Posted by NikkiT2 on September 9, 2003, at 14:05:58
In reply to Re: Sister has developed agoraphobia and moved home, posted by bookgurl99 on September 9, 2003, at 13:04:03
I'm sorry you feel this way, but having had problems yourself, can you not understand her at all??
I suffered from agoraphobia for 18 months.. well, that was 18 months I barely left home but it was building up way before that!
The fear that would build up inside me was so utterly utterly intense I simply could not function. If I tried to go outside I would invariably end up retching most of the time, and would honestly honestly believe people were staring at me and judging me, and if someone followed me I could sense the knife they were about to attack me with.
I would have done ANYTHING to have made my life easier during this time, and if moving home to your parents helps your sister, then let her do it, please. Its not always easy to see how to hellp yourself and pull yourself out of it.. sometimes it just too frightening to even be abvle to think rationally about how you could get better.
For me, I was lucky enough to get a CBT therapist.. for me CBT was the answer and it worked amazingly well on me. 12 weeks after starting I could go out without being ill, and the panic attacks at the mere thought of going out had virtually ceased. I carried it on for a year, and it has really been my life saviour. I'm not 100%, I doubt I ever will be, but I can now function and live a life.
Give your sister some slack.. I'm sure its not easy for her right now.
Nikki x
poster:NikkiT2
thread:258182
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20030829/msgs/258429.html