Husband hasn't left the house in week's

[outofcontrol4yrold]

Dh has always hated being outside but in the last few years it has got significantly worse. He works from home which i believe is one of the reasons why.

He generally is scared to leave the house last time he only managed 10 -20 mins before he had a bad panic attack that was a few weeks ago.

He has tried to seek help but unfortunately it didn't work nor does his medication.

I do everything outside from the school run to our kids partys etc.

Ive had to cancel hospital appointments as i couldn't pick.up the kids on time.

I cant cope anymore and dont know what to do.

how many kids do you have that parties has featured so high on what you need to do?

do you also work full time or part time? In or out of the house?

has your dh contacted his gp? Could you?

I was on the verge of being agoraphobic about 18 months ago. It was horrid. I then read the book, Dare and downloaded their app and it has helped immensely. Basically the way to overcome this sort of thing is to do it anyway, even with the panic and anxiety. Eventually it becomes easier.

The app is free, though there is extra stuff you can pay for (which I do). And they also have a lot of information on their YouTube channel.

He needs vitamin D every day, and some therapy.

It’s agoraphobia

Has he spoken to his GP? He needs to do that. They should be able to do a telephone appointment if he feels too anxious to go to the surgery. Be sympathetic but firm that you need him to try to address his issues as you can’t do everything yourself and want your partner back.

In the meantime, can he take on more of the things that need doing in the house so that you have more free time.

He has a mental heath nurse who visits him. He is on a waiting list for someone to go out with him in steps and provide practical advice and support which is postive.

By far he takes on more inside then me.
during a school day he will get them ready while i have a shower etc.

He does provide well so i only work very part-time ( 10 hrs term time)

We have 3 dc from 4 to 11. The kids birthday party's are difficult due to people making judgements and assumptions about him. He is the best dad and husband who's just stuggling.

This is so sad and I really feel for both of you. Having been through similar I found exposure therapy worked well for me, start small and build up. I started by making a note of what was causing me most distress to the least distress and gradually built my way up to doing what was causing the most distress (for me it was going out a certain times, getting the bus during rush hour etc), it will take a while but even just separating the different facets of anxiety might help him.

While he’s on the waiting list, can you start doing the small steps with him? Not sure of the process but imagine you can easily find out.

Kids are back at school next week so that should ease things slightly.