August 12, 2004
My Family and What is a "Safe Person"
First off I want everyone to know what a safe person is. A "safe person" is someone that the agoraphobic feels safe going places with or just being left alone with. It can be a friend or family member. In my case I have 6 safe people, my fiance Michael, our 3 teenagers, the friend of one of the boys(a young lady named Meagan) and Michael's brother Ric who we live with in Portland.
Now to let y'all know a bit about Michael and the boys. Michael is my fiance and life partner. We have been together for over two years now, since just before I was diagnosed with both RA of the spine and agoraphobia with panic/anxiety disorders. He does all he can to help me while battling his own chronic illness(he has fibromyalgia). We would get married but it would mean that my Social Security would get cut in half so we are happy being significant others and sharing our lives with each other and our three sons.
The boys are so very different in personality. Sean is the oldest. He is 17 and a self-professed "ladies man." He is a natural born leader and can be very empathetic when it suits him. Patrick is 16 and a leader also but he follows his own path. Where Sean is teenage "boy", Patrick is a young man. He has goals and dreams and knows what he wants out of life and how to go about getting it. Pat is head strong and very protective of me. Dustin is the youngest at 15. Dustin tends to be a follower(most of the time it's Patrick's example he follows-grinning) He is by far the most emotional of the 3. He can tell when something is wrong and tries to fix it as best he can. Dustin, like his dad suffers from fibromyalgia. All three boys have a habit of watching over me and not minding if Mom wants to hang out with them at the mall because they all acknowledge and accept my agoraphobia. Sean and Dustin started calling me Mom the first time I met them and it was fine by me. The boys don't consider themselves "step brothers" but "blood brothers" even making it official one time by poking their thumbs with a needle and putting a drop of blood on their palms and shaking hands! Anyway, these are the four most important people in my life so that when I mention them y'all can know who I am speaking of.
Posted by Rose S. on August 12, 2004 12:01 PM
Rose,
Could you please let me know if you are available to chat online.
I have a dear friend who lives in another state and she is dealing with just this issue of agoraphobia, anxiety and panic attacks.
Posted by: Racer60 at April 10, 2007 07:56 PM