u/Apprehensive_Try5555

I shared my recovery story here a few days ago - thanks for all the upvotes. Since listening to reassuring audio helped me so much during exposures and I couldn’t find much out there, I ended up building it myself.

A bit of context

What I needed during exposures wasn’t breathing exercises or meditation — it was something in the actual moment when fear peaked and the urge to leave hit hardest, such as a calm voice that explained what was happening and reminded me the sensations would pass.

I started with self-growth podcasts, playing the reassuring bits on repeat whenever things felt off. Over time it slowly planted the right mindset (that it’s just your brain reacting to a perceived threat, and it always peaks and fall etc).

What I built

It’s a free app that digitalises the exposure process — fear ladder, pre-exposure warm-up audios, in-moment panic relief matched to what you’re actually feeling, and progress tracking. I’m working on making the audios more personalised to the specific situation you’re in.

If you struggle with panic attacks or that peak anxiety during exposures — would you be open to giving it a try and sharing honest feedback? Drop a comment or DM and I’ll send the link.

Not a promotion — completely free, genuinely just want to give back to the community.

If this is on the right track, the bigger goal is to eventually partner with therapists and clinics to make exposure therapy more accessible and make in-moment support logistically possible.

I first got DPDR in 2024. The intense 24/7 phase lasted about 3 months, then on and off episodes until mid 2025. I’ve had zero episodes for the past 6 months.

My dissociation was caused by intense anxiety, panic attacks and agoraphobia, then they fed each other in the worst way. Panic triggered dissociation, dissociation made the panic worse, stuck in that loop, ended up avoiding everything and barely leaving home.

My symptoms (skip if triggering)

- Watching the world through a foggy glass panel.

- Hyperawareness of autopilot everyday stuff, like suddenly being too aware, “I am walking, why am I able to walk? How am I doing this?”

- My voice not feeling like mine. Couldn’t recognise myself in the mirror.

- Family and friends felt unfamiliar.

What helped

- Listening to reassuring audio related anxiety, panic attacks and DPDR. I’d play sth relevant and calming in the background again and again. Hearing it described scientifically and repeatedly slowly planted the right mindset. The reframing (that it’s really just a brain protection mechanism) sank in over time.

Another reason I chose audio was that I just couldn’t stop thinking about it. Then I figured if I can’t stop thinking about it, I should at least feed my brain the right stuff. So I stopped reading about symptoms and only listened to things and recovery stories that reassured me.

- Grounding with someone I trusted. I’d ask my partner who are you, where are we. She’d answer patiently. Then gradually she started asking me back so I had to find the answers myself. Learnt later that this is a type of grounding technique.

- Therapy. It really depends on the therapist. Some said things that genuinely stuck with me. I turned those golden sentences and useful reframing into audio and listened to them before and during triggering situations.

A tool I built from all of these

Reassuring audio was the thing that helped me most and I couldn’t find anything built around it — so I built one myself. It’s a free app with supporting audios for anxiety and panic. There’s specific audios for DPDR to listen to when things feel off, and others that explain panic attack symptoms with science so they feel less frightening.

I am genuinely curious if this is helpful (even just a bit). If you want to try it and give honest feedback, drop a comment or DM and I’ll share the link.

Not a sponsor at all. Just sharing what worked for me and hoping it helps someone else.

Thanks for reading the whole thing.

I first got DPDR in 2024. The intense 24/7 phase lasted about 3 months, then on and off episodes until mid 2025. I’ve had zero episodes for the past 6 months.

My DPDR was caused by intense anxiety, panic attacks and agoraphobia, then they fed each other in the worst way. Panic triggered dissociation, dissociation made the panic worse, stuck in that loop, ended up avoiding everything and barely leaving home.

My symptoms (skip if triggering)

\- Watching the world through a foggy glass panel

\- Hyperawareness of autopilot every stuff, like suddenly being too aware, “omg I was walking, why am I able to walk? How am I doing this?”

\- My voice not feeling like mine. Couldn’t recognise myself in the mirror.

\- Family and friends felt unfamiliar.

What helped

\- Listening to reassuring audio related anxiety, panic attacks and DPDR. I’d play sth relevant and calming in the background again and again. Hearing it repeatedly slowly planted the right mindset. The reframing (that it’s really just a brain protection mechanism) sank in over time.

\- Grounding with someone I trusted. I’d ask my partner who are you, where are we. She’d answer patiently. Then gradually she started asking me back so I had to find the answers myself. Learnt later that this is a type of grounding technique.

\- Therapy. It really depends on the therapist. Some said things that genuinely stuck with me. I turned those golden sentences and useful reframing into audio and listened to them before and during triggering situations.

A tool I built from all of these

Reassuring audio was the thing that helped me most and I couldn’t find anything built around it — so I built one myself. It’s a free app with supporting audios for anxiety and panic. There’s specific audios for DPDR to listen to when things feel off, and others that explain panic attack symptoms with science so they feel less frightening.

I am genuinely curious if this is helpful (even just a bit). If you want to try it and give honest feedback, drop a comment or DM and I’ll share the link.

Not a sponsor at all. Just sharing what worked for me and hoping it helps someone else.

Thanks for reading the whole thing.

What happened / my story

I’ve had agoraphobia twice, both triggered by panic attacks from work burnout.

The first episode started after a panic attack in public. I thought I was dying and checked myself into the emergency room. Every test came back normal, but what followed was several months of being too afraid to leave my house, especially anywhere crowded.

The second episode came 5 years later and was much more intense. Worse burnout, and this time it came with dissociation and derealization on top of the agoraphobia. Being in unfamiliar places always triggered my DPDR. So it was the physical sensations (for me it’s racing heart, sweating and dizziness) stacked with that terrifying feeling of DPDR.

How I gradually went back into the situations that scared me:

1. For me the hardest is being in a crowded place. So I started with a small neighborhood store, to a bigger one in off-peak hours, to a slightly crowded one accompanied by my partner or a friend, to bring in one all by myself.

I later learnt that this is called a fear ladder in exposure therapy - basically to start with sth small but trigger your agoraphobia, pull through and stay for a while, then practice sth harder and stay longer.

2. When I was in the situation, I listened to some calming audios like self-care podcasts, meditations and apps that offer this kind of in-moment reassuring audios.

I used this as a crutch at first like sth to hold onto. Over time I reduced my dependence on it as my confidence grew. It was a stepping stone.

3. Alongside the audio support, I bring a small “self-care kit” that includes a peppermint essential oil roll-on and some beta-blockers (I was prescribed with this, rarely took it but knowing it was there really helped). The cooling sensation from peppermint calms me.

In professional psychology this might be considered a safety behavior that needs to be gradually reduced, and that’s fair. For me it was what made it possible to stay and build enough confidence to keep going back. The goal was always to need it less over time.

4. Moderate cardio like walking and yoga. Building confidence in my cardiovascular system made the physical sensations of anxiety feel less threatening over time. As you get used to your heart races, even if it’s due to exercise, it stops feeling like an emergency in the same way.

5. Therapy - not all of it worked tbh, but one therapist said something that has stayed with me ever since. She said “you want everything to be under control, but life is unpredictable by nature. People have embarrassing moments, accidents, unexpected health scares. That’s the same for all of us and fighting it won’t change.”

That reframe on unpredictability landed and really stuck with me. I turned these golden sentences and other stuff I learnt from therapy into audio and listened to them before and during fearful situations.

I hope this helps someone here. Honestly I still get very short episodes (mainly sweating and mild dizziness) when I’m under high stress or not sleeping enough — but I’ve got my life back. You can too!