Hi moca
I saw your question among all the request for the linden manual, i didnt want this to get lost in that lot, so i started this.
I too suffer from agrophobia, very badly as it happens, although it is getting better now. Myself i cant travel on any sort of public transport, or in cars of any kind. At one point i was getting too scared to go outside. Even now i am working on going for walks, i still have a lot of trouble with shops, eg standing in line to be served, even the change in lighting from outside, to say a "well lit shop" is enough to have my anxiety raised enough to have me struggling. The trick to all of this i feel, is to take it easy, build up your confidence by tackling something that doesnt seem too hard. For me, i started in the garden, just sitting outside for half an hour, then an hour, then two hours. when that became easier, i sat on the front watching the cars go past, then moved onto walking a few yard down the street, and so on. Now i go for long walks, and have even cycled. I still have bad days were i cant go far, or have set out and had to come back, but thats a sight better than hiding in the house. It's hard work, but worth it. Another good tip to follow is, "dont run away" it just makes it harder to do it again, this is the most scarey part for me. i can feel the panic coming on and i know that if i was to run out the shop, the panic would stop, but that defeats the object of the excercise though. you have to stay put, breath, because more than likely the panic as knocked your breathing into overdrive, distract yourself somehow. Usually i try to imagine i've loads of money in my pocket, and just head for the dearest thing in the shop and have a play with it. I'm a bloke so that usually means Hi-FI or PC, doesnt really matter so long as it stops you from running away. Anyway, that how i've managed to move forward a bit in my agrophobia. Which is more troublesome for me than the actual panic attacks.
Best wishes
Mudslinger uk
