I was very interested to see Grog's article on Panic Disorder and Agoraphobia. I started to suffer in 1988 when I was 26 and despite spending thousands of pounds on counselling, hypnotherapy and every other possible solution I could find - I continued to suffer for another 12 or 13 years. I'm still not sure if I suffered from Social phobia or agoraphobia or panic disorder. My problem was definitely around certain situations - having to participate in meetings and interviews was my worst fear - even seeing other people sitting in a meeting would set me off... so as you can imagine this rather ruined my career prospects through my 30's - I've been in the same job for nearly 13 years because I couldn't face an interview to find a new one. It is only in the last 2 or 3 years that I feel like I've got my life back. I tried every therapy going and because I often tried 2 or 3 things at the same time I'm not sure which of the therapies finally knocked it on the head for me. In Spring 2001 I was introduced to the Alpha-Stim- a machine that you attach to your ears and it sends a low intensity electric current through your head. This made me completely neurotic during the first week or so, but the doctor's who developed it suggested I stuck with it and I did - they had only had 3 people who had such a negative reaction during all their tests - why me???. Along with this I started using the Holosynch meditation tapes from centerpointe (www.centerpointe.com) and I also had some sessions with TFT (thought field therapy www.tftrx.com). Suddenly I found myself free of this awful problem that had literally taken over my life. I think there are a lot more resources available now than there were when I started suffering but anyone who hasn't yet found a treatment that works for them could try these. Good luck.