Agoraphobia? Or something else?

I don't know why, or how, because it's totally unprovoked...but over the last 4 years of my life I have discovered something about myself that I never thought would happen. See, I used to LOVE laying on my patio at night just watching the stars. I was NEVER afraid in any way. NOW it's like..every time I try to do that...I get this overwhelming sense of fear. It's almost like I'm afraid I'm going to float off into space or something..I know I know, there's this thing called gravity, blah blah... but seriously, it's really becoming a problem for me. I don't like to look up at the sky anymore, and I find myself more comfortable inside than outside. So...I have to ask myself...what am I really afraid of and why? I know I'm not going to float off into space...so that can't be it. Maybe I have a sixth sense of something bad that is going to come from the sky? Maybe not. Does anyone else get this feeling or am I the only person who is just randomly developing a fear of the sky?
BTW...this really makes me sad. I love to watch the stars. How can I over come this?

Buy a dog and force your self to lay in back yard and look at stars, and don't think sky is going to fall if it does, it does. Enjoy your self until occurance, nothing can do about it anyhow, and buy big dog one that barks but does not bite.

That's what I do if I don't like to do something inmaterial, I do it just because I don't want to.

I think it's an awareness of the enormity of it all. Just a realization of just how small you are in comparison to existence.

Maybe you feel that you cannot compete for the favor of the cosmos. The universe is big, scary big and you are justified in thinking you could get lost up there! However, gravity is your friend. You are not being pulled down by the earth, but pushed down by the cosmos. Look at it that way!

Get a dog, yup! Sometimes being outside alone can make you feel vulnerable. A good dog will surround you with love.

As for feeling more comfortable inside, I can relate. Inside your home, there's the creature comforts of your lair, surrounded by the things you like to do and the methods to be connected.

There's no place like home!



[edit on 2-7-2009 by Atlantican]

reply to post by Ventessa

...I get this overwhelming sense of fear. It's almost like I'm afraid I'm going to float off into space or something..I know I know, there's this thing called gravity, blah blah... but seriously, it's really becoming a problem for me. I don't like to look up at the sky anymore, and I find myself more comfortable inside than outside. So...I have to ask myself...what am I really afraid of and why? I know I'm not going to float off into space...so that can't be it.

I have a couple of questions - I doubt I could solve your problem - but I'm curious about something

when you first noticed it - was it only when you were lying on your back - looking into an open sky?

I know you mention now that you feel more comfortable inside than out - but THAT could be by association only - you have a history now of fear/anxiety - so you instinctively want to avoid that - and so you naturally feel more comfortable inside because you haven't felt that fear inside

Does anyone else get this feeling or am I the only person who is just randomly developing a fear of the sky?

I have a fear of heights - and so, of course, falling

I also have inner ear/balance issues

I'm afraid of heights because I can't trust my own sense of balance - but it took me forever to figure this out

I just always assumed it was an irrational fear - but the fear can develop from a condition - if you don't recognize the condition - the only part you can understand is that you're afraid

balance is more complicated than you can imagine - here's one source - there are many, many more out there

The human balance system depends on the inner ear, the eyes, and the muscles and joints to transmit reliable information about the body's movement and orientation in space. If the inner ear or other elements of the balance system are damaged, the result may be vertigo, dizziness, imbalance, and other symptoms.

With vestibular disorders, the type and severity of symptoms can vary considerably. Symptoms can be frightening and difficult to describe. People affected by certain symptoms of vestibular disorders may be perceived as inattentive, lazy, overly anxious, or seeking attention. They may have trouble reading or doing simple arithmetic. Functioning in the workplace, going to school, performing routine daily tasks, or just getting out of bed in the morning may be difficult for some people.

www.vestibular.org...

I don't know that this is your problem - but when you're lying on your back - and you don't have any reference points - you're just looking out into space - maybe it's messing with how you perceive space - and how you relate/fit into it

and this makes you feel anxious - it's automatic - beyond your control to some extent

it might be worth getting the whole eye/ear thing checked out

Thank you all for the suggestions. They do make me feel a little better. I don't know about getting a dog just yet, I can't have a big dog where I live But I am going to try to over come this, some how.

reply to post by Ventessa


I have felt this fear/sensation. It coincidently was after a healthy dose of shrooms. Could this be a plausible cause?

reply to post by Tank2/8


Well...maybe. If I did shrooms. But I don't...so I kinda have to rule that out. Thanks for the suggestion though.

reply to post by Ventessa


Seriously though, with most fears, they just have to be confronted and overcame. With a high anxiety type of fear like that it can be very tuff. Does it help to have someone out there with you?

I experience the exact same.. and it only started happening in the last month.. so glad that somebody else knows what I'm talking about, Wow. I u2u'd you.

edit: hey tank, interesting, I first got the feeling after a inhaling too much of the 'green stuff' and decided to look directly upwards into space. my body actually jumped and I freaked out and crouched and then went back inside. however the feeling is still here with me whenever i look at the stars at night. it doesn't happen with videos or pictures.

hope that isn't a T&C violation. the new anti-drug rule is ridiculous in moments like these when you're trying to pinpoint how something started or how to fix it.

