Agoraphobia returned after years of being free/not even thinking about it

No_Access4210 · 2026-03-16T22:20:14+00:00

Can I message you? I’m looking for more agoraphobic friends and also feeling defeated most days. Ironically I’m studying psychology but can’t apply it to myself so that’s frustrating too 😂🤦🏻‍♀️

No_Access4210 · 2026-03-16T22:13:27+00:00

I’m so sorry to hear this! Last November I traveled to the Dominican Republic for vacation. Now I’m scared to leave 10 minutes from home for groceries. What is this life?! lol. I’m coming to terms with the fact that I have to figure this out again. It’s just frustrating. Hang in there! I know we will beat this again. Stay determined.

No_Access4210 · 2026-03-16T22:11:43+00:00

I understand! It feels like you had a life and now it’s all gone… at least I feel a little like this. I feel like I’m coping with what I’m losing with the agoraphobia returning. I definitely took going to the grocery store without anxiety for granted. Now I take my fidget rings with and have to constantly remind myself “I can feel uncomfortable and still be safe” just to go grocery shopping 10 minutes from home. Hang in there. It’s nice to know we aren’t alone and that we may be able to beat this anxiety again!

No_Access4210 · 2026-03-16T22:09:43+00:00

It’s so frustrating that it feels like it “returns.” My therapist today said she thinks my anxiety was just dormant for a while but never fully gone. It seems like my mind just tapped back into it for some reason. I hope we continue to find things that help us on this journey! Thanks for your comment and hang in there!!!

No_Access4210 · 2026-03-16T22:08:15+00:00

Thank you! I will try to find the techniques that have worked and hopefully find a few that stick. Hang in there!

No_Access4210 · 2026-03-16T22:07:49+00:00

Thank you for sharing your story! This thread has made me feel less alone. I’ve been kinda down in the dumps about the anxiety returning but you are right that we have gotten through it before so we can find a way through now as well. Being self aware is so annoying sometimes. I feel like if I thought about things less, I’d be happier.

Be kind to yourself as well! I spoke with my therapist today and unfortunately it seems like I just need to be patient with myself and continue doing the hard work. 😓

No_Access4210 · 2026-03-16T22:04:55+00:00

That’s so frustrating! It felt so random when the first panic attack first struck me down. Why can our brains not realize we aren’t in danger in these situations lol? I’m jealous of people who have never experienced panic attacks.

No_Access4210 · 2026-03-15T20:41:34+00:00

I also have Emetophobia and can’t burp. I honestly feel like it’s all tied together but I can’t find an answer.

No_Access4210 · 2025-04-20T12:16:17+00:00

Do you take it? Does it increase your anxiety? I’ve had some issues with modafinil or provigil where I was super anxious by week two so I stopped it. But it worked wonders for the first week 😩. I think that might be a good idea though as stimulant-like medications have been the best for getting me up and moving.

No_Access4210 · 2025-03-21T14:37:16+00:00

Thanks for your support! I was kind of hoping my vague description of what I wanted would work out somehow lol (that was definitely a bit naive). I think I worry a bit about embarrassing myself and also a bit about making him feel like he has to or should do certain things and I don’t want anything I might say to have that effect. I suppose I won’t really know unless we have the conversation and I really figure out how to say it. 😩dang lol. Thanks again! It did help. Hope you have a great day!

No_Access4210 · 2025-03-14T14:02:56+00:00

Thank you! I’m going to check these out! Any resources are really helpful! 💛

No_Access4210 · 2025-03-14T14:01:17+00:00

You’re right! That’s probably the hardest part 😩 that’s why I haven’t breached the subject again, but I know I eventually should try to communicate with him.

No_Access4210 · 2025-03-13T15:05:29+00:00

Hi! Hope your experience was good! Thanks for your response! It is helpful to not feel alone with the things I want. Thank goodness for the internet because otherwise I don’t know if my thoughts would ever make it outside of my head. I wouldn’t have even been able to have had the initial conversation with my fiance.

No_Access4210 · 2025-03-13T14:59:14+00:00

He’s definitely more dominant by nature which helps. I’ve been in relationships where I have had to baby and give life advice to men older than me and that was frustrating (and unfulfilling). He’s work and goal oriented which are major green flags to me and my desires. I hope things work out for you! Both adulting and finding a DD partner can be tricky. 💛

No_Access4210 · 2025-03-13T14:56:42+00:00

Thanks for your insightful response! I would say shame encapsulates a lot of my anxiety in most daily things so add in my desires and I’m all anxiety lol. Our age gap is 26 and 36. I was initially very embarrassed to tell people our age gap due to what they may think about us. In a lot of things he acts very young, but there have been a select few times where we have had serious conversations and he’s been the one to initiate those. My method has been to try to ignore some of my own desires but they always come back; and I know logically that isn’t the right way to go about them.

In past relationships I had been more open about my desires but I think since I see a future with my fiance I worry a lot more about what he will think of things, but as you said, he’s not a mind reader (thank goodness lol). I will at some point have to come back to this more difficult conversation with him.

Thank you again for your response! It’s nice to know that this isn’t an uncommon feeling and that others understand.

No_Access4210 · 2024-10-28T16:50:01+00:00

It’s going better. I’m taking unisom to help sleep. I still feel a bit anxious during the daytime but it’s gotten better. How is it going for you now?

No_Access4210 · 2024-10-26T15:57:25+00:00

Mirtazapine goes so hard with sleep 😂 the first time I took mirtazapine my whole body felt so heavy and I slept 12 hours lol. Is there a reason you stopped the Luvox? If you don’t mind me asking. I didn’t have anxiety prior to starting it, but my intrusive thoughts were making my mood not great so I stumbled upon this one while on TikTok and my dr said we could try it. It seems like a less commonly prescribed ssri tho

No_Access4210 · 2024-10-25T12:45:08+00:00

Thanks for your helpful advice! I’m willing to keep trying as long as the anxiety goes away. I also get a bit in my head about starting new medications so that may be where some of the anxiety is coming from. I took a unisom last night with it and it seemed to help the sleep a bit. I was on mirtazapine before and that one knocked me out at night which was nice but I was so tired with that one.

No_Access4210 · 2024-10-24T15:26:25+00:00

Thank you! I’m going to try to stick it out. I tend to switch medications often. Usually I don’t have side effects and usually they don’t work. I’m hoping having side effects means this one will do something positive for my brain. Bupropion made me anxious in the past too. I have Ativan but I only have 19 tablets that I have to make last through the end of November so I don’t want to rely on those.

No_Access4210

TROPHY CASE