>21
>F
>neet because mentally ill
Hey guys,
I just got back from my most recent therapy session, and I had finally asked my doctor what I have. He said I have agoraphobia as a result of anxiety, panic, and depression. It made sense at first, but the more I read into it the more I'm confused by the diagnosis. See, I'm stuck at home because I fear making a mistake or panicking, but it's mostly centered around things like driving, making phone calls, talking to people about important things, doing important things, seeing friends I've not seen in a long while, and just dealing with my mom (emotionally abusive). It's not really about being in public or closed spaces per say. I've even told him that but he still diagnosed me with agoraphobia.
Is that even possible? I mean I know, "every individual is an exception to the rule." but it just seems odd as I would only identify with it through my fear of driving, and it takes at least two of the criteria to have a diagnosis.
What are your thoughts (Oh, Great 4chan Gods)?
>>17217552
I am not a psychological professional, but I would like to hear your voice for my esoteric research. I understand it can be difficult for you to record yourself speaking, so I can give you an email if you would prefer to do it privately.
>>17217578
Back off, she's my int gf
>>17217583
Back off, I read her post first, she's mine by rights
OP PLEASE, WE'RE MADE FOR EACHOTHER, MY DONGLE IS ABOVE AVERAGE IN WIDTH
HOW SMALL ARE YOUR FEET
>>17217602
>>17217583
Not OP, but you guys are great.
>>17217583
Then you would clearly like for her to have the free reading that comes with it, right?
You see, even people who don't believe in divination at all often find that they are able to gain insight or a new perspective for their issues, or that they are better able to focus their self-reflection.
So, would you agree that it would be worthwhile for her to have something that could potentially be beneficial? Would you agree that, because I am charging nothing, she has nothing to lose, save for a couple of minutes of her time that she is otherwise spending lurking elsewhere while waiting for replies?
And, she did come here for help, right?
Doesn't it make sense for her to receive a free extensive piece of advice when it only costs her a minute-long voice sample?
>>17217578
unfortunately for you all of my technology runs on potato power. so no sound, but here's a close approximation:
close your eyes and imagine the sultry sounds of Christopher Walken getting a prostate exam. your welcome.
>>17217610
I can't argue this.
I think psychology is mostly bullshit and that you'd get a different diagnosis if you told the same symptoms to a different doctor. And you'd get a different diagnosis if you told him some of the things you didn't feel comfortable saying, or didn't bring up. And you'd get a different diagnosis if you didn't say some of the things you did...
What is your question? Can he diagnose you with agoraphobia? All he does is match shit to the DSM. You gave the symptoms. So yeah, he can. You should ask him about it.
>>17217552
The diagnosis makes complete sense to me? >"Agoraphobia as a result of anxiety, panic, and depression"
You then go on to explain
>"I'm stuck at home because I fear making a mistake or panicking, but it's mostly centered around things like driving, making phone calls, talking to people about important things, doing important things, seeing friends I've not seen in a long while, and just dealing with my mom (emotionally abusive)"
All of these are panicking from anxiety (almost everything you listed) and depression (Not wanting to do or talk about important things).
Being scared of closed spaces is claustrophobia, not agoraphobia.
And fuck I realized I sort of have agoraphobia, I need to go out more to prevent it from becoming crippling.
>>17217627
Great, so I just need a voice recording to get started.
>>17217625
Add more potatoes
>>17217638
>I think psychology is mostly bullshit
I agree
>>17217552
>I fear making a mistake or panicking
As I understand it, that's actually what agoraphobia is. It's not a fear of the outside world, it's a withdrawal from the outside world due to fear of panicking. One can be agoraphobic and still maintain a daily life (for a while), if they adhere to seemingly arbitrary rules set to create a sense of control over panic - "I had a panic attack at the mall once, so I don't go to malls anymore". It becomes the stereotyped shut-in illness when those rules box you in further and further until you simply can't go out at all because now everything outside the house is something that you're scared to encounter because you might panic.
So it's not that everything under the sun MAKES you panic, therefore you can't underact with it. Rather, it's that everything under the sun COULD make you panic, so you withdraw from it just in case, because of a deathly fear of panicking.
Basically, agoraphobia is an illness to describe general fear of panic that's attributed to a variety of things. Someone with arachnophobia simply can't be around spiders because that specific thing makes them panic, but someone with agoraphobia might be unable to go to the park because they once panicked in public after seeing a spider and know that there may be spiders at the park which might induce another public panic.
>>17217552
This honestly sounds more like anxiety than agoraphobia
>>17218274
Look up voocaroo or whatever ita called
>>17219577
I know about vocaroo; that's what most people use when they give me voice samples. I'm in need of a voice to hear, not a means to record it.