[edit on 9/7/09 by Nventual]

reply to post by Tank2/8


It's still scary as he!! with some one else there with me. nothing seems to help.

have you gained an uncomfortable amount of weight in the recent months?
i've heard that can create a uncomfortable presence outside (in public).

reply to post by Ventessa


I have had agoraphobia for 28 years, have you had a life altering or shattering experience lately or under extreme stress?

The worse thing you can do is avoid the situation, just slowly go back to laying on your patio, baby steps,
If it gets worse get help, the sooner the better.

reply to post by Ventessa


That is strange. I need to fly you to my AO for some indepth study.
Now I got chills

Even if I'm with somebody else it doesn't help. The moment I look up it feels like I'm going to be sucked lightyears upwards onto a star or whatever. Even if I'm inside and look out the window. Like the OP I also thought it may be some sixth sense that something is going to happen, but I don't know. I use to love looking at stars and now I can't.

I am thinking it could be inner ear or vertigo, it could go away as fast as it came.

I have had this.

I learned to do head exercises.

Does it bother you if you move you head back and forth rapidly?

[edit on 103131p://bThursday2009 by Stormdancer777]

Originally posted by Nventual
Even if I'm with somebody else it doesn't help. The moment I look up it feels like I'm going to be sucked lightyears upwards onto a star or whatever. Even if I'm inside and look out the window. Like the OP I also thought it may be some sixth sense that something is going to happen, but I don't know. I use to love looking at stars and now I can't.

Yea I know the feeling, you can learn to enjoy it.

Yes, it is a very strong vertigo feeling. I've had a fear of heights since a child so I can easily describe the feeling as like standing on top of a tall building and looking straight down, and feeling like you're going to fall, but 10000 times worse!

How can I learn to enjoy it? I have to go camping this Christmas and where we go the sky is covered in stars, unlike where I am now in the city.

The fear has extended onto other things though. I can't look at fractals now and I can't look at close-ups of the Sun.. I get the exact same feeling when doing either of those. It only started about a month or so ago.

Originally posted by Nventual
How can I learn to enjoy it? I have to go camping this Christmas and where we go the sky is covered in stars, unlike where I am now in the city.

The fear has extended onto other things though. I can't look at fractals now and I can't look at close-ups of the Sun.. I get the exact same feeling when doing either of those. It only started about a month or so ago.

Yes you are triggering you sensitivities.
I don't know how to explain it.

It is become like a OCD

January 23, 2008 — In a small study of 10 patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), just 4 weeks of intensive cognitive behavioral therapy resulted in significant changes in activity in certain regions of the brain.


In addition to having significant declines in bilateral thalamic activity, the patients had significant increases in right dorsal anterior cingulate cortex activity that correlated with improvement in OCD symptoms.

"This study is exciting because it tells us more about how cognitive behavioral therapy works for OCD and shows that both robust clinical improvements and changes in brain activity occur after only 4 weeks of intensive treatment," said lead author Sanjaya Saxena, MD, from the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, in a press release issued by the university.

The study is published online January 8, 2008 in Molecular Psychiatry.

Clinical response to OCD symptoms usually requires up to 12 weeks of treatment with serotonin-reuptake inhibitors (SRIs) or standard weekly outpatient cognitive behavioral therapy, the group writes, adding that little is known about the brain's response to cognitive behavioral therapy in OCD.

Brief, intensive, daily cognitive behavioral therapy (specifically, exposure and response-prevention therapy) has been shown to be effective in 60% to 80% of OCD patients in as little as 4 weeks, with a symptom improvement of 50% to 80%, the group notes.

They sought to elucidate how the brain is affected by brief, intensive cognitive behavioral therapy in OCD.

Ten adult patients with OCD (6 men, 4 women; mean age, 40.6 years) and 12 normal controls (4 men, 8 women; mean age, 46.4 years) completed the study. Two of 12 OCD patients who were initially enrolled dropped out. Six of the 10 OCD patients were taking medications (SRIs and, in some cases, adjunctive medications), which were not changed during the study.

All OCD patients received 90 minutes of individual exposure and response-prevention therapy sessions with the same expert therapist, 5 days a week, for 4 weeks.

Cerebral glucose metabolism — a measure of brain-cell activity — was determined using 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography. The 10 OCD patients had brain scans before and after 4 weeks of intensive treatment, and the 12 normal controls had 2 brain scans several weeks apart.

www.medscape.com...

[edit on 103131p://bThursday2009 by Stormdancer777]

Thanks stormdancer. I think you are on to something with the OCD.

To the OP, there's a thread somewhere that I found a while ago on Google where a few people also experience it. If I find it I'll post it here. It's some medical version of Yahoo Answers.

[edit on 9/7/09 by Nventual]