life in general

[sarah]

i've been questioning life alot lately. like is this all there is to it? go to work, pay bills, go out sometimes, visit family, friends, go to work, pay bills, on and on and on. really! i'm 41, my kids are grown, my 7th grand child is due in oct from my youngest now. i have a great relationshiip with my sweetheart. i have anxiety attacks, i work for myself cleaning houses and i charge good money so i don't struggle too much financially. my health is o.k. not the best bet o.k. i am borderline agoraphobic so i don't want to go out much or too far away from home. i am so medication sensitive it's hard to take anything for my anxiety etc. i am so bored with life tho. i want to live, i just don't seem to know how. any little change in my life, even just waking up from a nap wrong can send me into a tailspin. i don't know what to do anymore. everything is such a struggle, yet life seems so empty and dull. the only thing that keeps me going is my little doggy i've had for 13 years, he is sick and i take the best care of him for giving me so much in the past. what's wrong with me? i'm not depressed either.

[Tony T]

I think you've listed many of your problems and you really don't need to focus on them.

 

In my opinion, you are suffering from depression. Most people with panic disorder with accompanying agorophobia have an underlying depression. With treatment, the panic often goes away. There are so many kinds of antidepressants, a physician can surely find one that will agree with you.

 

Now, if you didn't have the depression, panic, phobias, etc., I would say you are suffering from what psychologists call existential crisis. I hate to be the one to tell you this, but we each have to find our very own meaning in life. At this point, you could find great meaning in helping with your grandchildren, in doing artwork, or even in giving telephone support to others who have similar problems to your own. Take the focus away from yourself and do things to help others.

 

To get major kinds of help with coping with panic disorder, all you have to do is go to your favorite search engine, mine is Yahoo.com, enter Panic Disorder in the engine, press "go" and you will get many links to sites that can be very helpful to you.

 

You are doing yourself no good service by obsessing with your problems. Let me tell you right now, you only have one life to live...JUST ONE. I don't think you want to live your last five minutes looking back on your life and thinking about all the time you spent focusing on the negative. You need to get yourself a major attitude shift to the positive.

 

Most everyone goes to work, pays bills, etc. But sprinkled in there are fun times with friends, nice phone conversations, visits to interesting Internet websites, good books, etc. There are so many things you can do within the constraints of your agoraphobia. Meantime, you can work with yourself through systematic desensitization to help yourself get farther and farther away from your home base. Each day, take your car or just walk a block farther than the day before. Be patient with yourself.

 

The farther you are able to travel away from your comfort zone, the greater will be your self worth and self esteem. You will also find the range of activities you can involve yourself in will be greater as well.

 

Talk to a doctor about new medications and treatments that have come out for treatment of anxiety that may agree with you. Working with medications and dosages, you may find a new life awaits you.

 

Also, there are important nutrition guidelines you should observe. Avoid alcohol, beverages with caffein, stop eating a lot of sugar, get plenty of exercise and rest. This is all in books about nervous disorders, panic disorder and agoraphobia. Make sure you eat a balanced diet and take a vitamin supplement. Check all this out with your doctor to be sure he approves. You will be absolutely amazed at how your life will change.

 

I also in a very major way encourage you to buy some tapes or CD's on guided meditation. A good hypnotherapist can help you learn relaxation exercises that will be of great benefit and not involve medication. If there are meditation classes or workshops near you (call your metaphysical bookstores for possibilities), I encourage you to go. Relaxation exercises will help you greatly...and the cost is ZERO.

 

So stop feeling sorry for yourself and do what you can. Take yourself to your limit and extend that limit day by day. In a short time, with a change of attitude and lifestyle, you'll be a new person.

[sarah]

thank you tony, i needed a pick me up as well as a kick in the "bleep" i will try your suggestions starting first with my favorite search engine. dogpile. thank you, really.

I think you've listed many of your problems and you really don't need to focus on them. In my opinion, you are suffering from depression. Most people with panic disorder with accompanying agorophobia have an underlying depression. With treatment, the panic often goes away. There are so many kinds of antidepressants, a physician can surely find one that will agree with you.

 

Now, if you didn't have the depression, panic, phobias, etc., I would say you are suffering from what psychologists call existential crisis. I hate to be the one to tell you this, but we each have to find our very own meaning in life. At this point, you could find great meaning in helping with your grandchildren, in doing artwork, or even in giving telephone support to others who have similar problems to your own. Take the focus away from yourself and do things to help others.

 

To get major kinds of help with coping with panic disorder, all you have to do is go to your favorite search engine, mine is Yahoo.com, enter Panic Disorder in the engine, press "go" and you will get many links to sites that can be very helpful to you. You are doing yourself no good service by obsessing with your problems. Let me tell you right now, you only have one life to live...JUST ONE. I don't think you want to live your last five minutes looking back on your life and thinking about all the time you spent focusing on the negative. You need to get yourself a major attitude shift to the positive. Most everyone goes to work, pays bills, etc. But sprinkled in there are fun times with friends, nice phone conversations, visits to interesting Internet websites, good books, etc. There are so many things you can do within the constraints of your agoraphobia. Meantime, you can work with yourself through systematic desensitization to help yourself get farther and farther away from your home base. Each day, take your car or just walk a block farther than the day before. Be patient with yourself. The farther you are able to travel away from your comfort zone, the greater will be your self worth and self esteem. You will also find the range of activities you can involve yourself in will be greater as well. Talk to a doctor about new medications and treatments that have come out for treatment of anxiety that may agree with you. Working with medications and dosages, you may find a new life awaits you. Also, there are important nutrition guidelines you should observe. Avoid alcohol, beverages with caffein, stop eating a lot of sugar, get plenty of exercise and rest. This is all in books about nervous disorders, panic disorder and agoraphobia. Make sure you eat a balanced diet and take a vitamin supplement. Check all this out with your doctor to be sure he approves. You will be absolutely amazed at how your life will change. I also in a very major way encourage you to buy some tapes or CD's on guided meditation. A good hypnotherapist can help you learn relaxation exercises that will be of great benefit and not involve medication. If there are meditation classes or workshops near you (call your metaphysical bookstores for possibilities), I encourage you to go. Relaxation exercises will help you greatly...and the cost is ZERO. So stop feeling sorry for yourself and do what you can. Take yourself to your limit and extend that limit day by day. In a short time, with a change of attitude and lifestyle, you'll be a new person.