The Safe Zone
Once the symptoms of panic disorder begin, agoraphobia can take a little time to develop, or it can come on rather quickly. Some sufferers believe their agoraphobic symptoms began after their first panic attack. Once agoraphobia takes root, avoidance behaviors often multiply quickly, and daily life becomes defined by a “safe zone.” The safe zone includes the places, situations or events that bring about the least amount of anxiety. Going outside of the safe zone is extremely difficult and distressing.
An Example of How the Safe Zone Becomes Defined
Imagine you’re driving up to the top of a bridge and without warning you experience a dreaded sense of doom. Your heart begins to race wildly; your hands are shaking as you try to grip the steering wheel. It seems difficult to get air into your lungs, and you feel dizzy. There is no place to pull over, and you are completely at the mercy of this horrific thing that is happening. You wonder if you might be having a heart attack or dying from some strange, unknown illness. As you descend the bridge you begin to calm down. You are still quite visibly shaken, but you are regaining some composure.
You frantically try to find a logical explanation for the symptoms you’ve experienced. You may go to the emergency room or to your doctor for answers, only to find that you are physically fine. That’s good to know, but you wonder if they may have missed something.
Your thoughts become focused on what could have happened if you had lost consciousness or were unable to maintain control of your car when you were driving over that bridge. You think, “What if I drove off the bridge? What if I got into a car accident? What if I had to stop my car abruptly in traffic and people started blowing their horns and yelling at me?” The logical answer to maintain your safety seems to be to avoid that bridge -- or maybe, all bridges.
But, then it happens again -- this time while you’re standing in line at a grocery store. You’ve just emptied your cart onto the conveyor belt and the panic hits you. Your heart is racing, you’re sweating, and you can’t seem to get enough air. You imagine that you may collapse right there, or you think about the embarrassment of losing control, and visualize yourself screaming and running out of the store. But, somehow you manage to stand there while the clerk completes ringing up your purchase. When you exit the store, your legs are weak and your hands are shaking, but you feel a sense of relief. You now start to avoid long grocery store lines -- or maybe, waiting in any lines.
Your safe zone continues to be defined by these experiences. You may begin to drive only on roads with an emergency pull-off shoulder. Maybe you just shop at small convenience stores with less people and an exit that’s always nearby. Or, perhaps you only venture out when you are with someone who will be able to help you in case you start to panic again. In a worst case scenario, you don’t leave your home at all.
You Can Expand Your Safe Zone
The symptoms of panic disorder and agoraphobia can be frightening and potentially disabling. But, the vast majority of sufferers will find significant relief with treatment. Your world doesn’t have to get smaller. You are not destined to live within the confines of an imaginary “safe zone.”
