Agoraphobia

[[Na...]]

Will the agoraphobia ever go away? As soon I leave the house I feel my heart pounding and very very anxious. It got worse. It was mild and now severe. I feel ashamed to show my face on the street, I am paranoid people judge me, afraid people want to talk to me. I dont feel a connection to anything and have extreme social anxiety. Do benzos cause permanent agoraphobia, social anxiety disorder and other anxiety disorders even after the withdrawal is over?

[Guest [ha...]]

Hi...I noticed in the beginning having a lot of agoraphobia and feelings of fear. I still have them from time to time. I'm not sure if this changes as you continue your withdrawal process but hoping in time, it will resolve. I had it to where I couldn't take a bath without panicking then my bath time experience became my phobia. I related where I was at the time of panic to fears of returning to a repeat experience, so I switched to showers and knowing someone was nearby. All of this post benzo...beforehand, never an issue. It's very strange what these medications do to our brains...best wishes

[[Wa...]]

hey you, I also had this a bit but I refused to let it control me. I was very sick with this 30 years ago and thought this time as I recover from benzo withdrawal I will not be afraid to go the store or any other place. I know it is easy to say and harder to do, but this is your life! you have the right to go where ever you please right? I think if you say to yourself;  "i am going to walk down the street and I don't give a shit what anyone thinks" "this is my life and I am going to live it"  one thing to remember is that people are very busy with their own lives and thoughts that they are probably not even paying attention to us. good luck, hold your head up high and remember that you are on the right track and you are trying to better yourself   

[[be...]]

one thing that helps me is carrying the meds around with me just in case I have a panic attack. It gives me some comfort to know it's there when I need it.

[[Ga...]]

hey you, I also had this a bit but I refused to let it control me. I was very sick with this 30 years ago and thought this time as I recover from benzo withdrawal I will not be afraid to go the store or any other place. I know it is easy to say and harder to do, but this is your life! you have the right to go where ever you please right? I think if you say to yourself;  "i am going to walk down the street and I don't give a shit what anyone thinks" "this is my life and I am going to live it"  one thing to remember is that people are very busy with their own lives and thoughts that they are probably not even paying attention to us. good luck, hold your head up high and remember that you are on the right track and you are trying to better yourself   

 

You have a great attitude. 

[[Wa...]]

thanks Gardenia, how are you doing?

 

[[Na...]]

Thanks for the warming replies. It is crazy these drugs can cause this personality changes.  It stripped all my confidence away 

[[Da...]]

All the things you are describing here I have or had have in this withdrawal course. My psychiatrist who used to be a heroine addict and went through med school and he is now an addiction specialist. Anyway he told me that these symptoms will pass it is a matter of time. I'm so glad that I met him and he has worked with lots of benzo addict so all this he has experience with.

 

Now trust me I have my days where I don't believe him either. I feel honestly like I am going crazy all he time. I hope you get past it soon and things get better for you.

[[no...]]

I've come to a point where the anxiety/paranoia is so unbearable that suicide seems to be the most logical solution, all pros. . almost zero cons. And it doesn't have any side effects.

[[Ma...]]

Will the agoraphobia ever go away? As soon I leave the house I feel my heart pounding and very very anxious. It got worse. It was mild and now severe. I feel ashamed to show my face on the street, I am paranoid people judge me, afraid people want to talk to me. I dont feel a connection to anything and have extreme social anxiety. Do benzos cause permanent agoraphobia, social anxiety disorder and other anxiety disorders even after the withdrawal is over?

 

Hey you..

YES! It will get better. Don't stop leaving the house now.. It will get better.  Thats withdrawal and yes can also happen when you think withdrawal is over.. the nervous system is like a rabbit at that moment.. I would give it some more months..

 

Chin up!

[[be...]]

Some days will be better than others. The most important is that you leave the house. It can be 5 minutes or half an hour. Bring your meds with you for reassurance but staying at home is just going to make things worse.

[[Ph...]]

Gradually expand your comfort zone, ten feet at a time if you want.  You'll realize eventually that this fear has no basis.  Don't feel like the Lone Ranger.  I've known successful business people that couldn't get on an airplane.  Social anxiety?  Do the same thing, expand your comfort zone by one "hi, how are you today" at a time.  You'll eventually see that this fear also has no basis.  Carry your pills with you if you want, but one day you will throw away this crutch.  Guaranteed.

[[ho...]]

I think I have this im out side in a parking lot but sometimes I get pushed out by my parents.

[[me...]]

I've come to a point where the anxiety/paranoia is so unbearable that suicide seems to be the most logical solution, all pros. . almost zero cons. And it doesn't have any side effects.

 

I'm very sorry you're feeling so badly.  Feeling depressed and out of control of one's life is not uncommon during benzo withdrawal. Many of us feel that way at times. But we're really not ourselves during withdrawal, and please understand that these feelings and symptoms are temporary and they WILL go away in time. Benzo withdrawal is a waiting game, and it takes time for one's brain and CNS to return to normal.  Time itself is the healer.

 

However, if you are really feeling suicidal, you must get in-person, on the ground help immediately.  As an international internet forum, we are not equipped to handle this kind of situation when it gets to this point.  Please have a friend or relative come and stay with you, call a helpline, or get professional help if you continue to have these feelings.  Your welfare is important to us. Also, our members, though very caring, are sensitive to suicide references, an that's why it's against the rules to discuss the subject of suicide here. Here's a link to our Suicide and Self Harm Pages, where you'll find valuable resources:

 

 

Suicide and Self-harm Resources

 

 

megan918

Administrator

 

[[Ju...]]

