Panic in public places

Is it really common to keep having these horrible panic attacks evertime i go into stores now. I never had them prior to the ativan, was an extreme extrovert and singer of a band. And now i dread going places. Cant wat at restaurants, go grocery shopping with family, drive or anything. Just wish it woyld all go away.

It is very normal Sal.  I think Walmart is the worst for me.  Something about the lights and of course people who let their kids run around screaming and bumping into people. 

 

It is much better now for me, but in the beginning of all this I just made sure I had a plan of what I needed and how to get in and out the fastest.  Formulating and executing the plan was probably more distraction then anything as it always took me forever to get in and out. 

 

Happy Shopping,

China

This is a perfectly normal symptom, especially since you are still in acute withdrawal (which lasts, depending on the person, on AVERAGE of 2-4 months, though some people do take longer -- mostly those who used large amounts or for long periods).

 

I found that the best way to deal with this was to slowly get used to going to the grocery, which is where I go the most. I found that about 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. was the best time at night, but that about 2-3 in the afternoon was also good. The grocery is generally less busy at those times, so there wouldn't be as many people and that there tended to be short lines, or no lines in many cases.

 

As for traffic, I tended to stay away from freeways and super-busy arterial streets and take less-traveled streets where I could poke along and no one would get pissed at me. I also found that if I was feeling a sense of panic that it would help to pull off onto a side street and just relax.

 

Making left turns at signals was hell for me if I got caught in all the traffic, so instead of making lefts I would make a right, go down a block and make a U-turn and accomplish the same change in direction without being stuck in traffic. I'm pretty much able to make left turns now. If I do get stuck and feel anxiety building, I'll just put my car in neutral and focus on relaxing.

 

Over time, as your brain recovers, it will become easier to go into the grocery store and other places. I still have trouble with very loud restaurants. (I wear hearing aids, so all the noise gets funneled into my ears -- so I often am not very conversant because I turn my hearing aids off. My family knows about my hearing and how loud noises bother me, which they did pre-benzos, so if they try and get me to talk I just smile, shrug my shoulders and wave my hand around the air, which everyone knows by now means that there is so much noise that my hearing aids are not on.)

 

All of this stuff is very common in withdrawal and early recovery. Just try and find a way to ease your way into situations and, over time, it will become easier and easier for you.

 

Good luck!

 

You guys are awesome thanks! And yea i try to go every Saturday or sunday. Hoping it might help my cns. And still cant drive. Which is crummy considering i live 15miles from anywhere deep in the florida woods.

 

And sorry the two of you also had to go through all of this :/

Thanks Sal.. It does get better tho.  Honest!

Thnx china. Its just all a lot to deal with. Coming from being anxiety free and stress free to having more than anyone shld ever have in a lifetime

It is Sal, but in my case no anxiety equaled comatose.  The klonopin completely wiped out my personality.  So now that the w/d symptoms are sliding into the background I am content with my ordinary anxiety.  It lets me know I am here and awake. 

That's true, ive never had it though and im not really anxiois its just these panic attacks that come out of nowhere with no warning