Hi girls,

Which room in the house feels most uncomfortable to you that might set of symptoms (ie) feeling basically unwell/crappy, apprehensive, anxious or feelings of panic -

I've noticed that the bathroom makes me feel apprehensive- I especially feel jittery in the shower and can't wait to get out. I then spend an hour just trying to re-balance myself - It's pretty weird. I dont ALWAYS have problems but if I'm going to feel unwell or anxious thats usually the place. Has anyone else experienced this? Just curious.

When I had the anxiety, it was always when lying on the sofa in the living room or when I went to bed. I would say bedroom is the worst but it is also where I have spent most of my time, so maybe a coincidence.

Mmmm... this is an interesting one. I do not tend to have problems at home but if I go anywhere and find my self in a small enclosed space the feelings start. If I am not in control and therefore cannot escape if I choose too, I start to feel off. I react badly to loud noise and crowded places like lifts. I find cinemas and theatres a real challenge. Also if the temperature goes up, the feelings start. I get horrible tingling in my hands. Feeling crappy is all tied in with my inability to control my temperature and a sort of hypersensitivity to my environment. I actually react badly to uncomfortable clothes. Everything feels restrictive and sort of tight which I would never have even been aware of before all this started.
If I wake up in the middle of the night I feel awful in bed but can sleep like a baby on the sofa downstairs.

Perhaps you are reacting to the warmth of the shower, the enclosed space or perhaps the time of day.


XIII

Yes, I have experienced panic in the shower at times more so than other places. I have a terrible anxiety problem as you know and I think for me I get the "what if's" more in the shower like, what if I pass out and they find me naked or see me without my makeup and hair wet....LOL I hope you get through this soon.

Hugs,
Karen

Yup.......same here gals......with me it's the bathroom. The minute I pull the shower curtain across the panic hits. It's weird .

Hey Girls,
Maybe the bathroom is such an uncomfortable place because the heat from the shower makes our body temperature rise like a hot flash. I somtimes feel terrible after a shower because the heat causes me to feel anxious and panicky. Just a thought.

denise

EP -

I came to PS in 2003. Panic attacks where why. They were 90% in the car when stopped in traffic, at a light, etc.

Second was in the shower. I would read here that this happened to a few others. I would be fine, get into the shower and start to panic.
I'd open the bathroom window, turn the water cooler, np change. I'd feel exhausted afterwards and still don't love a long shower like I did before 2003.
There were a few instances in my late 30's where it would happen in the middle of the night, I'd be all sweaty and feel sick,
and be in the bathroom with my heart pounding and sweat running down my face and chest in rivers. That would have been 1998 ish?

Third was when I went to pick up a pretty Persian kitty we had then who was a nervous wreck, but never attacked.
( I get nervous around animals that can cause bites, due to Hemophilia)

Showers still flip me out sometimes for sure. No where else....

Hugs,
MB

Hi ep it use to be the livingroom would drive me nuts i couldn't sit still in it and i had those dark doom feelings in it. And my bedroom would make me feel the same way only during the day at night it got more normal. My safe place was my kitchen or office right by my puter. Hugs Terry

We have a finished basement, and one of the rooms down there is really spacious. I have big plans for it, but have never gotten around to executing those plans, and the space has become like a catch-all storage type area. I can't stand going in there because it just looks so crappy and reminds me of all the work it will take to get it into shape. It makes me feel all anxious and "skeved" out (to be seventies-ish about it lol) just to walk through, and so I try to avoid it.

The bathrooms, on the other hand, are my favorite rooms. I love long showers or baths, and I like that no one will bother you when you're in one of those little tiled rooms. It's a sanctuary!

while I was at the height of my symptoms in February my room and the shower totally freaked me out,sometimes the living room too.It has gotten alot better but I still wigg out sometimes in the shower.It is so weird...I remember spme morning walking into my living room and just getting this terrible creepy feeling like I ws walking through a grave yard or something.It did pass eventually but it lasted about 4 months.

I have discovered that any room that is messy sets me off.Which in my house in the summer is all of them!!!!if a room is dirty I get agitated,then anxious-but at the same time I have not got the energy to go on a cleaning spree!!GOD-bless

Soooo interesting!!

