# Heightened Anxiety in Certain Places?



## Guest

As many of you know - I have battled with chronic depression on and off most of my adult life - resulting in a particularly gruesome battle and suicide attempt back in March 2006 - all well now, I'm on medication and doing very well - though I do not consider myself cured - more in remission.Anyway, even now - there are still certain places that cause me anxiety - one of which is a particular supermarket - Tescos - I cannot really go into the large one at our local outlet centre - well at a push - but only for a quick grab a few bits and bobs and out. Most stores I'm grand - I can quite happily drive into the centre of Manchester, don't have a problem with the Trafford Centre - a huge indoor mall type of place - its just this particular store - and not just one branch - all over.I was coming home from work and my daughter Clare who was off ill today phoned me and asked me to potter in on the way home and grab her a nice filled sarnie - no problem - but as soon as I got in there - I started sweating, shaking and the world started slowly tipping - I can usually control these feelings - I know what it is - and usually abit of deep breathing and I'm OK.Well I just about managed to get to the check out and pay - but I think the check out lady thought I was right odd - I started gabbling away to her like a loon.Once I got outside - right as rain - I'm not making a right big thing of it - its just a small side-effect from my illness - and if this is the worst it gets - well bugger it - I'm bigger (literally) than this illness.Do any of you chaps suffer from anxiety -well yes of course you do - but specifically in relation to a particular place?Sue


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## Cherrie

{{{Sue}}}Sorry about your experience today. And sorry Clare is sick... hope she feels better soon...And yes, there are places that cause me to be anxious... I know it's silly, but old buildings with long and dark hallways and maze-like interior give me real bad anxiety -- make me feel like I'd get lost in there and could never get out. Truth is, I asked people where the exit was in those buildings so many times as I for real can never find my way out or find any particular office at all in those buildings that I feel like I can never get into one anymore... So, you're not alone... {{{hugs}}}Cherrie


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## Guest

Oh thanks hun - nice to know I'm not alone. Stephen Fry (the wonderful erudite multi-talented actor, comedian, author, producer, narrator and total hero of mine - oh and he's also a manic depressive) described that hightened feeling of "place" that many manic depressive sense - I'm not clinically diagnosed as manic - though I've many similar "features" but I so know what he means - there are just certain environments that feel "wrong" - much less know that I am well - but I still get that feeling of dread in certain places.Thanks for your input as always and your wonderful support Cherrie.Sue xxx


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## Lillett

I returned to the place where I used to work (about a year ago) which was always so stressful and it caused me to have an IBS attack. I think you can have visceral reaction to time and place. You did excellent though.


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## Guest

Oh bless Lillett - thanks for your support - I think its just years and years of knowing what it is (an anxiety attack) and putting some coping strategies into place thats all. I'm sorry you have such a bad reaction to a previous place of work - but perfectly understandable right enough.Hows you anyway - OK?Sue xx


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## Lillett

Actually, I am on a "good streak" of about 10 days now with very mild symptoms (even my husband commented on it last night that I am doing well as of late). Not to brag or anything but had a normal BM yesterday which is always an achievement for me. As I have said before, this is the only site you can say that and people don't freak out! This morning, feeling a bit of nausea and it may be a touch of the flu since it is the cold and flu season. Been working long hours this week as we are swamped at work but I am managing it quite well. I am thinking of doing some of my Christmas baking this weekend as hubby is hunting at the deer cabin. I have went back to the place where I used to work a few times and I have done okay as well. I just always felt trapped there. Like you said, just need to recognize what is going on and deal with it best you can.