*raises paw*
Uhh...did anyone else fall in love with OP?
>>17217552
Op is this you?
In all seriousness you need a dude who its hard to skrew up with.
One where you can make a mistake and he wont act like its the end of the world.
They arent the most plentiful kind of person but they exist.
>>17219600
No, i cant fall in love with someone i dont even know. She sounds cute and i feel an affectionate tug for her but as for love? It just takes more time.
>>17219611
True, I guess I can attribute the emotion to years of thirst along with empathy as I have a lot of similar issues
>>17218298
That makes sense actually. thank you for your input.
>>17219602
True, I already have a pretty awesome support system.
(and who knows? what if I'm gay? pffft jeez, insensitive much?)
>hoping poe's law doesn't kick in...
>>17219565
That's the thing. agoraphobia, like all phobias, is a type of anxiety. As other anons have said, it's like a fear of having the anxiety attack in the first place. so you end up avoiding places or situations that will cause that anxiety.
For me, I fear driving because I fear I'll have a panic attack and crash the car, or I fear talking on the phone because I fear I'll not be able to react properly which will annoy the other person. the phobia is purely anticipatory as opposed to reactive.
>>17217610
>You see, even people who don't believe in divination at all often find that they are able to gain insight or a new perspective for their issues, or that they are better able to focus their self-reflection.
>better able to focus their self-reflection.
Better than what? This sentence doesn't seem complete to me.
>>17219789
>maybe im gay
>21
>F
wouldnt that be lesbian?
>>17219789
I fear fucking up in class because I seem to do it every semester and I've been having actual trouble going lately.
Sometimes I walk away to a quiet corner and wait until I don't feel like my heart is going to fail on me and then go to class. I really fucked up last semester to the point that I didn't even complete one class. Fortunately, I was put in a G.A.P program to get my shit in order until I retake my program next year, but this bullshit fear is happening again.
I really don't want to fail college, especially when I'm taking a god-damned General Arts Program, but I don't know what to do.
These classes all require interaction between the students and professor and I know that I'll fuck up just like I always do.
The scary thought is what I'll do after college, if I actually manage to graduate.
Sorry for dumping that here, I just felt empathy for what you're going through and wanted to share. I really hope you find a way to handle your anxiety and better your life.
>>17220023
Gay is a general term meaning "not straight/heterosexual"
It's just been used for guys and by guys so much recently that it would almost appear as a term strictly for homosexual men.
Then again, this word once meant care-free and happy; if public usage can contour a word to alter its meaning, who's to say that one day soon it won't be strictly for men?
God knows that it might even become adopted by a new meaning all-together.
>>17217552
>It's not really about being in public or closed spaces per say. I've even told him that but he still diagnosed me with agoraphobia.
That term has two meanings. The more famous meaning, just as you say, is fear of being in public or open spaces (not closed spaces; that's claustrophobia). But as you've already said, you don't have that.
There is, however, a second meaning: fear of loss of control (of a thing or of a situation). This fits the fears you've described much better: vehicles, things that will cause big changes, dealing with people when you don't know how they will react, and so on. I think this is the sense your doctor was talking about.
>>17217552
Hi anon,
I suffer with agoraphobia and emetophobia; from what you've described, it doesn't sound like you have agoraphobia - it sounds more like GAD (Generalised Anxiety Disorder).
Agoraphobia is an intense fear of open spaces, so unless you have a tendency to freak out in places with wide open spaces (deserts, countryside, beaches, oceans etc) then your doctor is likely wrong.
Anxiety and/or depression hits a lot of people at some point of their life, and despite how cliché this sounds, it will become more managable, trust me.
Exposure therapy worked wonders for me, I highly recommend it. Good luck anon
>>17220023
The English language doesn't have a lot of explicitly-masculine terms. It tends to go for either gender-ambiguous or explicitly-feminine. It got this from French: Latin had masculine/feminine/neuter terms, but most of the languages that dscended from it (like French) dropped the explicitly-masculine. The old Germanic languages from which English descended more directly kept the masculine/feminine/neuter terms: modern German still has them to this day, though the terms have changed over time.
Even "man" turns out to be neuter. It descendes from the old Germanic "mann", meaning simply "person". "Woman" descends from the old Germanic "wifmann" ("wife-person"); there was an explicitly masculine "wermann" as well, but the only place that form survives in English today is "werewolf" ("wolf-man"). This is probably more than you ever wanted to know, but I'm going somewhere with this.
"Gay" and "lesbian" follow this pattern as well. "Lesbian" is explicitly feminine, but "gay" can be used for either gender.
>>17220444
Neat, thanks for that.
Checked as well.