I became agoraphobic too as by interdose symptoms increased, mostly anxiety. The better I felt, the less the Agoraphopia.

I've read other members report that many phobias dissappear as you heal/become less anxoious.

Good luck

Just-a-man

[[Ju...]]

Agoraphobia is a symptom of prolonged anxiety. I am fighting it as well . I had to do that battle way back in 1990 as well. Yes, it does go away,

but once you have your anxiety under control, you'll have to build up confidence slowly, bike ride around the block, walk to the corner and back,

drive around the block, etc. It is only permanent if you allow it to be.

J-man

[[no...]]

I've come to a point where the anxiety/paranoia is so unbearable that suicide seems to be the most logical solution, all pros. . almost zero cons. And it doesn't have any side effects.

 

I'm very sorry you're feeling so badly.  Feeling depressed and out of control of one's life is not uncommon during benzo withdrawal. Many of us feel that way at times. But we're really not ourselves during withdrawal, and please understand that these feelings and symptoms are temporary and they WILL go away in time. Benzo withdrawal is a waiting game, and it takes time for one's brain and CNS to return to normal.  Time itself is the healer.

 

However, if you are really feeling suicidal, you must get in-person, on the ground help immediately.  As an international internet forum, we are not equipped to handle this kind of situation when it gets to this point.  Please have a friend or relative come and stay with you, call a helpline, or get professional help if you continue to have these feelings.  Your welfare is important to us. Also, our members, though very caring, are sensitive to suicide references, an that's why it's against the rules to discuss the subject of suicide here. Here's a link to our Suicide and Self Harm Pages, where you'll find valuable resources:

 

 

Suicide and Self-harm Resources

 

 

megan918

Administrator

 

Wow thank you, I'm sorry I missed your message.

 

I don't feel depressed, it's the anxiety, it physically damages me, I feel like I'm burning, it's insane.

 

Right now I don't need to leave my house so I'm feeling "good".

[[Da...]]

Hi, this is for not waving but drowning. Don't say that suicide is the only answer. I have suicide ideation and think about it all the time but i know i will never go through with it. If i was going to do it and I'm sure i would have done it by now. As bad as things get for me, which seem terrible, I know that we (you and me) cannot do this. I lost my 19y/o nephew in April 2015, he was a drug addict and I feel i never reached out to help him. I'm still devastated daily by it and also the feeling that I did not do anything to help him. The rest of my family struggles with the same thought. I was on drugs myself and i never thought of it that way. He did meth and i was taking pills, not the same thing right, wrong. the same thing.

 

So i know exactly how it feels and it is shitty. Constant pain and regrets. So just consider what would happen to your family if you went through with your thoughts. It is so not easy.

 

[[no...]]

Hi, this is for not waving but drowning. Don't say that suicide is the only answer. I have suicide ideation and think about it all the time but i know i will never go through with it. If i was going to do it and I'm sure i would have done it by now. As bad as things get for me, which seem terrible, I know that we (you and me) cannot do this. I lost my 19y/o nephew in April 2015, he was a drug addict and I feel i never reached out to help him. I'm still devastated daily by it and also the feeling that I did not do anything to help him. The rest of my family struggles with the same thought. I was on drugs myself and i never thought of it that way. He did meth and i was taking pills, not the same thing right, wrong. the same thing.

 

So i know exactly how it feels and it is shitty. Constant pain and regrets. So just consider what would happen to your family if you went through with your thoughts. It is so not easy.

 

I appreciate your advice, even if it's just one message it gives me strength.

 

My family can't even grasp a bit of the hell I go trough every day (even if I don't leave my house), when I do leave I have to face the anxiety plus the ridicule of others (right in my face), my family think I'm just insecure, and that I should just suck it up, they consider me rude, disrespectful and lazy, now that I got some meds that will heal me I don't consider suicide as an option.

 

Anyway, I lack the constitution for it.

[[be...]]

Your family doesn't understand because they don't suffer from agoraphobia. I have had it most of my life and it is hell. It is not bad enough that this hell caused me so much pain but the people who were close to me did not try to understand. It was only after I accepted the fact that they will never understand I felt a little better. Once you accept that they will never understand then there is less pressure to please them.

[[no...]]

Your family doesn't understand because they don't suffer from agoraphobia. I have had it most of my life and it is hell. It is not bad enough that this hell caused me so much pain but the people who were close to me did not try to understand. It was only after I accepted the fact that they will never understand I felt a little better. Once you accept that they will never understand then there is less pressure to please them.

 

Fuck you're right.

 

The funny thing is... I never had anxiety/paranoia before I was put on benzos, I "needed" them for sleep, but daily use caused this mess, months ago I didn't know who I was anymore (now I know, I'm a parody of myself).

 

It's not my fault, so I'm resigned.

 

Anyway, I don't blame the med, if I wasn't put on it on a daily basis, I would've been fine. Shit luck I guess.

[[be...]]

Daily use is what got me into this mess as well. It helped me to get through college, but my doctor never told me it can fuck you up if you take it daily for long time.

[[Te...]]

I got this really bad during earlier wd. It took me a long time to get out the door. I had "spotlight effect" and kept checking the mirror to see if everything was okay. Sometimes I would take a shower, get dressed, and then couldn't seem to make it out the door. I used to say that if I didn't have to go out, I wouldn't. I'd just stay inside all the time. It was my "safe place." The agoraphobia finally left. I have no problem getting out now. It just slowly faded away.

[[Na...]]

I have had some very good days and the agoraphobia has lifted. I am having a long window or I am just making very good progress! Thx for the replies all!

[[Te...]]

That's great to hear, Napdmd!!!