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## Lucija Petricevic

I am sorry to hear you are not doing well,Here are some things that helped meclinical hypnotherapyEFT techniquehttp://www.emofree.com/AffiliateWiz/aw.asp...&Task=Clickhttp://www.gutandmentalillness.com/http://www.searpubl.ca/http://www.alternativementalhealth.com/http://www.jerrycott.com/


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## Guest

Oh Lucija - god bless you and thanks for the threads - actually, I'm doing really well - its just still, as a hangover from the very bad bout of depression I had at the beginning of 2006, I still do get these odd little "wrinkles" - and the panic attacks I get do seem to focus very specifically on particular places, and in particular, this supermarket, Tescos.Thanks for your concern and for the useful info though and welcome to the boards.Sue


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## shanesmummy

I get anxious just leaving my house, even if i know it's only 2 miles to where im going and there'll be a toilet right there waiting for me. just thinking about going out can bring on that familiar churning stomach and pain because i'm so worried of traffic jams unabling me to get to a toilet. i haven't been on a motorway since this stared 8 months ago because it is illegal to stop on motorways and that literally scares the #### outta me. i have not been on a drive longer than 30 minutes in 8 months. unlike you if im going to tescos i am fine because there is a toilet at my local one and i never have to use it because as long as it's there in the back of my mind i am usually fine. I cannot go to somewhere like iceland howeverm unless it is in a town where there are public toilets nearby. Even the thought of driving down a read where you are allowed to stop is a no-no for me because if i haven't been down it before then i won't know where the toilets are and that makes me feel really uneasy. i have to get my partner to explain where all the stops are should i need to go on any part of the journey. I know there are service stations on the motorway but they're too far and wide; some could be 15 miles away or more, which the thought of brings on the ibs and then i cant even wait 15 seconds. i dont know what the solution to my particular ibs problem is. Hypnotherapy maybe? too expensive. but i know its all in my head because when im sat at home or im near a toilet i NEVER have ibs! Sorry to have dragged on Sue but i know exactly how you feel about the anxiety thing. i am also starting to think i might have some sort of mental illness that contributes to it, as it is my brain thinking 'oh no theres no toilet' that triggers my gut to act up. i dont want to think i have a mental illness tho as it has a stigmatism doesn't it? i have told my doctor that i am pretty sure i am have depression brought on by the ibs, but she wont give me anti-d's cos im only 19 and she says the medical world frowns on giving teenagers anti-d's. i dont know what to do for the best. my partner has taken our son to my dads at morecambe, lancashire today. i haven't seen my dad or my sisters or his new house in ages but i couldn't go because it was motorway all the way. and even if we found another way on which we could stop, it would be unfamiliar to me which would make me uneasy. we have talked about getting a porta-potty for the backseat of the car, because if i know theres one there i should be ok. but then i think the embarrassment of maybe having to use it would bring on the ibs attack. it's like a vicious circle. the one thing that would make my life so much easier would be to have a campervan. it's my one dream! i could go anywhere with no fear! too expensive tho again. i don't know what im gonna do this is really depressing.hope you have read this, sorry it was long bt i really needed a moan. no one else understands they just think im lazy or a spoilsport. clairexxx


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## shanesmummy

also i work at tescos! but its only a little express lol xxx


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## Guest

Oh god bless - but come on its 2007 - mental illness is not as stigmatised as it was - even if you do suffer apart from by some very ignorant people who do not post on this board. I am a depressive "in remission"- I am completely open about my illness and refused to be stigmatised or defined by it - if people have a problem that I have been mentally ill - well its their problem not mine. Sorry but I get a little defensive when people talk about the stigmatisation of the mentally ill - if a man of such towering genius as Stephen Fry can talk openly about bipolar depression - then I think we've all come a very long way - thank goodness.I don't know what to suggest - but I can relate about this panic setting in if you are away from a toilet though it seems terrible that you can't get to see your dad's new home - surely there is a non-motorway route there with a toilet break en-route?All the best for 2008Sue xxxx


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## Kathleen M.

Well the human mind is designed to see patterns and make associations.Back in the hunter gatherer days getting anxious in places that have lions who want to eat you probably made a lot of sense.Unfortunately sometimes for some people those mechanisms that probably helped us survive when life was that dangerous can be too strong and can associate places they shouldn't with danger.The problem is every time you get severe anxiety in that place it strengthens the connection your brain made that this place is bad and you need to get out now.There are a variety of techniques used to help people get past this. Mostly the Cognitive Behavioral Ones. Usually you can find some self help books that can work you through it and if it is more than you can handle then you can seek a professional to work you through it. Usually you want to find what level of exposure whatever calming techniques work for you can handle. Then build up your exposure to where or what scares you until you can keep yourself calm all the time in the "bad" place.