The shower/bathroom was always a trigger for me also. I think it's the claustrophobic/vulnerable feeling I get from being in a small area while being naked or on the potty

Elevators freak me out, airplanes... any small confined area. I have to sit on the end in a theater, and at table in a restaurant. Now that I'm post I'm doing much better, but it still gets to me from time to time!

Boy, can I relate to this! Every room in my house is full of clutter and the clutter triggers either anxiety or depression (not that it takes much nowadays). Money was really tight around my birthday because I'd been to so many doctors, ER's, taken this AD and that benzo. I told my husband (a stay-at-home Dad for the summer) that all I wanted for my birthday was a sparkly clean house. He promised me that he and the kids would work on it. . .that was over two months ago and what did get cleaned has dirtied up again. (mostly because everyone is at home for the summer but me). It's only been in the last month that I've had the strength to walk around the house a bit and pick up here and there but it's just not enough.

For the longest time, because of the DR, the whole house caused me to panic and the only place I could go to get any peace and quiet was the bathtub. So, when I'm at home, my only safe places are the bathtub and in front of the computer.

I know what you mean.One thing I have done that really helps is make index cards of chores for my kids-it tells what I want done,in what order,and how to do it.I then give each child a card and they do what is written on it,dishes,dusting clutter patrol etc.It has really helped take some of the load off of me.GOD-bless

That's exactly why i turn the shower down till the water is cool(not cold) and stand there a bit before getting out....it makes a huge difference....

The first year I started with the bad meno symptoms I was in the twilight zone and anxiety was off the wall most of the time. I use to get panic attacks everytime I took a bath to try to relax. It worked the opposite for some reason.

The shower and tub both used to set me off, until I got shower radios for each. I highly recommend it for keeping your thoughts elsewhere. If either of them needs new batteries and fizzles out while I'm bathing, I'm so edgy I will drip drip drip my way to replenishing them. The only other thing that sets my heart racing and shoots me full of the jolts is the answering machine. I always keep the sound off. The blinking light will give me the jolts, but at least the sound of a disembodied voice doesn't accompany it. I always have the phone ringers turned off. If I must have it on, I wrap it in a towel and cart it around with me. I would also like to disengage the beeper microwave. But I see this is about noises, not places.

For those of you with anxiety in the shower, you just might find a radio will help. Fairly inexpensive.
GK

Thanks so much...never thought of that!!

Another thing that really helps me relax in the bath is a quality lavender oil. (my husband likes to save $$ by buying generic "lavender" products that smell like anything but lavender). Whole Foods has some really good ones. A little pricey but they last a long time. I'm usually very sensitive to smells, but there's something about lavender that's very calming, even when my anxiety is through the roof. They even use it to help calm autistic children. It also helps when you go through those dry skin spells where you are ready to scratch your skin off.

The kitchen is the hardest for me. It kind of irks me because I do enjoy cooking most of the time but every time I go in there to begin, I feel out of sorts, anxious and have had panic attacks many times!

The shower is my second worst.

It used to be the shower, but nowadays its my bedroom on certain nights, when I'm stressed, angry or feeling lonely...

Dear E.P.
For me it is the shower,

I saw the film Psycho many years ago and all o.k. Then about a year or two ago watched it again with my daughter.Big Mistake.
Keep expecting that Norman Bates to pull aside the curtain and knife me to pieces.

So now I take a quick bath ,leave the door open and hope for the best!
All the Best
Elizabeth

AHHHH, me too, I love lavendar. I actually started a Herb Garden this summer (actually ladies I love that, it is great); but it all started w/lavendar. I planted to plants of lavendar, and I go out there and run my fingers thru them and lift them to my nose.... ahhhhh love it....

Here's another trick, get some of your favorite oil, ie lavendar, or sandelwood is great too. Put some in a plastic bowl w/hot water, poor some in there, and then use it to clean, makes the house smell great...

And oh yea, if the room is messy, drives me nuts!!! (Being summer, ah it's like a constant battle).... Yesterday my son's friend came over, and they made a fort out of my sofa cusions.....ahhhh....

In the bathroom, or anyroom that you don't like, light some candles, so spa music, little incense does wonders to; it truly changes the vibration of the room....

Speaking of Whole Foods, they have a great candle section, I bought one that says Angel Indulgence, it is a big one and only cost $10; it smells wonderful....

