How Long Does It Take To Beat Agoraphobia? – As Long As You’re Making Progress It Doesn’t Matter

by | Feb 22, 2023 | Mindset | 171 comments

How-Long-Does-It-Take-To-Beat-Agoraphobia

It’s tempting to want to ask how long does it take to beat agoraphobia by doing exposures, or how to beat agoraphobia fast, and it’s a fair question.

However, there are many variables which can influence how long it will take.

Don’t get too concerned about the time frame.

This is one of those things that will either feel like it’s taking a long time, or not, depending on your mindset.

In fact, if you have the right mindset, you won’t perceive the process as excessively long, no matter how long it actually takes.

It’s all about progress.

As long as you’re doing the right things you’ll become more confident.

As a result, you’ll become more concerned with increasing that confidence and challenging yourself further, than you will about chronological time.

The only reason why you’d worry so much about time is if you’re not seeing progress.

So focus on that, and the time will become irrelevant.

Having said that, there are certainly things that will affect the time length of your journey back to normality, and there’s nothing wrong with wanting to at least have a rough idea.

So, let’s start with the question itself…

   Contents (clickable links) :

* How Long Does It Take To Beat Agoraphobia?

* Every Exposure Is Progress

* Stay In The Game

* Just Another Day At The Office

How Long Does It Take To Beat Agoraphobia?

how-long-does-it-take-to-beat-agoraphobia

It’s one of those questions that has a predictable answer : It depends.

But obviously that’s not helpful, so I’ll break it down and explain what it depends on.

First of all, you have to be consistent.

This means that you should do many exposures, and you should do them often.

How many exposures? Well, do 100 then get back to me. Really, it’s in the hundreds.

You’ve got to put yourself in challenging situations over and over until it becomes part of your week.

Do them until it’s boring. Until your emotional response is next to nothing.

And make sure you do them every few days, or ideally more often than that.

No need to make it every day, but it should be often enough for you to really get into it and maintain the knack.

Get used to feeling fear until it’s no longer a dramatic experience.

Do it until you feel confident in your ability to handle it.

Exposures also require courage.

The whole point of exposures is to train yourself not to freak out whenever you feel nervous or panicky.

To not be afraid of how you’ll feel. And eventually to not feel scared at all.

This takes time but it also takes the strength to face the emotion of fear repeatedly.

Face it until it’s nothing more than a mild annoyance.

You can do this. Start small if you have to.

What matters is that you experience fear often. You can do it in a manageable, controlled way.

How do you get the courage?

You already have it. You have to access it.

You do this by getting your priorities in order and reminding yourself that to change your life, you have to change.

Get angry. Think of what’s at stake. No more messing around.

Again, no need to go heavy, just take it in small steps.

Expose yourself to scary situations and develop a thick skin gradually.

If you do exposures consistently and with courage, and with the right attitude, how long will it take to reach the point where you feel like you’ve pretty much beaten this thing?

If you forced me to give you a rough figure just so that you have an answer, I’d say between 6 months and 2 years.

Needless to say, it could take less, or more time.

But 6 months to 2 years is a realistic time frame to have in mind.

Also remember that as you progress, you will fear anxiety less and less. So it does get easier.

Some people find exposures more challenging than others.

Some people take to it quite easily. We’re all different.

But regardless of your personality type, temperament and disposition, everything I’ve said applies to everyone.

So just get on the journey, do what you have to do, be courageous, be consistent, and you should make very noticeable progress within 6 months to 2 years.

In fact, you may well be pleasantly surprised at your progress after a couple of months.

And in the meantime, get on with the rest of your day to day life.

The time will fly by and you’ll be back to your old self again.

Every Exposure Is Progress

overcome-agoraphobia

This is for anyone who has tried exposure to overcome agoraphobia, and has run into problems.

No matter what happens during a journey, no matter how you feel, and no matter what you think, you are making progress.

The reason why you get scared in some situations or places is because your amygdala (the part of your brain that senses danger and arms you with adrenaline to deal with it) has become too sensitive.

This causes you to feel the same stress that you’d feel if you were actually in danger.

Except that in your case, you are in no danger at all.

The reason why we do exposure is to demonstrate to that part of your brain that you are not in danger.

We do this by showing up. By going to the scary place, or doing the scary thing.

Just that alone sends a very strong message.

Your actions, regardless of your feelings, are what count.

During exposures we remain as calm as possible when we feel anxious or panic.

This tells your amygdala that it is wrong to give you adrenaline, muscle tightness and all the signs of anxiety that you’re familiar with.

This is why you shouldn’t react to your amygdala’s danger signals.

By acting calm (as in going through the motions of someone who is calm), your amygdala becomes confused and starts wondering if perhaps it is wrong.

Over time, if you do this repeatedly, it will begin to get the message.

If you get anxious in a particular situation, for example if you’re a mile from home, you should try to resist the urge to go back home.

Turning back confirms to your amygdala that there is danger. You should try not to do this.

But don’t even worry about that too much, because no matter what you do, and no matter how you feel, one way or another you have made some progress.

Every time you do an exposure you’re chipping away at your agoraphobia.

If you start walking down the street and you back out and scurry home again, well, although that’s not ideal, it’s still progress.

You still went out there, even if it was only for 5 minutes.

