I am sorry to hear about the challenges you have had to deal with. Having a physical problem along with anxiety would be very difficult. The principles of the program can still be applied though. Asking yourself the 10 questions to challenge negativity would be a good start. If you feel you need a bit more help speaking with a therapist may also be helpful. A therapist will be able to tailor a CBT program to your needs.
I'm having trouble with the panic program as my agoraphobia is triggered by some very specific fears. I have chronic mobility issues which can worsen and become intense while I am out.
I get so scared of the waking I will have to do at X place or whether there will be a place where I can sit down that I am afraid to go out. If there is a stretch of walking to get into a place I get extremely anxious. It is not exactly fear of a panic attack but fear of being trapped somewhere that doesn't feel safe. I'm trying to work on applying the panic center principles to my problem but am struggling.
It has slowly worsened over time to the point where I don't even feel comfortable going very many places on crutches. Somehow I still feel as though taking my weight off of the affected side isn't enough and I will still be trapped. Even around the house sometimes I get extremely anxious and need to just sit down. I should mention that I have had difficulty walking for years now. It started as difficulty walking for extended periods. I think that the mobility problem has worsened but I also went through a long period where I wasn't forced into stressful walking situations (I was on maternity leave and am now home with my son).
Certain situations such as crossing the street or being in a situation where there is pressure to walk faster cause me to feel panic attack symptoms. I have gotten stuck in the middle of a street once and I think that incident was very traumatic. All of these things combine to leave me feeling very uncomfortable leaving my house or car. Is this in line with agoraphobia? Are there different steps or different types of exposure work I should do due to the specific fears that contribute to my agoraphobia? Because there is a physical basis to my fears I am constantly worried about aggravating the physical side of things. Too much walking or certain activities worsen my mobility. Today I took my son to tim hortons (while using crutches) and then to the park. Now I feel as though it is aggravated and I will be unable to walk tomorrow.
This cycle has happened before where I have had to use crutches for a while until the physical side of things improved and then I slowly phased the crutches out. Now I have been using the crutches to go out for months and the physical side is not much improved. I don't use them in the house unless it is really aggravated.
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