The bathroom. That is where the hot flashes and sweats take place. Don't know if it is the warm water or the hair dryer. I set the hair dryer on the cool setting, but please... don't even suggest a cold shower

What an interesting thread... The shower used to bring on my dizzies something aweful. Some of was wondering if was the sound of the shower. I know I can't stand the sound of the fan in the bathroom. It sends me running. I've since moved away from the place where I think I had the most issues in the bathroom/bedroom. Both always seemed the wrong temperature. Too cold... Too hot. (Mostly hot). We also wondered if hidden mold wasn't a culprit - anxiety trigger. Suspect there and also at work. Do some reading on toxic mold. It's pretty spooky. C.C.

I've enjoyed reading this thread. For me, it has to be my bathroom also. I have to out out of there as soon as possible after I shower. Once I'm out and I can cool off, I go back in and do my make-up and hair. But even then, I seem to be in some sort of "anxiety state," till I'm done in there....

Not for nothing, but you know I do find this interesting about the bathroom being most ppl's worst room...

One day I was reading one of those little fun shai books, and do you know that they say the most negative energy comes from the bathroom. That you should always leave the door closed, and should always put the toilet lid down.... They said by place rocks in there helps w/the negative energy.... You know never paid much attention to it, cuz fun shai just too confusing for me... But after reading this post, I keep being reminded of that article that I read... hmmmmm... does make you wonder though....

Elevators have always been a problem for my sister. She was on one with her newborn baby in a stroller. She was so freaked out that when it stopped, she just jumped out! The doors promptly shut, whisking her baby (alone) down to the first floor! LOL!

I hate my daughters room. It always looks life a trash can that if brimming to the top with junk. She cleans her room and then 30 min. later it is trashed again. Even thinking about it causes me great stress.



I wonder if in certain rooms, we react to chemicals and this sets these feelings off?

There is a certain type of Air freshener that gives my sister headaches. We found this out the hard way. I once sent her a "care" package through the mail. In it, I threw in an air freshener. She opened the box and it made her sick and head-achy all day. Again, she accused me of trying to kill her. LOL!

Shebee
(I must be missing my sister...I think that I'll give her a call)

For those of you with problems in the shower not related to claustrophobia or heat, have you considered something in your water? I love showers and baths but a few years back, started feeling sick and snuffly, just sort of off balance, after taking a shower. Finally thought it might be something like the chlorine (or maybe some other chemical) in the water. Bought a shower filter and amazingly, all the sick/anxiety from the showers went away. Also have read that extremely sensitive people can have reactions to shampoos/soaps/conditioners.

I have said this before.....but Ill say it again....thos eof you who have shower anxiety.....and you use a shower curtain....go by a clear shower curtain...it did wonders for me. Try it and let me know if it helps.

Hi AA -

I did switch to a clear one about 5 years ago.
I used 2 curtain rods (one for a decorative cloth one you could push back) for privacy if needed.

It did help a LOT, you are right! It also lets in more light! But it still blocks *my main problem, which is lack of AIR.

I never had claustrophobia - I had agoraphobia, which with panic - they are both (actualy all) set off
by lack of AIR. I had a fun story about a young soccer team and my flight home from getting married in 2000.

We were in 1st class and fine.....then on comes one young man, then another, finally we realized it was a
whole college soccer team and they were very exuberant, breathed all MY AIR LOL and
actually next thing I knew, My husband was going o the attendant - I needed oxygen en route as I was having such problems.....

Regarding the shower curtain. AA always has great ideas...always.
But it did not help it all together. I found that if there is a window in the bathroom
( there is not one in many apartments, then the vent doesn't always help due to the un-Zen-ness of the noise.
So opening the door a crack helps.

Now if you have FEDEX delivery people that just walk in your HOUSE like my house did years ago,
or you can't get privacy this way, then put up one of those expandable shower poles and add another curtain near
the bathroom door. They are cheap at Home Depot for $15-ish
My husband and I had to live in an oddball highrise one year ( the one we just left!!)
and it was a LONG corridor bathroom with no window. So I divided it with those rods and sheer-ish curtains -
One for the shower ( keep the curtain lower, so you don't cut off all the air)
One for the toilet,
One for the other side of the toilet between that and the sink, a
One for the laundry area.
If we had not done this, you could open our front door and see into the toilet area!!

