I had a baby in 2010, and the birth experience was kind of the tipping point. I was induced, but the medical professionals weren't really explaining anything. I had pre-eclampsia and wasn't due for another 2 weeks and had to show up at the hospital to have a baby on 3 hours notice. I was in my late teens. Monitors were going off, they had an oxygen mask on me and I was kind of in and out of consciousness, it was 18 1/2 hours of fear. I'd ask a question and they'd say something like "It's OK honey just try to sleep" or something like that. My husband got the idea to put the TV on, but it happened to be Dawn of the Dead, the zombaby scene. Few hours later I had my daughter and that new mom high set in. Things were beautiful. But every time she left my sight, I was terrified. I mentioned this to the nurse. who laughed it off like "oh you'll get used to it."
The day we left, I was so scared to put her in the car and drive home (well I wasn't driving, but you know what I mean), I had the first panic attack I'd ever had outside of the hospital.
Flash forward two weeks. I wouldn't go near windows, and had taped up paper over the glass so nothing could see in. I locked everything obsessively- three, four, five times before I was comfortable. I was awake like 21 hours a day, staying vigilant because I was so, so fucking scared. Scared of zombies- not because I saw them, it wasn't a hallucination or anything, I was just constantly paranoid of the idea. I knew it was crazy, I knew they weren't real, I knew it was a movie- but I could not shake the fear. It got to a point that I couldn't go outside at night or in fog or any low visibility. I'd take two steps out and just start throwing up. I couldn't live like that anymore.
Therapy/treatment for me meant Wellbuterin twice a day, years of DBT therapy, and an emphasis on self-care and self-advocating. It got me out of the specific phobia I was dealing with and has taught me how to function with this. I don't think I would have been able to avoid getting help, and have never regretted it. I'm now completely unmedicated and use mostly my DBT skills to get me through. Getting help didn't just improve my life, it genuinely gave it back.