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CASE STUDY
(The name and identifying details have been changed.)
Carol, 41, had been suffering with Agoraphobia for more than 10 years. She found it almost impossible to leave her home without her husband by her side.
She couldn't drive a car by herself. Her husband had to do the routine, daily tasks, like grocery shopping. Their social life was almost non-existent, because Carol was so anxious about going to places like a restaurant, or a movie theater.
Carol was getting tired of living such a restricted life. She avoided leaving her house for fear of having a panic attack. Yet, Carol recognized she still suffered from anxious feelings inside the "safety" of her own home.
Carol's husband had to drive her to our first counseling sessions together. There, I started to help Carol by using hypnosis. We used deep, progressive relaxation techniques to begin to train her mind and body how to really relax. Soon, she could drive herself to our appointments.
Next, I used hypnosis for Carol to mentally rehearse going out to public places, like a grocery store. The mental rehearsal, while in a deep, relaxed state, started to give Carol strength and hope. She felt strong enough, then, to go to a grocery store, at first with her husband, and later on, by herself.
We kept practicing deep relaxation with positive, mental rehearsing for Carol to gain self-confidence. Soon, she was making small trips out in public by herself.
Carol and I also worked on changing her negative thoughts that were contributing to her anxiety. We created new, helpful thoughts. These realistic thoughts let her take control of herself away from the home.
Carol suffered from low self-esteem as well. I help her build a new, inner, positive image of herself.
She also had been a "people-pleaser" her entire life. She had learned to put her needs last, and take care of everyone else first. I helped her learn how to balance taking care of herself with helping others.
We worked on communication skills, and she learned how to say "no" to demands from family and friends.
Carol learned how to take control of her life, how to relax better, how to like herself, and how to assert herself. She gradually made her way out into the world, more and more. She felt safer and safer outside the home.
Carol had learned the skills needed to feel confident, strong and secure.
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