[balletprincess]

Hi there. I am new here. I suffer from severe anxiety and agoraphobia. It has disrupted my life and my husband's life but we are trying to do our best! It is a hard thing for me to fight but hard on him too! Does anyone else find it hard on spouses? Does anyone know how best to help them cope when you are the one sturggling? I just want to help him with my issue....

[gimmeice]

((((((((((((( balletprincess ))))))))))))))

I have struggled with anxiety and agoraphobia too and it does seem to be hard on my husband, I have been making a big effort to do as much as I can for him and it seems to have helped. Because I was afraid to go out for years my husband had to be the one to do all the shopping and go out in public so I tried to do all I could at home to lighten his load and I think that it helped by showing him I was putting out an effort too. Also try explaining that your problems are not due to anything that he is doing wrong and how important he is to you.
The best thing I have done is to work on myself so that I could get better, now I can do the some of the shopping and I can handle my anxiety a little bit better too with the skills I have learned in therapy.

[shezbut]

Hello and welcome balletprincess

I have been there, and it is very hard.

The best advice I can give is to not give into your fears any more. While society seems to look down on those who fear, a significant portion have suffered some type of anxiety disorder (any many cannot fathom the fear being even stronger than the tension they've battled) - many people do understand.

My personal success was acceptance. When I accepted my panic disorder, it made the panic a heck of a lot easier to manage ! I'd simply stay present in that very moment and remind myself how many times I'd been through this before. I was okay. I am okay. I am going to be okay. Repeat over and over and over again.

I'd recommend working with a marital counselor to be sure that both of your needs are being met - to prevent guilt and resentment. Best wishes to you. Take care!