AA is right - it just may need some other tweaking..
not all homes are the same....

Good luck everyone,
HUGS and awesome reminder AA!! Thanks! XOXO

~MB

I really hate cooking and washing dishes! I mean I HATE it! But you have to eat! With the warm weather I usually eat sitting outside on the porch!
I also can't stand eating inside a restaurant right now! I will have panic attacks????

Ewww... Interesting! Water parks and spas make me feel that way too. Chlorine +++ You may have something there!! I heard from a dermatologist that shampoos/conditioners are a huge source of alergies. Chatty

Hello Kaen...its not funny and i dont mean to laugh but i had that same feelings and thoughts a few minutes ago...what if they find my fat butt naked in the shower...oh my what a thought...guess we have to laugh at something in order to stay sane...but i totally understand the shower panic...i have it too.

Lorraine

Thank you so much for your experiences. I've been trying to work out why I feel so awful in the shower. I'm not sure if it correlates with early morning because I'm okay if I take a shower in the afternoon.

This is how my shower went this morning --


I get in and start of by washing my hair with shampoo and then conditioner - then I start to body srub- after that I will apply baby oil while I'm in the shower...by that time my heart starts to miss a beat or two and then my heart starts to race - I become tired and then I very quickly do what I need to do before I feel really awful to the point where I go into my bedroom and collapse on the bed. Thats how it is with me - the physical stuff starts first. Somebody mentioned turnng the heat down so I will try that next. I never have a hot shower anyway, it's always warm...

By the way, AAs advice about getting a transparent shower curtain is a good one --- she mentioned this to me some months ago -- I do feel better when I can see into the bathroom and not just a boxed in space. However, I still get this rotten feeling when I'm in the shower - Maybe it has to do with morning fatigue - Just thinking...


Hpe you're all having a good day..

I love this thread and just now saw it. I think you may have already read some of my posts stating that I can get no peace in any room of my home at all. Every room looks scary to me now and brings on anxiety. But I would definitely have to say the kitchen and the bathroom are the worst. I have the derealization very badly in the kitchen. Nothing in there looks the same to me at all and inside my refrigerator has this same "weird" look. I just hate this!!!!! Thank goodness my husband can cook because I just am not up to it.... I may be able to wash a few dishes and pour the tea, etc., but cooking is out of the question. I feel like I have been kidnapped by aliens!!!! Where did I go?????

mood_swinger

I sometimes feel the same way in the shower. I have a small bathroom and I have shower doors. I get in and out as fast as I can. I prefer my cave (my bedroom) but seem to spend the most time in my living room on my couch not moving. Yeah, that's really helpful for the anxiety and panic. I'm obsessive compulsive about doing absolutely nothing to allay my anxieties.... nice huh, lol?? I wish I was kidding but I'm not. For me anywhere but not in my house makes me uneasy. I barely feel like getting in my car and going anywhere. I guess someone pushed the joy button on pause and I can't find the remote control to turn it back on....

I don't know if I was clear but my house is about the only place I feel like I am safe. If I didn't have to leave it for about as long as this meno junk takes to be over I would be happy... happy h#ll I would be jumping for joy just for this to be over but only in the sense that I was happily engaged in my life again.

I know what you mean..... I feel as though my life is totally on hold. I do not even feel like a person. I don't know who or what I have become and am in the most severe state of limbo. I just detest this and am so very angry that I happen to be one of the few who are having this nightmare at meno. I just cannot get my mind around it for anything.

My birthday is this Saturday (the 8th) and I am not looking forward to it at all.... I could care less.

You said you feel safe in your house, I guess I am the same way but feel it has become my prison (isn't that a shame to feel this way about one of God's blessings?)....then comes the guilt for feeling this way. I feel okay when I am out as long as I am with my husband and he is holding my hand. Just cannot believe this!!!!!!

mood_swinger

i'm amazed how many sisters said "the shower" i take a shower under 3 minutes, clean from head to toe, keep the shower stall door open, jump out and am still shaking when i try and dry myself off within another 5 minutes......total time with anxiety.....appr. 8 minutes. also we need our rugs cleaned, they are light blue and i hate seeing all of the dirty spots everywhere, makes me feel dirty, and right now, can't afford to get them all cleaned.