bad before I started to taper and while doing it, but I managed to cope with it, now its completely gone. Now I think to stop the benzos helped to come over the agoraphobia. Its another thing that benzos can make worse, not better.

If you want to get rid of benzos, you have to do it no matter what. You will learn to cope with agoraphobia. I had it really really bad before I started to taper and while doing it, but I managed to cope with it, now its completely gone. Now I think to stop the benzos helped to come over the agoraphobia. Its another thing that benzos can make worse, not better.

Thanks for writing this Marigold. It gives me some hope. I'm not exactly sure when it started, but I did start experiencing agoraphobia before the taper. Right now it's really bad. Today was an all out nightmare, but I did manage to get out for a short period of time.  I'm really hoping that this is in fact a symptom of previous tolerance to the benzos and now to the tapering of them. I can't stand being afraid all of the time.

Thanks marigold and ella,

I haven't started tapering yet but my agoraphobia and the anxiety are getting worse and worse. The only way I know how to cope with the agoraphobia is to stay in the house. I'm barely making it to doctors appointments. I have one today and I'm in tears right now because I have to leave the house.

Ella, I've been told that in tolerance and in withdrawal the best thing to do is stay in if your mind is telling you to. It's like your CNS is telling you it needs to rest and the best place to do that is at home. If we force it then it can stress our CNS more and cause more symptoms and less healing.

Marigold, how did you cope with the agoraphobia?

Hi tntd,

Thank you for the info about agoraphobia and healing. It's comforting . I am so sorry you are dealing with this too. Good luck with the doctor's appointment today and with the taper. We'll get through this somehow. Take care.

Ella

Thanks marigold and ella,

 

I haven't started tapering yet but my agoraphobia and the anxiety are getting worse and worse. The only way I know how to cope with the agoraphobia is to stay in the house. I'm barely making it to doctors appointments. I have one today and I'm in tears right now because I have to leave the house.

 

Ella, I've been told that in tolerance and in withdrawal the best thing to do is stay in if your mind is telling you to. It's like your CNS is telling you it needs to rest and the best place to do that is at home. If we force it then it can stress our CNS more and cause more symptoms and less healing.

 

Marigold, how did you cope with the agoraphobia?

Oh god, I had to think back, but for you I did it..here are my learnings:

1) First you need to know that a feeling cannot kill you. Even when the fear is worst, it cannot kill you.

2) Agoraphobia makes your world smaller and smaller. I would call it comfort zone. This is your chance. Try to broaden your comfort zone. At the moment it seems to be your house. You have to practice to broaden your comfort zone to the garden, or the car, the street and so on. EVERYTHING YOU ARE TRAINING WILL NOT FEEL GOOD FOR SOME WEEKS OR EVEN MONTHS BUT YOU HAVE TO DO IT. I trained to create new safe places. I was afraid leaving the house, but later I trained myself to think "in my car I am safe too, I  can lock the door, I have some water and food in, I can go away with it.." - so I had a second safe place.

3) Training is going that way: Go somewhere, at first I would prefer to do it alone and on a lonely place, and stay there for 10 minutes. No matter what happens. Don't react in any way. Your heart is bumping, you are sweating, dizziness comes. Don't react. Just be there. Try not to stop breathing, thats the only thing. If that will need that you will sit on the ground there for 10 minutes, go for it. The goal is be there for 10 minutes. After that, return to your normal life. Repeat this lesson every 3d day, then every 2d day, then every day. After that, the next place.

5) The trick is, not to fight the panic. I imagined my fear as a person who would come with me, wherever I go, my hole life. I cannot get rid of her, but I can have a good life with her on my side. Like an unpleasant relevant.

6) have a loved view on yourself. Don't be rude, but be consequent to yourself while practicing.

7) later you will be practicing in public and people will probably notice that your face is white and you are sweating. You should not be afraid or embarrassed. I made wonderful situations when I told people "well I am having a panic attack right now, but no problem, I want it that way, I am practicing" and I even got tipps from others!

