Anyone here suffer from agoraphobia?

No I do not suffer from agoraphobia but you say it is not a mental condition but it is my best girlfriend had this sickness and she is well again now after seeing a psychiatrist about it, as agoraphobia is a disease of the mind where the person is scared to go out into open spaces and I took her to a specialist to talk about this and now she no longer suffers from this disease. So I do not know where you are getting your information from to say that there is no cure for this, my friend did not use any CDs. But you are right that once you have agoraphobia that it can of course develop into stress and that can cause depression.

I suffered from agoraphobia many years ago and I feel for you suffering from it for so many years. I was blessed by a dear friend who figured out what my problem was and he 'stood beside me' every time I needed to leave the house until eventually one day I actually managed on my own. I will never forget that first outting but was so thrilled when I called my friend and told him what I had done on my own. Most people could never understand the excitment of going 2 blocks to the grocery store alone but it was a major step in my life. I still avoid crowds, hate shopping (not fun for me but do it), and prefer small groups and gatherings but I also managed with help to stand up in front of over 700 people and talk. Luckily I didn't realize until afterwards it was also broadcast on the radio to several thousand or I may not have done it. I can't speak for the CDs but I would say if you can afford them there is a chance they could help but I wouldn't put all my hopes on them.

I never heard of it. I have read all these post but I'm still sure what this is. You say their is no medicines that will help this? Maybe my neighbor Janet has this, she is afraid to be around crowds now. She stays at home unless she has to get out and no way out of it. She said she is afraid of being around a bunch of people. She was not always this way. Can someone explain exactly what this is?

The label "agoraphobia" can be very misleading. Agoraphobia means "fear of the market place or fear of open spaces". Phobia indicates an irrational fear relative to a fear someone would have of spiders. This does not fit everyone that is labeled "agoraphobic", in my opinion. Some people are true agoraphobics who have an actual fear of open spaces. Some are agoraphobic due to panic disorder and they "avoid" going out to avoid having panic attacks. To me there is a difference. I loved going places. I loved driving. I didn't love the fear of having a panic attack once I developed panic disorder, thus the avoidance behavior set in, which was labeled agoraphobia. It's like asking which came first, the chicken or the egg lol For me it appears that the panic attacks came first and then the avoidance behavior that was labeled agoraphobia. In my opinion and first-hand experience, I believe agoraphobia is more of an emotional disorder, possibly combined with something physical more than mental. Changing our thought process can help, but that is only one part of the process. For some it does work, but that leaves the question...why doesn't it work for others? Why does one become agoraphobic when they used to love going out? Doesn't this indicate that something in their life, their physical or emotional make-up changed? If so, in that process, maybe something in their mental make-up changed and needs to be corrected. But, I believe that there is a trigger that pushes the person into agoraphobia, more so than it just being a clear-cut phobia of going out into the world. I believe there are core issues that have to be dealt with in order to find the right treatment for each individual, thus the reason a single treatment doesn't work for everyone.

Hello Aussies2007, have you tried NLP- neuro linguistic programming? All phobias are related to our mind. If you can program your mind to think positive, you will do positive. I have a friend who has been afraid of roaches since she's a little girl. NLP help her overcome her fear.

I have been agoraphobic for about 25 years now and like you I have learnt to live with it. Like you I did not know what it was for many years until I saw something on Oprah one afternoon. I have been very frustrated and depressed because in my country there are no support groups and the counselor I've been seeing is not really helping. I feel great after my sessions but there is this one niggling fear that he just is not able to help me get a handle on. I myself have considered purchasing CDs or books so if you have actually purchased them let me know if they were of any help.

Well...i dont know if mine is agoraphobia as a clinical condition. This is probably a light form of it.I HATE to leave my home even to go to the market.The people at the streets, the noise, the cars, everything made me to feel serious discomfort. I avoid to contact with others out of my home :( May be we speak about one and the same thing and i agree, there are no medicines. There are some form of auto-sugesstion, trainings, but i am not sure how effective are they indeed.

oh, my. there is really so much that i can learn from mylot. i have been suffering from this kind of thing since i was a child. all i know was that i was a killjoy because i prefer to stay home always. i have this panicky feeling whenever i have to go places and meet some people, especially if it is for the first time yet. i thought that this is a normal feeling among everyone. now, i am proven wrong. i have learned about the extroverts and the introverts when i took up some psychology subjects wayback in college. it is good that you have brought this up here. it is good to know the things that has caused us trouble. from this time on, i will be coping better...so much better and i have to thank you for this. awareness is the first step in capturing our fears.

Hi Aussies2007............ All I can say is... I'm sorry. I've never heard of this, but I've been reading what everyone is talking about, and I find it very sad. I know what the whole anxiety thing is all about, and I too have learned how to deal with that through the years. I'm just glad I don't have "agoraphobia". I sure wish I could help you with it. I don't know if you believe in GOD, but maybe it would help to pray about it. I will say a prayer for you, if you don't mind. Good luck to you my friend, I wish the best for you. Marilyn ;o)

My cousin has it (has not be diagnosed) it all started when he had a huge issues with his heart (he was born with heart problems that could not be fixed at that time and now it is not an option). He was in public when his heart played up big time and he was scared that he wont make it home. Then he stayed home all the time. 12 years later he still has huge issues with going out. Few years ago he had not left the house for almost 3 years. On top of that he has developed other things as well. Like compolsive behaviour and he cant stand people. Few years ago he got a job (he was getting better so thats why he was readdy to go work) but the company closed down so he went back to where he was not living the house and all that.