Melissa remembers her first panic attack like it was yesterday. She was coming home from work as usual on the 5:32 train. She was reviewing her to do list for the weekend and thinking about a presentation she had to give at work on Monday.
While her obligations were many, going to her daughter´s play, arranging catering for her husband´s birthday the following weekend, making baked goods for the school bazaar and getting this work presentation done that cropped up at the last minute, they were no more than usual. She decided to pick up some food for dinner on the way home and went to the supermarket.
She put her purse in the cart and started wheeling around the grocery store. She went to the meat counter first to see what was available and what looked good. Suddenly her heart started racing and she felt weak in the knees. She steadied herself and tried to shake the feeling but terror struck her.
Was she going to die on top of the meat? What would happen to her children? Where was her husband? Would he marry someone else? She grabbed at her scarf and removed it; she tried breathing but heard only wheezing. She saw people looking at her and tried to act normal but the inability to breathe was too much. She took her purse and ran out of the store, pulling at her shirt, trying to ease the pressure in her chest.
As soon as the cool night air hit her she felt better. She started to breath, walked a little to get the circulation going. Then she sat down on the bench outside. Someone came up to her and asked her if she was okay. She simply nodded, still unable to speak. She looked down at herself after a few minutes. She was soaked with sweat and her blouse was ripped open at the chest, her bra was showing.
What had happened and why? This thought would continue to plague Melissa in the coming months as her hesitation, fear and uncertainty mounted.
Melissa missed the school bazaar, missed her daughter´s play, called in sick on Monday for her presentation and made up an excuse to cancel her husband´s birthday party.
This was the beginning of Melissa´s agoraphobia and the fear that dominated her life from the time she had her panic attack in the supermarket standing over the Idaho potatoes. This fear led to the alienation of her husband and children and the loss of her job and self-esteem.
Six months after this first panic attack, Melissa´s life was unrecognizable. Melissa was unemployed, living separate from her children and in divorce proceedings from the love of her life of 15 years. Just six months ago, her life had been a picture of success and happiness. She had a great job she loved, two great children who were clever and angelic and a husband who was the light of her life and her high school sweetheart. She had a beautiful home and tons of friends and was active in a number of organizations, including the PTA.
Today, Melissa is afraid to venture too far from her home, she won´t ride the train into the city, she can´t go to crowded places and feels stressed, anxious and worried all the time. Her husband tried to help her but she pushed him away. Her children tried to be understanding but they didn´t understand. Her friends tried to be supportive but she didn´t want their support.
While this case may be extreme, it shows how agoraphobia can start small, you miss just a couple of events, you make just a couple of excuses but the inertia of avoidance can snowball very quickly into severely damaging your life. While there are varying degrees of agoraphobia, they all have the potential to be severely life limiting and should be addressed as quickly as possible.
Author Resource:-
Download your free eBook Stop Panic Attacks and Deal with Your Anxious Thoughts here:
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- From Bertil Hjert - The author of the PanicGoodbye-program. Read more about this brand new course at the: Panic Goodbye Program
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