5 Benefits of Agoraphobia That Can Block Your Recovery
I bet you can’t believe the title of this post. You probably didn’t know that there can be benefits to having agoraphobia (along with the obvious drawbacks).
But on tonight’s group phone call, this question was raised by someone -
“Why does it seem like I can only recover to a certain point and then my progress stops? It is like I have hit a wall I can’t get past.”
Here is a possible answer - sometimes the benefits of having agoraphobia outweigh the benefits of recovery. This idea is well supported by research. Psychologists have isolated at least 5 things that people may GAIN from having agoraphobia, and the fear of losing any one of these can block motivation to get better. Here are is the list:
1) Extra attention
2) Help or assistance from someone
3) Emotional support
4) Financial support
5) Closeness with someone you love
Does having agoraphobia cause you to benefit from any of these 5 things? And if so, are you willing to risk giving up this benefit to recover?
This is a question you must dig deep to ask yourself. It is a question that it is hard to hear from someone else because it can seem so accusatory. No one likes to admit, let alone be asked, that they might be gaining something from a a condition like agoraphobia and are having trouble letting that something go.
But if you are serious about recovery, this is a question worth asking yourself. And if you discover that you are deriving a benefit from agoraphobia, let it go.
Your freedom is worth the price.
February 13th, 2009 at 11:18 am
No you’re correct! The turning points for me were realizing I had to do this on my own and a later point that I was enjoying some benefit to this problem. You detail your journey in your book (and in last night’s call) of trying everything then realizing it’s all on you; that’s scary and liberating all at the same time. Then I also recovered to a certain point and stopped and I will admit to those 5 points. It’s not a conscious thing until it’s pointed out and now I’m like “Yes, I did wait for so-and-so to go with me instead of going by myself” or “Yes, I didn’t take a full time job because then that signals I’m better and no more financial support.” I choose freedom over safety because only then can I grow and be the person I want to be. Still working on it …
February 14th, 2009 at 10:42 am
can you elaborate on how the benefits can be obtained in other ways?
February 14th, 2009 at 12:09 pm
This subject came up in therapy. My dr. pointed this out to me many, many months ago. Even though I agree that there are some benefits of
having agoraphobia, I would gladly give those up in a heartbeat in order to gain back my freedom and my life. I really don’t believe anyone out there thinks, “Hey - having agoraphobia is great!!! ” The negatives FAR outweigh the benefits.