About Us
Being Agoraphobic
First, it is worth mentioning that much harm has been done to sufferers by seemingly well-meaning individuals whose help has done more harm than good. In my case, several people have assisted me in reaching various places like supermarkets and shops and then left me on my own. What they failed to realise is that they had exacerbated the illness by doing so, and consequently caused a setback my progress as well as destroying the trust I had worked so hard to build.
This is the story of an individual’s journey and how they became Agoraphobic – suffering from anxiety and panic attacks and their journey towards trying to understand and ultimately overcome this illness.
Sufferers show extreme courage daily by facing and conquering the symptoms of fear, more importantly though, it needs to be realised how these symptoms come into being.
Many papers have been written on the subject of “the Dysfunction of the Autonomic Nervous System” and I have come to comprehend that this is a problem that has not been recognised in the treatment of Agoraphobia and anxiety-induced panic attacks.
Having spoken to many sufferers, it has been revealed that many of them have several underlying problems that are linked to the illness. These problems sit under many names and abbreviations such as OCD, GAD (General Anxiety Disorder), Social Phobia, and many others.
Therefore, this can become confusing for not only the sufferer, but those trying to help them too.
Another issue appears to be the ability to manage anger, as it would seem for many sufferers that the sense of anger is switched off, and has in fact turned in on themselves.
What needs to be addressed as a matter of importance is the severe isolation and loneliness that contributes to the illness, both these debilitating factors can be seen as contributing towards the perpetuating aspects of the illness.
The Training and Awareness course deals with these subjects and offers practical help that has been designed to reverse the process which causes Agoraphobia and its related problems.
The course will provide the means to educate and empower the support networks surrounding an Agoraphobic’s life and bring understanding to them, and in doing so make it possible for them to ultimately empower themselves which will consequently be seen as part of the recovery programme.
The story that led to me becoming ill was when I was working for London Transport and involved me supervising several small Railway Stations. During the course of my career, I had to deal with many situations such as suicides, bomb threats and passengers who were either angry or had drink or drug-related issues.
Compounded to these issues were my allocated shift patterns and my living situation which led to a lack of sleep deprivation over three years. I was not aware at the time that these conditions were leading towards a nervous breakdown, and it was during this time that I felt I was losing touch with reality, and more considerably, losing touch with myself.
This mixing pot of unaddressed issues finally bubbled over, ultimately leading to a breakdown and Agoraphobia.
I found myself unable to leave my bedroom for two years, and it was during this time I started to write. It seems strange now looking back to that time, not knowing if I was crazy or not. It was to be two years before someone told me what Agoraphobia was. During the time in my room, I wrote a story not realising that the story and its characters were, in fact, a reflection of the experiences I had been through. I should add at this time, I had moved back in with my Mother and if it had not been for her, I would most certainly have been admitted to Hospital or medicated.
After the realisation that I was not crazy, I started attempting to leave the house, as this was very hard, I was prescribed a higher dosage of Valium to which I became addicted. It was three years before I was able to leave my home and walk outside. It was also another two years before I was able to wean myself off the Valium to which I had become addicted.