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Agoraphobia

These are descriptions of how individuals experienced various symptoms during withdrawal. While everyone's withdrawal is unique and symptoms will be different for everyone, it may be useful to know what others went through.

All withdrawal symptoms can be caused by things in addition to withdrawal. If a symptom is persistent or you are worried by it, it is always a good idea to get it checked out by your doctor to ensure nothing else is going on.

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Definition: (n) An abnormal fear of open or public places.

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What I've Felt:

"You feel as if there is no safe place in the world outside of your house, which itself doesn't feel especially safe, especially when you're left alone. When you're in public, the fear grows stronger the farther you move from home, the bigger the surrounding crowds, and the harder it is to spy an easy exit from each public place. Enclosed places like buses and airplanes -- well, forget it. Also, situations from which you could not escape without some embarrassment -- grocery-store checkout lines, dining out in a group, movie theatres -- become a source of consternation.

When in public, you are either actively in a panic or on the edge of one, wondering why the hell you should be so scared of other people when it used to be so nice to spend time with friends. Every one else looks like they belong in this world; you feel as if you don't -- as if you'd just plopped down from Planet Fear -- and all strangers are a potential threat.

For the first six weeks after I was taken cold-turkey off of benzos, I was scared even to pick up the telephone, lest I get trapped in a long conversation, start breathing poorly, panic, then have to find an excuse to hang up. The same thing would happen to me in one-on-one conversations, even at my house. And in public, whether having dinner at someone's house, bumping into an acquaintance on the street, or trying to sit still in a restaurant, it came up again." - Matt

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What I've Felt:

“People said I was agoraphobic. It was true that I didn’t go out much. The agoraphobic label bothered me because I wanted to go out and live my life very badly and I wasn’t afraid of being outside. In the beginning I guess I was afraid of feeling so ill and being out. As time progressed I figured that I could feel ill at home and be bored or I could feel ill and be out and not be bored but even having got to that point I could only stay out for an hour with out my either feeling so ill I couldn’t cope or I would feel Ok and then feel really unwell for the next two or three days which seemed like a high price to pay for an hour out.

The question that went thought my mind was “If I had a broken leg would they expect me to run a marathon?” – “My brain is healing so why does everyone expect me to be able to go out and cope?”

I concluded that I didn’t have true agoraphobia but this was just part of the benzo withdrawal journey” - Anthea

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My Coping Strategies

bulletAcceptance
bulletExposure therapy

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Disclaimer:  The information contained in this website was not compiled by a doctor or anyone with medical training. The advice contained herein should not be substituted for the advice of a physician who is well-informed in the subject matter discussed. Before making any decisions about your health or treatment you should always confer with your physician and it is always assumed that you will do so.

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Last updated 21 July 2020