Agoraphobia, Panic Attacks - and - Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
"Every morning I wake up & worry.. what's going to happen today"
This section is a very important one to me, because I suffer from all of these conditions. I won't go into all the gory details about *how* I got them. Most of the details are too personal to share with anyone other than my closest family & friends. Some details I've never shared with anyone other than my own journals or God.
All of the sections discuss how people get them, in general, though.
These are all recognized & legitimate afflictions. In fact, I receive monthly SSI Disability checks from the U.S. Government because I cannot work outside my home. This would be the same as a physically disabled person receiving benefits.. except that I am, for lack of better words, mentally disabled.
Being accepted for SSI Disability was not an easy thing. I had to visit SSI doctors & provide tons of documentation from previous jobs (which I could only keep for limited periods of time), friends, family, therapists, counselors, doctors, etc.
I was rejected the first time I applied. I had to appeal.. and go through the whole documentation process again. The second time, I was approved.
I was notified of my acceptance by mail.. and was so happy! Then I thought.. "Wait a second.. I've just been declared mentally disabled by the U.S. Government!" Not exactly a thing to be proud of.. :) I couldn't work, though, and the money was much needed. This was about two & a half years ago (as of this writing -- 2/13/02).
You might be asking yourself why I would share all of this with anyone who happens to stumble across my website. My reason is very simple -- When I first started getting the symptoms I thought I was going crazy.. that *I* was the only person on Earth to ever go through what I was going through. If my page can help just ONE person either understand me a little better, or help them know they are not alone, not going crazy.. then it was worth it to me. Period.