Well, tis the season to be shopping...and my anxiety disorder is making it difficult for me to cope-- I wish that I could just wear a sign warning off all of the well-meaning sales people who approach me and bug me-- there are some stores that agitate me so much that I would not even shop there if I could avoid it. One such example is bath and body works-- I love their products, and I can not get them online or through other means, but their sales people about drive me crazy, and I have had more than one anxiety attack at the hands of the people in that store. I know that it is irrational. I know that they are trying to be helpful, but I have a really tough time with it. I just want the sales people to stay out of my way unless I ask them for help. Meanwhile I also have to try to act brave. The mall is bad enough at other times of the year, but it seems like Christmas brings out all of the people who want to sell you something-- the people from kiosks who try to push you to make the impulse buy...I just want them to all go away. Shopping leaves me so exhausted from trying to deal with people that I want to go home within an hour or so after getting there. Does anybody know of a way to cope with this?

Honestly, the only real coping mechanism here is pharmacotherapy, or possibly some kinds of systematic desensitizations. You can't really just cope, as far as I know, because I can't think of any methods which will flag those people off...

For the Kiosk people, you can always learn a rote response, which you can just tell them whenever they make an approach...something like "I'm sorry, but I'm not interested. Goodbye." and walking away. Also, blending in with the crowd, that is, making sure you don't look interested, will make them less likely to approach. Also, keeping to the far side of the moving people, with a huge moving crowd between you and the salespeople, works very well.

As for people inside stores, "I don't need any help right now, thank you." does wonders. They will go away, because they have better things to do. Practice giving these responses, etc. For a while, so you don't have to think to say them. Make them almost automatic.

Most importantly, relax. Nobody is judging you. I have the same anxiety, so I know what you are feeling, but the fact is, the fear is irrational. Just relax, stay cool, and let it happen.

Do you take any medications for it? Anxiolytics like Valium or Xanax can work very well situationally, and antidepressants (spec. Zoloft) have worked very well for me.

. One such example is bath and body works-- I love their products, and I can not get them online or through other means, but their sales people about drive me crazy, and I have had more than one anxiety attack at the hands of the people in that store. I know that it is irrational. I know that they are trying to be helpful, but I have a really tough time with it. I just want the sales people to stay out of my way unless I ask them for help.
I worked at Bath and Body works for about one month and I hated that we were supposed to approach the customers. I like you don't like to deal with people while I'm shopping. But, B&BW thinks that they make more sales by interacting with people and getting them to try the products. I remember they wanted us to massage people's hands with different lotions. Needless to say...I nver did that. B&BW doesn't sell stuff online either because they want people to test out the stuff. I have actually bough BB&W stuff on Ebay because I didn't feel like interating with the sales people.

Every year I saw I'm going to do my shopping online but then the ADD kicks in and I don't leave myself enough time.

I try to go to stores where I know I don't have to deal with Sales people like Target or Wal-Mart. They overwhlem me in a different way but I don't have to interact with people.

Hi Danni - if it were me, i would take a friend familiar with my condition to the mall with me and have them run interference.
Good luck with your shopping.

KMiller: I am currently on Lexapro 20 mg per day in the evening. This heas helped with the worst of the symptoms (I no longer have the near chronic, almost paralyzing at times anxiety that used to plague me).

I am doing what shopping I can online-- I have found this to be a saving grace for me-- however, I can not purchase my own clothes online-- it is just too hard to tell whether something will fit right, so I am stuck going into the stores to try them on. I try to limit that to one store that I know my way around and where I feel there is a minimum of chances that I will fail. (Currently, that is Lane Bryant)

I end up shopping at Bath and Body Works because it has such good products, and because it is one of the places my handicapped mother wants to go when we visit the mall (since her accident, she is in a wheelchair which just draws the attention of the people I want rid of). She unfortunately does not believe that I have these issues-- she just gives me hell and tells me that I need to "grow up". I sometimes wish that we could switch bodies-- I will take her disability off of her hands for a couple of days (It is a chronic pain disorder-- I restrain myself most days from telling her that she would feel better if she would follow the doctor's orders). She will get to deal with my ADD, Anxiety Disorder, and Depression. I think after a day or two of it, she will understand where I come from.