Author: Sanborn, Nancy J

Binding: paperback

Number Of Pages: 220

Release Date: 18-08-2021

Details: In 1967 the author had her first bout of agoraphobia, which lasted a year. Her condition was inaccurately diagnosed, or better yet labeled, schizophrenia. In 1971, during another one-year bout, the same misdiagnosis occurred.

The medical treatment she received in psychiatric facilities was oppressive, at times even barbaric, leaving her with an iatrogenic condition, that is, the medical treatment was more damaging than the agoraphobia which she actually had.
In 1982, when agoraphobia struck again for the third time she was accurately diagnosed and accepted disability benefits. The journey to wellness was at times grueling but the end result was rewarding. She was free from agoraphobia and disability benefits. Victory!

After receiving her Bachelor of Science degree in business education in 1963 from Husson College (now Husson University) in Bangor, Maine, she taught business education in high schools for many years. During those years she attended classes in literature at the University of California in Riverside and in theology at Providence College in Providence, Rhode Island.

As Nancy’s third bout of agoraphobia began in 1982, she left high school teaching, but she didn’t lose her insatiable appetite for learning and sharing. Through years of study and practice she has become an effective mental health advocate.

Although the aforementioned chronological timeframe reveals when events happened, no one could possibly imagine the day-to-day struggle during those years.

Fifteen years, from 1967 to 1982, I walked through life with a misdiagnosis of schizophrenia. As a professional woman, a high school teacher, I lived in fear that my employer might discover that I had been institutionalized and misdiagnosed as schizophrenic.

The agoraphobia waxed and waned. From 1971 to 1982 it remained in remission.

In July of 1982, the terror of agoraphobia returned, worse than ever before.

After years of experiencing agoraphobia, I refer to it as the frightened child syndrome, because in those four years I was afraid to go outdoors and acted like a frightened child.

During those four years, a psychiatrist made home visits for several months and accurately diagnosed me.

In my memoir, I have published some of my medical records, affirming the fact that I never had schizophrenia.

In the story I will take the readers on a journey into the mind of a former extreme agoraphobic, me.

EAN: 9798454720858

Package Dimensions: 9.0 x 6.0 x 0.5 inches

Languages: English