Agrophobia and anxiety

Hey @Kath23 welcome to the forums, glad to have you on board!

Sorry to hear your anxiety is creating so many barriers for you. Breakups are never easy, and it does make sense that your anxiety is flaring up in response. Glad you're reaching out for some support.

We've sent you an email by the way, keep an eye out 😉

Hello 👋🏼 @Kath23 Welcome to the SANE forum.

Thank you for posting your experience with your relationship ending.

For 6 months the best thing I did was landscape the backyard.

I was in a state of shock and grief.

Terrified that if I left the perimeter of the property, that it was like tempting fate.

Leaving the property meant I was putting myself at risk of another bad thing happening to me.

I had been abandoned after a long illness, was scared.

I was scared for good reason. I wasn’t being irrational, I was hurt and grieving.

The emotional pain was physically painful.

What was the relationship like for you?

G

Hello @Kath, welcome to the forums!

I'm really sorry to hear about your breakup and how it's brought your anxiety back. Just want you to know that you're not alone, it's understandable and common that such a big thing can trigger anxiety and cause a bit of a set back.

Have you got anyone to talk to? Anyone who could come keep you company or support you, like friends or family?

We're here for you anyways so please keep reaching out if you need 💜

@Kath23 said “Yes it was very toxic and amazing all at once.”

Hi and welcome, @Kath23 . Sorry you've had a bad break-up 😢

I have agoraphobia too and some days I can't leave the house. I need to psych myself up to leave the house and even then some days it doesn't work.

I can still leave the house to go to my volunteer job and my medical appts and social events - not all the time, but mostly. But I can't go far or stay out long.

Do you have a psychologist or counsellor to help you with strategies?

I know one strategy is just to do one tiny step at a time. (Exposure therapy) E.g. step outside the back door. The step outside the back door and stay for 1 minute. Then step outside the back door and stay for 2 minutes. Do that for a while, increasing the time... Then step outside the front door. Then increase the time. Then walk to the letter box, etc.

An important forum tip is if you type @ and then click on a name in the drop-down box, that person will get a notification and won't miss your reply. 🙂

Thanks beautiful