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## 19506

Sue - recognizing what your problem is counts for half the battle. Have you thought of going into that store everyday to buy a couple of items? Maybe after a week or two of successful shopping trips the anxiety will wear down.shanesmummy - check out the hypnotherapy tapes available by mail order on the Cognitive and Behavioral Therapy section of this website. They are not expensive, considering what you get out of them - I think I paid around $90 which is probably 60 pounds (??) or thereabouts, and have helped me very much.


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## Guest

Oh hiya EOTT - nice to see you here - to be honest - its just that one particular store - Waitrose, Sainsbugs - I'm fine - so I just use other supermarkets - its not right local anyway but good tip.Sue


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## Tallgirl

Hi all.I'm having lots of problems going out and about at the moment. After reading lots of books etc, I know that just stopping in the house can make your symptoms worse as your brain then imagines all sorts of terrible things that COULD happen when you do go out. However, sometimes it's just easier to stay in and not deal with all the stress.Shanesmummy - my parents live half hour away, so I find it really difficult to visit as well. I have managed it a couple of times in the past few months, but I've had to go on my own as I feel more 'in control', and have done breathing exercises on the way. (Not sure how safe this is when doing 70mph down a motorway! Lol!) One time, it took me about an hour to get there as there was a hold up on the motorway (my worst nightmare). I came off and went a different route which took longer, and by the time I arrived I felt so ill I said hello, went to the toilet and came straight back home!!I know a lot of my symptoms are caused by anxiety (which I never had before IBS), so I have just started on Mikes hypnotherapy CD's. I will let you know how I get on with them. How lovely would it be to just go out of the house without worrying about the 'what if's'. Fingers crossed!


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## eric

EmpressOnTheThroneThose are Mike's tapes yes?Tallgirl, there is an excellent chance the tapes are going to help you.This responce can actually even happen with foods. If you eat something and get sick from it, the brain remembers the next time you try to eat that food.These things are consider "threats" to the organism.Importantly part of this responce being talked about here is the fight or flight responce in every human. Which can go off before you can conciously think about it."What is the "fight or flight response?"This fundamental physiologic response forms the foundation of modern day stress medicine. The "fight or flight response" is our body's primitive, automatic, inborn response that prepares the body to "fight" or "flee" from perceived attack, harm or threat to our survival.What happens to us when we are under excessive stress?When we experience excessive stress-whether from internal worry or external circumstance-a bodily reaction is triggered, called the "fight or flight" response. Originally discovered by the great Harvard physiologist Walter Cannon, this response is hard-wired into our brains and represents a genetic wisdom designed to protect us from bodily harm. This response actually corresponds to an area of our brain called the hypothalamus, which-when stimulated-initiates a sequence of nerve cell firing and chemical release that prepares our body for running or fighting."http://www.thebodysoulconnection.com/Educa...nter/fight.htmlThis responce is connected to IBS and the Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis also and to specific cells in the gut called mast cells. This system also helps to fight infections.This is excellent on anxietyTIME Magazine: Understanding Anxietyhttp://www.time.com/time/europe/magazine/2...ety/story4.htmlPart of the way to treat this is by eliciting the relaxation responce, which counters the fight or flight responce and importantly is a learned process.This is a world expert on IBS.FYI"You have two brains: one in your head and another in your gut. Dr. Jackie D. Wood is a renowned physiologist at The Ohio State University. He calls the second brain, "the-little-brain-in-the-gut." This enteric nervous system is part of the autonomic nervous system and contains over one hundred million neurons, which is as many as are in the spinal cord. This complex network of nerves lines the walls of the digestive tract form the esophagus all the way down to the colon. This little brain in the gut is connected to the big brain by the vagus nerves, bundles of nerve fibers running from the GI tract to the head. All neurotransmitters, such as serotonin that are found in the brain are also present in the gut.*Dr Wood has discovered that this little-brain-in-the-gut has programs that are designed for our protection and which are very much like computer programs. They respond to perceived threats in the same way that the limbic system or the emotional brain does. So the threat of a gastrointestinal infection can activate the program that increases gut contractions in order to get rid of the infection. The symptoms are abdominal cramping and diarrhea. *Dr. Wood has determined that a type of cell found in the body and the gut, called the mast cell, is a key to understanding the connection of the big brain in the head with the little-brain-in-the-gut.* Mast cells are involved in defense of the body. In response to certain threats or triggers, such as pollen or infection, mast cells release chemicals, such as histamine, that help to fight off the invader. Histamine is one of the chemicals that causes the symptoms of an allergy or a cold. When an infection of the gut occurs, such as food poisoning or gastroenteritis, the mast cells of the gut release histamine. The little-brain-in-the-gut interprets the mast cell signal of histamine release as a threat and calls up a protective program designed to remove the threat at the expense of symptoms: abdominal pain and diarrhea. **The brain to mast cell connection has a direct clinical relevance for irritable bowel syndrome and other functional gastrointestinal syndromes. It implies a mechanism for linking allostasis and the good stress response to irritable states (e.g., abdominal pain and diarrhea) of the gut. Mast cells can be activated to release histamine in response to perceived psychological stress, whether the stressor or trigger is consciously perceived or not. So the end result is the same as if an infection activated the program in the-little-brain-in-the-gut: abdominal pain and diarrhea."*http://www.parkviewpub.com/nuggets/n5.html


