Phobia's - Anxiety - Social Phobia - Agoraphobia

Interesting. I've heard of that. How did you like the movie War of the Worlds? Is it just tall buildings or anything tall? Water towers?

All of the above. Which version of War of The Worlds? I've seen them both and love the original from the 50's or 60's was it? HAPPY POSTINGS FROM GRANDPA BOB !!~

I don't think I ever saw the original. The more recent one had these giant machines in them...

Did anything in particular help you overcome your anxiety?

Hey there. How has your progress been with the meds and the doctor? I posted to the person below, it explains how I got started with posting on this topic (if you're interested).

Hi kgree, Sorry it took me so long to reply back. It is actually my son that is suffering from anxiety. His anxiety is school related. He has been scared to go to, and stay in school for several months. I have found him counceling and enrolled him in a child anxiety program. He is still stuggling but he is doing better. Have you worked with a councelor? Is there anything that you have learned that you felt was helpful?

I see that Dan has was in a chatty mood 6-7 hours ago! I appreciate your need to express yourself. I read some of it. I will probably go back and read the rest sometime in the near future. I couldn't do it now, because I've convinced myself that I have attention deficit disorder. There are very few things over 20 words than can keep my attention! I am somewhat joking and somewhat not! I thought that agoraphobia was the fear of going outside also, but I think I read somewhere that it is actually the "fear of fear". Not sure which is more accurate. I don't know that agoraphobia causes weight gain, or if weight gain can contribute to agoraphobia. It seems to me it's just a vicious cycle either way. From what I've learned in dealing with my son's anxiety, sometimes we can't pinpoint exactly what is the root cause of the fear. Somewhere along the line, you mentioned childhood experiences, I think. That could be. It could be any bad experience that you had in the past in a certain situation. I enrolled my son in a child anxiety program at the local college. We are also seeing a councelor and working with the school councelor. It has been a slow process, but there has been considerable improvement. Yes, I agree, anxiety is treatable. Unforunately, I was not able to find quick fix, but with persistence we have been able to find some things, that have been helpful. As with many "cures" sometimes is really is hard to determine if it was the actual "treatment" or simply the passage of time, but in our case, it was probably both. I've been wanting to start a few discussions about our journey with anxiety, but unfortunately, I haven't had the time. I will hopefully get around to it sometime soon.

Hey, thanks for replying to this! Sorry it took me so long to get back to you. When I read your experiences, I could relate to so much of it! Although I personally don't have anxiety to the point where these worries shut me down, I do have the same insecurities. I think the main differnce between you and I is that you allow your fears to prevent you from getting or doing some or the things you need. If I had to buy something (in my case something more embarassing than cofee), I might wait until someone wasn't so close to what I needed, but I don't think I'd leave without it. But then again, there ARE certain things that I am too embarassed to buy. It's hard to believe I started this discussion 5 months ago. The reason I was inspired to start this discussion is because my son began experiencing "School Phobia". I wonder if you ever had issues in school. He pretty much always felt anxiety about going to school, but earlier this year it got to the point where it was pretty much debilitating (i think i'm using that word correctly?). It was a long and difficult process to get him the help he needed to overcome his fears, but we finally managed to do so. I enrolled him in an Child Anxiety and Phobia program. It was the best decision I've ever made. We both learned SO MUCH there and it truly helped him to overcome his fears and also it taught him how to manage new fears. I know you said that you tried therapy once. I have to tell you not EVERY therapist is good at helping with this issue. If you can muster up the courage to keep trying, I highly recommend it. I would also suggest that you start your search online. Look for "Anxiety Programs" in your area. I would start the search like this..."Anxiety Program, (your state). I also wanted to tell you that there are books out there that you might find helpful. I think I bought about 5 books while my son was going through this. There were different degrees of helpfullness in them. Because he was 12 when this started (13 now) and his reading level was a little low for his age, I had to try out a few different books. I bought a childrens book for him. It was cute and somewhat helpful, but a little too "young" for him. I got another onet that was closer to his leve. I bought two that were written specifically for teens, (I highly recommend you try those, especially if you really aren't ready to work with a therapist or enroll in a program) and then I bought one written for parents of kids with anxieties. I've learned a lot on this topic over the past six months and I truly feel for anyone who suffers from axiety. I've seen up close and personal how painful it can be to suffer from anxiety. I hope you find your way back here to reading this. Take care and feel free to ask me any questions you might have, or share any other experience that you want to. I will try to come back with the book titles for you, but if I don't it's just because I got busy. I have two kids with hectic schedules! I so remember one book title from memory. It's called "Fighting Invisible Tigers" Good luck. -Miamilady

Ok, finally made it back here. I've been a bit busy lately. I think the therapy idea is right out. I don't think that my insurance will cover it, even if my desire to go back was strong enough to act upon. That kind of setting is just not good for me. I did look at online therapy, but the financial issue was even more present there, as there's no way to get my insurance to agree to that, I think. The therapist I did see had me read a book. It was just the same thing, over and over again. Change the way you think. Now, I consider myself relatively intelligent. If I could change my thinking, I would have a long time ago. I know full well that my way of thinking is inaccurate, I just can't change it. I've considered anxiety medicine, but that's only supposed to be temporary. Besides, it doesn't fix the problem. I don't think anything will, so I'll just have to stick it out, something I've decided to do many a time in the past, though obviously failed at doing. But thank you for replying, all the same.

Hi there, thanks for your reply. I do thing that conditions usually are not simple. One condition probably feeds the other. For example in your case, perhaps the OCD has heightened your anxiety at times? I my son's case, I suspact that he might have a learning disability or ADD (i've requested testing) and that causes him anxiety. I think that there are several factors that cause his anxiety. Of course we are trying to figure them out and help him with it. Unfortunately it is hard for him to explain, or even figure out for himself exactly what triggers his anxiety. Take care

Did anyone ever make suggestions to you about what you should do when you start having a pancic attack? Such as deep breathing, becoming aware of your negative thoughts and making yourself think more positive thoughts etc. ?