Jo-Anne, Welcome to the Panic Center and thanks for sharing your story. Start working through our program. It will teach you what you need to know about panic and it's effect on you. Also be sure to take advantage of our new & improved CBT buddies, an instant messenger that will connect you with the members of our site. If you have any questions, need to vent or celebrate, we are always here! Keep us posted, Danielle _______________________ The SSC Support Team

Hi you all, my names Jo-Anne Ive had agrophobia/panic attacks since I was 24 Im now 41 I suppose ive come complacent about it now as if Ive excepted my lot, but it still saddens me for all the wasted years. In reply to the girl who is thinking of giving up her job because she cant cope my advice is DONT. I did this and it was the worst thing I could of done. Try to keep your life as normal as possible its worth it in the end good lick!

Hi Kelli, In addition to this program, please look into the panic/anxiety workbook that is available at any bookstore. Inside the book is various tools to use but the most important and useful thing I found in the book was the breathing technique that they use. What it does is level out the oxygen/carbon dioxide levels in your bloodstream. It will take some practice but once you master the technique, you can use it at the first hint of an attack and 99% of the time, you wont have an attack. If you do happen to have one, the breathing will lessen the panic and let you recover within seconds. I have been using the technique and it has really helped. My panic attacks have just about stoppped altogether and now I am just trying to get over the agorophobia.

Kelli, Welcome to the Panic Center and thanks for sharing your story with us! Start working through our program tools located on the left side of your screen. It will teach you a lot about panic disorder and it's effects on you. All the information is also available in a printable format so feel free to share it with your husband. Read through threads, ask questions and post often. We are here to support you through this journey. Keep us posted. Danielle _______________________ The PC Support Team

Hi Kelli I would give inositol supplementation a try. If you are not on any medication, maybe try some 5-HTP or Kava Kava...? I haven't tried 5-HTP or Kava Kava myself because I'm starting Zoloft, but I've heard some stories here and there that they can help? I also have anxiety problems at work... I think it is a little worse because of side-effects of starting Zoloft, but I just left work early today. However, I can connect to work from home and make progress that way... Yeah, much of the anxiety is probably being caused by the worry of having an anxiety attack at work.. so it is a cycle. I know this feeling, and it can be hard to break out of it -- I'm working on that now myself! I guess the trick is to not fear or worry about them... yeah, they are scary... just breathe slowly and try to stop the negative thought process that releases more adrenaline into your body -- replace the worries with happy pictures of you recovering from the panic attack and getting on with your day... I hope everything works out for you - Jeremy

Hi, welcome to the group you will enjoy chatting, like you I also gave up my job of 5 years that was round the croner from my house due to panic attacks and serious anxiety feelings, I just could'nt go on I had to get out of there and the more I tried the worse it became that was 6 months ago and was a good move for me, I am however working but doing my own thing with a friend who has her own business so I can suit myself as to what I do, I have more time at home which is what i wanted and am still earning the same money but do not have the hassle or pressure, I still get the feelings and stuff obviously but maybe you could work from home or something.

Hello, everyone! My name is Kelli. I recently turned 21 and I have experienced panic attacks, anxiety, and depression for over 10 years. It seems to have all started when I was a victim of incest from my 5-year-older half-brother at the age of 7. I am now 'over' the incident and fully understand that it wasn't my fault, but the depression and anxiety has remained and evolved. My anxiety attacks seemed to progress to agoraphobia back in May or so. I had a good job then as a technical support agent and I mostly enjoyed it, but I started having panic attacks every time I worked. This would cause me to have to leave early or just not go at all. My supervisor tried to help and understand me, but there wasn't much that he could do, so in the end, I had to leave the job. This put me and my husband into a bad financial situation where his income alone wasn't enough to sustain us, so we had to rely on his parents and mine for quite a while. In this time I applied for SSI, but the process was taking too long. It became so bad that I eventually had to start looking into jobs again. I found one at Wal-Mart and tried being a 3rd-shift-stocker, but I lasted 2 days before my panic attacks caused me to avoid the place altogether. I didn't even return to pick up my check. Now I have a job as a data entry operator. It's a good job and isn't all that difficult, and I'm an excellent typist, however, in these first two weeks I have already experienced two anxiety attacks where I have had to leave work early! This is naturally very disconcerting to me, my husband, and the rest of my family. They don't understand what I'm going through and say that it is 'an easy job,' that I'm 'not trying hard enough,' and that I need to 'get over it and stay at work.' Most of this comes from my mother. My husband has tried to be supportive, but I can sense that he's frustrated with me because he has to carry all of the weight when it comes to money and his income just isn't enough. He said tonight, after I came home after an attack, that he was 'tired of this' and that if I didn't work, he would go home and leave me. I know that he wouldn't do this but it still hurt badly. I am joining this program in hopes that I will be able to keep this job and enjoy it. If I am able to kee