If you are not able to practice like I wrote here, you can take a life-saver with you in your bag for example a smartphone or a little bottle with water, a teddybear, and so on. You could hear music on your ears when you first leave the house.. My experience with that was not so good, because I got addicted to that kind of life-savers and finally learned that I got faster on my way without them, but everyone is different and you can still get rid of them later.

I know a lot of people who suffered from agoraphobia and now its gone because they learned to cope with.

Go for it, if I could do it, you can do it. for sure.

Marigold

Marigold,

Thank you for your reply. It sounds like you did a lot of work. I have been doing some things, for example taking my dog for a daily walk, but it hasn't helped lessen then agoraphobia at all. I do have some days when my symptoms aren't as bad and then I can get out without much anxiety so that is when I practice. I never had agoraphobia before meds so I know mine is all withdrawal driven. I'm assuming that it will go away once I get through tapering and the last of the withdrawals.

I'm glad that you are doing better and I hope you continue to improve.

Hugs

I just had someone tell me I was causing my own agoraphobia because of expectations. I didn't even know agoraphobia was a withdrawal symptom of benzos before I developed it!!  Then she told me that coping skills should work just fine in withdrawal because it's just a chemical problem and the coping skills change the chemistry in our brains and even change the way our brains look.    I was not happy with her and she acted as if I didn't know all of this already. It's why I meditate everyday and do other things and she knows I do. Guess what, still have agoraphobia!! If only it was that easy to get rid of.  :'(

From everything I've read we have to get through the withdrawal or at least to a place in our withdrawal where this is no longer a symptom. It doesn't go away because of anything we do or don't do, except for getting off the med that is

I'm so sick of being terrified to leave the house. It didn't feel good to have someone tell me I doing it to myself. I hope no one else has to experience that type of ignorance.

Hugs 

It's now been 10 weeks since I did my last cut down to 1mg, and my agoraphobia is still really bad.

I know isolation is bad, but every time I push myself beyond my comfort zone(which is small) I experice anxiety that's so horrible I almost can't describe it. Much like being pushed out of an plane without a parachute feeling, I assume. I've had anxiety for the last 26 years, but have never had attacks  like these before.

Don't know how much I should push myself, from what I've read in this forum my CNS is still i some sort of shock condition. Hopefully it will get better soon. On a scale from 1-100, my worst attacks were maybe 40 and the attacks when I go outside now is at 99.

Hi Bain,

I know just how you feel. I like your description. I always just say I dissolve into tears and terror every time I try to leave the house. From what I've read we need to let our CNS rest and that is why it is telling us to stay home. Pushing it can cause the symptoms to get worse.

I have read that some people do push themselves but it seems that in the end even they don't get over it until they are through the withdrawal either all the way or at least for that symptom.

I know that when I push myself it doesn't help at all. I don't get any better and often the next day my other withdrawal symptoms are worse so it really isn't worth it. I walked my dog all summer and every day it was horrible trying to walk out that door. It never got any better and there were even some days when I couldn't force myself to do it. I was always so happy when it was storming and I didn't have to take her. Then of course I felt guilty, sigh.

Did you have agoraphobia before your last cut?

Did you have agoraphobia before your last cut?

Well, sort of, but not to the extent I have now.

I tried tapering a year ago, but ended up going back to my 2mg dose, during this time I experienced a severe attack, didn't link it to withdrawls at the time, but now I see it.

A month after that I got another attack while stopping at a red light. It was a cold winter day with bright blue skies and after that I got increased anxiety when there was blue skies, but I managed to get outside.

I also suspect that I had developed this agoraphobia from Klonopin dependency.

I also remember saying to my mother before I started tapering that my anxiety would get worse and boy was I right .

I just have to say to myself that it's the withdrawls that most likely is causing this. I also suffer from tinnitus, which is driving me nuts and now when I'm not able to get out much I spend too much time focusing on this as well .

It's problematic when I'm told from doctors that the only way to get better is pushing through the anxiety when I go outside, they don't seem to care much about withdrawls. I know I have to do this at some point, but don't know how far I should push myself at the moment.