Panic disorder becoming autophobia
Hi everyone :)
I have got to the point with my anxiety where I can't be alone at all. Even in my shared house with friends I feel horrible waves of anxiety, so I've moved back home for a while but it's judt not practical.
I know my anxiety is triggered by stress and I have been / still am under a lot at the moment. But I just need to get 'better' I have overcome it before, but that was just from staying home for months until I eventually started feeling like mysled again (I was a teenager).
I can't do that now, because I have responsibilities.
I don't know what to do. I just feel so helpless and hopeless and like I'm my own worst enemy but I just can't seem to shake the feelings of aloneness and panic attacks...
Thank you for 'listening' x
@dontpanic123
Hi! It has been a few weeks since you wrote this, how are you?
Well done for overcoming it before! So, you know you are able to. The problem when we use avoidance to wait until we feel better is that it trains our brain that avoidance keeps us safe, so we tend to do it more which causes more stress/anxiety!
Have you found the self-help guides here? There are many, including 'anxiety' and 'managing emotions'. Sometimes it helps to go through them with a listener that you connect well with.
Good on you for reaching out, it can be really hard/scary to do that, but gently pushing ourselves to getting support from safe places can be a great step.
Sending hugs.
@dontpanic123
@dontpanic123
Thank you for sharing and being open. It sounds like a hard time for you. I can relate to your anxiety that makes you feel like you can't be alone at all. The way anxiety works makes us feel unsafe and overwhelmed and like we can't do anything. But in reality you're sharing your experience and wanting to overcome these fears, which is a brave step. It takes a long while to get used to life after a lot of change has happened. It's okay to take all the time you need to adjust. You want to feel better and you deserve to feel better. It is frustrating for you to feel like responsibilities are hindering you from that. I'm here to reassure you that this anxiety is common and you're doing more than enough in your life while you're struggling with it.