If you go to a train station and get scared at the last moment and choose not to get on the train, the fact that you made it there at all sends a message.

It shows your brain that you are willing to dare.

It shows your amygdala that you’re toying with it, and not taking it that seriously. You’re challenging it.

Once you’ve made a fair amount of progress, you’ll look back and see just how far you’ve developed.

And any new issues that come up will be issues that you never used to have before.

They will be the kinds of challenges that once upon a time you wouldn’t have even dared to face.

And that’s progress.

So don’t get demoralized. I don’t think I’m being unrealistic when I say that as long as you keep doing exposures, it’s all good. Every exposure is progress.

Stay In The Game

overcome-agoraphobia

Overcoming agoraphobia is a long term game.

You can’t expect to do a few journeys and challenges and be free of it in a short time period.

You’ve got to keep up the momentum.

To get rid of a bad habit you have to continuously attack it and weaken it, until it no longer rules your life.

You’ve got to make sure you stay in the game.

By that I mean don’t allow yourself to become complacent.

Don’t abandon the challenge. If you want your life back to how it was before, be persistent.

Do exposures often.

It doesn’t have to be every day, but at least do a couple every week.

Get used to long journeys and the feeling of anxiety.

The more you run from it, the scarier it will be.

But the more familiar you are with discomfort, the more you’ll learn not to care.

Exposure is about developing a thick skin.

Keep a record of your exposures, either on a map or as a written list of places that you’ve been to and the routes you took.

Revisit some of those places. Experience those journeys again and reinforce your ability to exercise confidence.

Your amygdala needs to be retrained, and by repeating previous journeys you can teach it a thorough lesson.

Think of it as a heated debate.

Make your point multiple times and leave no doubt that you can handle any challenge that you set yourself.

You can also go to the same places via different routes.

Even walking on the other side of the street the second time around can make the same exposure feel like a different experience.

If you went somewhere by train, this time take the bus or walk.

Try to think of ways to reiterate a journey.

Another way to reinforce your confidence is to go to multiple places that are similar.

For example, if you find parks difficult to handle, but you’ve already been to one, go to another.

After all, it’s the same type of environment.

If you do this, you’ll show your amygdala that it’s all the same.

Once you’ve seen one shopping mall, you’ve seen them all. Once you’ve been to a few train stations, it all starts to look the same.

Take advantage of this.

Whenever you’re out and about doing your chores, go a bit further and see where you end up.

And if you’re doing a particularly challenging journey, do some shopping while you’re out there.

Try to blur the lines between exposures and everyday life.

It’s vital to experience anxiety many times, so that the feeling becomes familiar.

Often we fear the unfamiliar. Become close with anxiety, learn to look it right in the eye.

Take away its power.

Maintain the exposure habit. Don’t let too much time pass between exposures.

I once took 9 days off and when I did exposures again I found it hard.

It was embarrassing to be in places that I’d been to many times before and to feel nervous.

As you get better, taking time off, even long periods, will not be a problem.

But when you’re starting out, be sure to keep up the momentum. Build a strong foundation.

Endure the initial hardship because to win the game, you must stay in it.

Imagine a plane taking off.

A plane is very heavy and it takes some time for it to build up speed.

Inertia is what makes it hard to move at first, but inertia is also what makes it easy to keep pushing forward and increase speed once you get moving.

Take advantage of inertia, push through it and make it work to your advantage.

Go through the struggle, keep yourself in the game, rack up those exposures, develop a thick skin, build your confidence, and get ready to take off.

And one day you’ll look at yourself and realize that you’re now flying.

Just Another Day At The Office

overcome-agoraphobia

Handling agoraphobia is a bit like a job.

It has to be done, and it’s challenging.

But the job is yours and you’re more than capable of doing it, otherwise you wouldn’t have the job.

Your objective is to show up, do what you have to do, and go home.

Whatever happens, you deal with it and then you’re done for the day.

As with any job, you need to look the part and feel the part, so you’ll work effectively.

When you do your exposures, come with a smile and confident posture.

You’re not going to get that amygdala to take you seriously if you don’t project the right image.

Don’t forget to come prepared with your tools for the job.

Bring your courage, your humility (which you’ll need to access your courage), and your optimism.

Have a winning attitude and be a leader. Show your amygdala that there’s no danger out there.

Avoid office drama and gossip.

When your amygdala starts speculating and assuming the worst, stick to your principles.

Use your affirmations to assert what you know to be true, which is that you’re in control of your own responses, and you can calmly handle any anxiety that arises.

Ignore all the speculation and the nonsense.

Do your own thing, get that exposure completed, then go home, ready and refreshed for the next day.

Give yourself credit for each exposure, no matter how it feels.

It’s just part of the job. After a while it will become routine and you’ll be used to it. No worries.

If all goes really well, why not do some overtime.

If you’re feeling good after a journey, stick around, or walk further. Make the most of it.

Have a plan of progression, just like with a career plan.

Be a person of action.

Start somewhere, anywhere, then progress up the ladder to harder exposures.

Keep your eyes on your vision, which is for you to no longer care about anxiety and panicking.

It’s no big deal. Take it all in your stride.

Anxiety may come and go, panic attacks may haunt you from time to time, and you may have ups and downs in terms of your optimism and confidence.

But when all is said and done, it’s just another day at the office.

What do you think? Scroll down and let me know in the comments.
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