How to get out of the house and conquer fear of long walks?

Hello everyone,

Hope you are all ok and getting better each day!!

One thing that I am majority struggling with is long walks. Like a 10-15 minute walk where all you can see is houses and no shops around and no buildings. I feel that these places are so isolated and I do not like them at all. I was with my Mum yesterday and she wanted me to walk with her to the station and I made us wait at the bus stop which was for ages. I felt so dizzy and faint at that bus stop it was unbelievable. I just felt weak and so lonely an afraid and she was on the phone chatting away which made me feel even worse as I felt that I had been tricked into going out and not had any attention paid to me at all. I find that I have become quite reliant on cabs to get around and do not really like walking much.

I prefer to walk in busy places where there are loads of people and shops i.e. shopping centres etc. I like those kinds of places as I can escape into a shop easily if need be haha.

But places that are too rural I dislike a lot.

Sometimes I am ok. I just have on and off days and I feel so moody, helpless and stuck. I just hate that feeling of being all alone, feeling all alone and feeling as though I cannot just feel normal like everyone else.

I mainly stay in doors way too much and I do not really meet up with friends because of this so I feel like my life has started to suck.

I do have quite a few successes to my name and have achieved many great things but it just sucks that I don't go out much and I am constantly criticised for this beyond words.

Pls share your thoughts on what I can do to get out of this rut.

Many thanks

xx

[Mandy26]

Hi Babygirl, I can relate to what you say regarding this. When I had my first major panic attack I didn't get out of bed for days and had to tackle walking my dog in a very quiet place (fields upon fields, no houses, no people) I was petrified. My chest was so tight and I was so scared I would have another attack and be on my own with nobody to help, but strangely...nothing happened. The path I have taken with my anxiety is if I am OK doing something, there is nothing to be scared of. So the next day I did the same again, and although I still felt that fear, with every walk every day, it eased.

That is how I encourage myself to get things done, if I have done it, and I got back home alive and breathing on my own, then there is nothing to be afraid of.

It's great that you have achieved things in other areas. How did you overcome those fears? Maybe you can use those achievements to help you overcome this fear? I would stay start off small though, take note of how your body feels and don't be afraid of the panic and anxiety if it does arise, just know that when it happens you always come through it and relax, breathe slowly and deeply and take in your surroundings.

Keep us up to date with your progress

xxx

[Hidden in reply to Mandy26]

Hello Mandy,

Thanks for your response to my message. This has really been helpful and I think that you are so brave for conquering your panic attacks and going out with boldness and confidence. I really wish that I can do this too. I would love to be able to go out to anywhere, whenever I want to but I feel that feeling of at least 25% of restriction and I am missing out on mixing with my friends and family because I am always so isolated with staying in. If I do go out I use a cab as a way to get me out the door and I am fine when I am out and about but then take a cab home again.

To some degree I am happy that this happened to me as it has made me live a more responsible life of going out for business, events, and socialising with the right people rather than meeting up with bad friends of the past etc.

I think that you are right, if I can some how allow the confidence that I have in my achievements to translate into my life it will be a way to overcome.

Yes I need to breath and relax. I am going to start working on conquering this anxiety some more as I do want to be free. I will keep you updated and pls also update me too with how you are getting on...keep being strong.

Thanks so much once again

xxxx

[Hidden]

Hi. Does your mum know how you feel? Are you getting any support from anyone? You know, you shouldn't be trying to manage on your own. First of all you are NOT ALONE. There are many suffering as you are and especially on this site so do not feel isolated. If you are in a rut remember, you can climb out of a rut however deep. It sounds to me that you have the symptoms of anxiety, although you should really go and see your GP and have a chat. They can give you help with tabs and therapy which can help a lot. Now please do not be alarmed by all this. There is nothing unusual about how you feel. Many walk beside you with anxiety on this site and are only too willing to help. Look up some of the blogs and replies and see if the experiences of others can help. You do not appear to be agoraphobic; that is the fear of going into shops etc. but open spaces seem to frighten you. If you have been brought up in London it can be that open spaces frighten you because you have no support if you do not feel well. That is why you like being near people. Feeling dizzy, faint and weak are all symptoms of nerves and nothing to worry about. But if you go to your GP, and you should if only for reassurance, and have a check up it will put your mind at rest. Others will come on here so listen to them. You will be OK never fear. A lot of us have been where you are now and come out of it so don't despair. Best wishes. jonathan.

[stde]

Well after two good answers, I can only add that to help me relax I found that certain songs brought me to a good emotional place whether it was the memories that was associated with them or just the music that seemed to clic me into relaxing (we can always feel what,s right or our favourites). I then transferred them onto a tape/mp3 etc and used to go a walk with the headphones on (sometimes i used to go to sleep listening) and it certainly helped me.......just a small tip worth trying as is is a distraction technique......watch out crossing the road though he he!!........x

[over]

i have fear of walking in the shopping mall,but i can now.i had this problem for years.so i understand how you feel,but the only thing you can do is facing it ,that means do it everyday,little by little,and you will be fine,because that's what i did dragging my handbag on the floor in shopping mall.