My panic disorder has caused me to have agoraphobia

I have had a agoraphobia in the past. I think exposed therapy is a great idea! Hats off to you for finding a therapist who recognizes that suggestion.
I have also tried prayer ,medication, meditation, and exercise helps. You could do some exercising via on line or classes on TV.
You must surround yourself with positive people to help you too! You always have this board to vent your fears an d anxiety.
Educate yourself as much as you can. On line books are available.
I hope this helps and, good luck. Keep us updated. Pat

You may need to give the Cymbalta a month or so to take effect.

I'm 73 and have had panic attacks all my life. I don't think anything can be prescribed to stop them. I do know that perseverance with allowing the panic to pass helps and have someone who understands be by your side to take baby steps out of your comfort zone.

I am with christmas22, 68 years young with panic attacks that started at age 30 but riddled with anxiety from early childhood. First, give Cymbalta more than just a week...it can actually take a good 8 weeks at least for the medication to kick in. I can not speak to exposure therapy, never had it and doubt it would help my panic/anxiety ...I wouldn't know where to begin!
But do give it a try. Be strong and have faith in your therapist. You have nothing to lose!
And just another thought. Have you had a lot of trauma in your life? My entire life was full of it. I have layer upon layer of trauma...hence my severe anxiety/panic attacks. It's a very long story and won't go into it here.
But what has really helped me was "movement". Yes, I do chair yoga and meditated when I can. I get on my treadmill too (although with balance issues walk like a snail 🙂 but any walking is better than none. I would suggest a health and wellness coach for you. One on one. I have such a coach and this has helped me tremendously. Try yoga. Start out with a personal coach. Trauma never leaves the body and the "brain, the mind" is changed forever. But it can be quieted.
And the root of your truly awful panic disorder might be trauma. It goes hand in hand with anxiety disorders.
I wish you the very best of luck and all that is good! You are just starting out in your life. Do everything you possibly can to make it the VERY BEST! And never give up hope! Everything in life eventually changes. And what is happening now in your life - will someday change. Nothing stays the same forever. Your suffering will change...have faith and hope all will be well. We are all rooting for you!

I went through this as well when I was 19-20. I can tell you that I believe the reason I was able to come out of it was because my therapist had me do exposure therapy. It took some time, getting to know myself and my triggers, as well as working on the deep rooted issues, but I was able to surpass it. Give the exposure therapy a shot. It’s very uncomfortable at first but worth it!

Hi there! Thank you for your encouragement. I honestly do not have trauma from past events I think I have PTSD from previous panic attacks that make even the thought of having one tiring. I agree that working out and doing meditative classes could help me. I’m now experiencing pretty bad depression and a lack of motivation to try and do my exposure therapy. I just went up on my Cymbalta so hopefully that helps.

Wow glad to hear that someone else experienced this as well! I’ve been working through triggers and part of them are my previous panic attacks. Did you ever experience depression and lack of motivation during exposure therapy? I do not want to do it anymore just from sheer lack of motivation that I’m having. Hopefully this will pass.

My sympathy to you. I learned many years ago that phobias frequently start in the early to mid-twenties. I attended a clinic that had two meetings a week: one was a group meeting where we discussed our assignments, and the other was a one-on-one meeting with a therapist for exposure therapy. Yes, it was terrifying, but exposure to what scares you helps lessen the fear. I remember a woman in my group who had to leave the room if she saw a cat on TV or in a magazine, but at the end of the 16-week group she showed us a photo of herself holding a cat in her lap! She said the end result was worth the suffering.

I've had agoraphobia and panic and anxiety attacks since my early 20's but with exposure over these many years (I'm 76 now) I've been able to conquer many fears: Metro (I'm near Washington, DC), flying, being in someone else's car, and many others. It's still a challenge but exposure therapy gives you the tools to meet the challenges. Wishing you all the best!

BTW, it usually takes several weeks to a couple of months for a medication to become effective. Be patient with the meds and be kind to yourself.

Happy in a way to hear a fellow senior, has had these issues. I've done a lot of avoidance in my life. I truly dream about flying, but I'm sure I would flip out on the plane and an air Marshall will open my window and throw me out.

@graciepeanut521 Like other members here have recommended I would suggest that you give the Cymbalta a good try. A week isn't a very long time yet and after another week you might talk with your doctor about adjusting your dosage.

I had my first panic attack on board a plane when I was about 38 years old. I had another panic attack a few weeks later and it all quickly evolved into panic disorder. I was able to leave the flat in the large city where I lived at the time but there were many places I began to avoid. It took time to find the medication that worked best for me and that brought my anxiety down to a more manageable level. I had to work very hard with my therapist to get myself back on the metro, riding as a passenger in another's person's car and finally getting back on a plane. I'm 71 years old now and I've flown in a plane all over North America and Europe. I've traveled on ferry boats and smaller fishing boats so I can go birding out at sea. These are things I could not do the first years after the panic disorder began. I've realized over the years that I've always had and will have anxiety that will come and go. I've learned coping skills such as mindfulness meditation that are very helpful to me.

I think it's wonderful that you are meeting with a therapist and are willing to try exposure therapy. Please allow grace and self-compassion to guide you.

Will you come back and let me know how you feel after your first session with your therapist?