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## 19506

Yes, Eric, Mike's tapes.


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## Tallgirl

Thanks for that info Eric







Some interesting stuff.I've never heard anyone talk about the short bursts of activity before - that will really help me as I've tried to do different exercises like treadmill etc for 20-30 mins and although it makes me feel better mentally, I have a dodgy hip and prolonged exercise of any sort seems to set it off and then I'm in pain!I'm enjoying the CD's so far - haven't noticed any benefits yet (it's early days), but I certainly enjoy having a relaxing, undisturbed half hour to myself!


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## eric

Empress, I am really gald they have helped you. They sure helped me and now many others.He has different ones also for different issues.Tallgirl, no problem on the info I think its really important.The tapes might also start helping you before you even notice it conciously. But again it takes a little time.Another thing people can learn and try is distraction or heighten focus, if you can learn to stay really focused on something neutral, the brain doesn't race so fast or as much.I will post some more things on this.This is also really worth reading fully.Stress: It's Worse Than You Thinkhttp://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/pt...101-000027.html


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## shanesmummy

i just feel like my mind is punishing me. it will 'say' there isn't a toilet here' and then my gut will start straight away. i dont wanna sound crazy but it's like a voice telling me i can't go cos there's no toilet or there's nowhere to stop, them my gut stands to attention and i need the toilet immeidately! how do i snap my brain out of this way of thinking? i used to be normal! normal people don't worry about toilets when they go out! why do i have this burden? i feel like it will last forever. what makes it worse is i read peoples stories on here and they've had it for like 20 years or more. i've only had it for 8 months and already it's ruined my life. sometimes feel like i can't leave my house. don't wanna live like this. claire x


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## Guest

Oh hun - I feel for you so much - I'm abit like that - I get recurrent bouts of cystitis and I know its far, far worse when, like you, I know I can't be near a toilet. Take this morning - first day back at work - now I love my job and I only work 2 days a week (most weeks) - but because I've had t'best part of 2 weeks off - I'm in that "oh god what if my bladder goes into overdrive when I'm seeing somebody".I wish there was an easy answer - but I think folk have had alot of relief with Mike's Tapes - go have a look on the Cognitive Behavioural Forum (sorry a name like that anyway). You are going to have to have some coping strategies - there isn't a magic formula but at least if you had some tools in those sort of situations - that would probably help.I think you are going to have to set yourself small realistic goals - don't be hard on yourself but say "OK today I'm going to manage a small supermarket shop" - somewhere near home or somewhere with toilets - our Sainsbury's has a decent toilet - not sure what the situation is like near you. Hopefully then success will build on success.I wish you well, I really do - you are NOT alone on this one but I'm sure you can cope better - hope this has helped a little.Sue xxx


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