What is the quickest way to completely eliminate phobias and anxiety issues?
I have been suffering phobias associated with not being able to leave the house or leave it very limited. I want to be able to go to see my family for the holidays or sooner. Any helpful ideas of ways to completely eliminate phobias and anxiety for good.
Related posts:
- How can I resolve my dogs anxiety issues? My dog, Lulu, suffers from anxiety when she is left...
- Are these phobias actually real, and are there cases of them documented? I’ve heard that there are phobias for nearly everything, long...
- What are some interesting facts about phobias? [#3: Edit Options>MightyAdsense>Adsense Code] I need some interesting facts about...
- How do you get over phobias? I have quite a bad fear of spiders, by the...
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
it sounds like you are probably agoraphobic. its unlikely that you will completely eliminate your phobias quickly. however, there are some ways to manage it. are you more comfortable with a friend or family member? if so, take them out with you then gradually phase out their presence, first by short distances, then by absences for portions of your outing, then going out by yourself and meeting them there, then going without them.
if you don’t have anyone to go with you, try going out of the house say once an hour every day. first, take a step out of house and stand there for a few seconds and go back in. next time take a couple more steps. slowly make it so that you can make it to the street, then to the end of the block, then around the block. then, slowly make it to more social situations, such as a store. to make it a little easier you can try going to a 24 hour store (like walmart) in the middle of the night. there are a lot less people around at that time of night (as long as the darkness doesn’t make your anxiety worse).
There are several other practices like these that you could talk to a psychologist/psychiatrist to find out about.
Another thing to consider are anti-anxiety medications. you would take those in addition to the other therapies i would suggest.
finally, i would suggest talking to a psychiatrist to find out if you are considered to be legally disabled by this condition. if you are, there is another treatment option: a psychiatric service dog. these dogs are specially trained to help with your disabling anxiety and/or phobia. the only issue is that you must be legally disabled and the dog must be able to perform three different tasks to help in your daily life. i’ve included a source that is very good for psychiatric service dogs and some ways that they can help with daily life. granted, this will only help if the presence of an animal makes you feel more comfortable. if you were to want to go in this direction, it would take a while to get a service dog. if you train the dog yourself with the help of a professional trainer, it will probably take at least a year to get the dog trained, from the time the dog is old enough to be trained. if you get the dog from a service dog organization, you will likely be put on a waiting list that could be months to years long.
i hope you the best and i hope i helped you some.
If you get anxious thinking about having anxiety or panic attacks in a place where you can’t escape the humiliation or panic symptoms, that’s agoraphobia. If you just get anxious in social situation due to the fear of humiliation, then it’s social anxiety. Both respond well to benzodiazepines but Buspar should be used first. If you’ve got a co-morbid mood disorder, treat that first. See a psychiatric, who well either treat you with cognitive behavioral therapy and/or medication. CBT is better for those who develop anxiety and mood disorders from psychological issues (negative information processing due to personality traits, learned helplessness), rather than neurobiochemical (medical illness) or psychosocial issues (bereavement, relationships, work, parenting).
The quickest way to eliminate phobias does not exist. You didn’t develop this overnight and it will take time. However, there is some things you can do to help yourself. I don’t know what the phobias are, but this should help with any phobia: Try to think rationally when it happens and remind yourself that the feeling you have will pass. Divert you thinking into something positive; music, write your feelings down, help someone else, etc.
There is a form of therapy called cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) that is very successful in treating and eliminating anxiety disorders, including phobias. The name for what you’re suffering is agoraphobia – fear of leaving your "safe zone", or fear of not being able to escape a situation. Do you ever suffer from panic attacks when you leave your house, and that is why you have developed this fear of leaving the house? If so, you may fit the criteria for "Panic Disorder with Agoraphobia", a crippling but highly treatable anxiety disorder.
CBT has a success rate as high as 90%+ in anxiety disorders, and usually takes about 12-16 weeks of treatment to complete. The therapy involves looking at your anxious thoughts, and how those thoughts translate into anxious behaviors (like not leaving the house). It shows you how they are a vicious cycle, then teaches you how to restructure your anxious, negative thoughts. By changing your thoughts you are able to change your actions, and kick the anxiety. I know it sounds almost too easy, but it’s true and it is proven to work.
There are also medications that can relieve you of your anxiety, but they are often not a good choice for phobias because they are so behavioral in nature. The best treatment is to target your behavior and learn how to "retrain" your thoughts and behaviors, instead of masking the symptoms with medication. However, in the meantime while you are starting your therapy, you may consider asking your doctor for a mild sedative benzodiazepine like Xanax or Klonopin that you can take. It will calm you down and allow you to leave your house without having a panic attack, so that you can go see your family for your holiday get-togethers. It is not a good long-term treatment, however, and should be taken carefully because it has a moderate risk for dependency and withdrawal.
The best thing you can do right now is to make an appointment with a psychiatrist, and then GO TO YOUR APPOINTMENT. I feel the need to say that in all caps because as someone who has been diagnosed with Panic Disorder with Agoraphobia, I know how daunting that can be, to make and keep appointments. You will feel scared and you will want to cancel at the last minute, but don’t. If you do you are only letting your anxiety win and further take over your life.
So make an appointment, and come hell or high water you make sure you go to it. Even if you are throwing up from anxiety the whole time, bring your barf bucket into the doctor’s office because trust me, they’ve seen it before. They can get you on the road to recovery by recommending a good CBT therapist in your area, and possibly starting you on some medication that will get you through in the meantime.
Good luck! I know it feels like it will never get any better, but I promise it does. I’m living proof.
The quickest way to overcome phobias is to start facing them. It will take a little courage, but start taking small steps. Find a situation that is somewhat controlled and you can predict the outcome. Maybe try going to the store, buying something, and at the register say something very subtle to spark a conversation. It doesn’t have to be anything more than, you say something and they say something in return. Just take small steps. Eventually, try talking with friends or family more often. You will begin to remove the fear when you do this and your anxiety will begin to go away.
There are other techniques you can use to address this condition. Here is more information in case you are interested:
http://www.anxietysmith.com/self-help-for-anxiety/
I know how it feels to live with certain phobias that make it almost impossible to live life normal. I dont agree with most people that pills are the best way to help with this. I think if you talk to someone close to you like a best friend or a sister that would be the first step. And as far as higher help, there is this book called panic away you may have heard of it already. It helps with anxiety and helps you face your fears. You also get one on one with Joe Barry the author and she helps you gain confidence and eliminate those phobias. well hope that helped and good luck.
*Here is a website to that book in case you want to take a look at it.
http://17c5bdjlfu3zi80bb8t3mqlp1r.hop.clickbank.net/