Agoraphobia

[stovall1992]

What are some ways to overcome agoraphobia? I’m still suffering from it and haven’t left my house since December. My birthday is next Friday, and I really don’t want to be stuck in the house for it.

[JAYnLA]

According to Dr. Claire Weekes (my hero), you need to practice exposure therapy. That means going out even though it is uncomfortable and letting it pass (because the anxiety response always passes eventually). This retrains your brain to stop identifying certain situations as threatening. If you aren't familiar with Dr. Weekes, look her up. Her books and audiobooks are very very useful and she does talk about agoraphobia.

[stovall1992]

That's what my therapist said. I have heard so much about Dr. Weekes, but never listened to her. I will definitely look her up

[Hidden]

JaynLA is right. Fortunately there is a solution but it takes a lot of courage an persistence. Dr Claire Weekes helped me get out of an agoraphobic phase where i wouldn’t drive more than a block from my house. Getting on a Lexapro also helped. Also, I am a big believer in faith and prayer. Hope you have a great birthday out of the house!

[stovall1992 in reply to Hidden]

I will definitely look up Claire Weekes. I was prescribed Lexapro, Buspirone and Vistaril, as well as Ativan after my ER visit, but I really don’t want to take prescription medicine. I have had bad experiences with it. I am also a big believer in prayer and faith, so it is nice to meet someone who shares the same belief in it. Thank you so much!

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

How long before lexapro worked for you? I have been transitioning from 200 mg of Zoloft to 10 mg of lexapro. So far about a month and seem to still be going through the rough part of the transition

[stovall1992 in reply to Hidden]

I actually didn’t take the Lexapro. I heard too many stories of how hard it was to ween off of it, and I decided not to take it. I am sensitive when it comes to medication; I can barely take 200mg of Ibuprofen without something happening. I took the Ativan, but I was so scared to get addicted to benzos that I stopped. But my friend took Lexapro and she said it took her about 2-3 weeks before she started seeing results. She said it worked for her, but after a while, she switched to something natural. Do you take the Lexapro everyday?

[Hidden in reply to stovall1992]

Lexapro isn’t that hard to get off of. I’m slowly weaning off it now.

[Hidden in reply to stovall1992]

I do take it daily. Hoping to find something that helps

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

Well I was having extreme intrusive thoughts and those went away in 3 days. It took about 2 weeks for my sleep to improve and then another week for the drowsiness to calm down. Overall 4 weeks I was feeling so much better. I also stated slowly and only took half a dose, 5mg to start.

[stovall1992 in reply to Hidden]

oh okay, that’s good to here. so what do you take in its place?

[Hidden in reply to stovall1992]

I have been on Lexapro for 6 months and ready to come off. I don’t really need it now. I am not taking anything else, I am better at managing my life in general now.