Panic attack patient lives outside hospital in her car for five months
March 21, 2010 by Leslie E. Packer PhD
Filed under News
Occasionally I meet people who just do not seem to "get" how severely impairing panic attacks or phobias can be. This story by Stephen Stewart in Scotland may be an eye-opener and has gotten the attention of people there thanks to media coverage:
A desperate panic attack sufferer has been living in an NHS [National Health Service] hospital car park for five months. The 29-year-old woman is sleeping in her car outside an A&E [Accident & Emergency] unit – with the knowledge of doctors and police – since November.
She is severely agoraphobic and only feels safe in the car park where she is near doctors. The woman said: "My life has been turned upside down. I no longer have much of a life being stuck here. "I’m a bit embarrassed about it because I know it’s not a normal thing to do but I can’t help it. "During the winter, it was freezing and very hard to stay out here."
NHS bosses and Strathlyde Police discussed the situation but were unable to give the woman the medical help she needs.
