WHAT IS SCARY ABOUT LEAVING YOUR HOUSE!!!

[Frank_90]

I suffer from agoraphobia, but the worst it gets for me is when in public I get frightened that I'm going to have a panic attack, which usually leads to one, but I am slowly fighting this problem and haven't had one in a while.

I was just wondering how someone gets from my situation to not being able to leave their own home?

I myself understand my fears and how I react when exposed to them, and I was wondering what it is that scares you about leaving your house... even walking out the door?

 

[sabbath92003]

I think it's a gradual shrinking of one's comfort zones. But it is a hoax done to us by our own nervous systems. There really is nothing to be afraid of. Sure people can be assholes, but we can learn to deal with that. Shutting ourselves off to the world is just not worth it. If we avoid our lives due to fear, what exactly are we protecting then?

 

[sicklybutnot]

I suffer from agoraphobia, but the worst it gets for me is when in public I get frightened that I'm going to have a panic attack, which usually leads to one, but I am slowly fighting this problem and haven't had one in a while.

I was just wondering how someone gets from my situation to not being able to leave their own home?

I myself understand my fears and how I react when exposed to them, and I was wondering what it is that scares you about leaving your house... even walking out the door?

by doing the opposite of what you're doing... by not "fighting back"...

imagine that you believed you'd have a panic attack whenever you went to the mall, you'd start to anticipate it at the doors... but then if you stopped going to the mall all together, you'd start feeling anxious whenever you were near the mall... so then you start avoiding that area.... and so on... until you start feeling anxious whenever you leave the house... until you just stop leaving the house..

sorry, that was a little rambly.

 

[Lexmark]

For me its just easier to stay at home so I do.
If I ever feel like im gonna get a panic attack i just think about how relaxed i feel after one and it usually lessens the blow

 

[Psychedelicious]

EDITED

 

[that1guy]

ya but what are you gonna do when your older? When you need to pull in a paycheck? When you need to prove people wrong? When you want to actually date somebody that actually understands you? see... I know its hard but you really need to find something to motivate you to do something with your life. And the first way you can do that is by just "throwing" yourself out there.

 

[asouthwest]

i know how u feel

i stay in the house and i use to leave just in the day time cause it seemed that i would only get pain attacks at night untill i had a full blow one in the daytime at walmart now i dont go any where just stay int he house and now it even happens at home sooo i have cut of almost all my friends and not even thinking bout a boyfriend i just dont kno why this had to happen to me

 

[Columba]

i once had an attack in a very public place and fainted. the paramedics had to be called. when i came to, i was so humiliated. i just wanted to go home. everyone was staring at me.

i fear an episode like that and i fear having fear, perspiring too much, revealing my insecurity, seeing what i don't get to experience.
you're not alone.

 

[Avoidance]

I've lost a lot to Agoraphobia, a whole lot. I even was stuck in my room for weeks, leaving only to go to the bath room. It's more then just motivation or laziness.

The only way I could explain it to some that doesn't understand is imagining going out side naked, or to the mall naked? Or being scared of heights and having to go sky diving just to get the mail. I'm working hard to get better and motivation is good for not falling backwards but it is a slow progression forwards. You don't want to throw a person out of plane who is scared of heights.

 

[Misterhopefull]

The only way I could explain it to some that doesn't understand is imagining going out side naked, or to the mall naked?

You might not want to use that "naked outside" comparison, a lot of people don't mind that. :wink:

 

[ces4r87]

I dont know if this is agarophobia or not, but recently ive been feeling very nervous when I go outside. I mean really nervous, very paranoid. I feel like everyone wants to hurt me. especially when there are lots of people in a group. I have social anxiety but about a year ago, I used to love going out. It was a way for me to relax, taking walks. I live in newark, and recently there have been several violent events around my block. I few months back I was jumped, and robbed at knife point on the same month. I guess this is whats causing my fear. any thoughts??

 

[terrified]

I have been on therapy for this long enough to know how the conventional therapy works. You set a very small goal, the one you know you could do. It could be very small as just turning the door knob to open the door. That could still make you anxious but the fact that you did it makes it easier for you to do it next time.

The idea is not just doing it and getting it over with. The idea is that you gradually build up the tolerance and desensitize yourself. You do it in a safe and controllable environment so that you don't feel out of control. You need to feel like you are in control; otherwise, you probably wouldn't do it.

Remember, it has nothing to do with your intelligence or your strength. There are many people who are suffering from this and it is treatable.

 

[Tamzin]

I believe agoraphobic people are simply too self-conscious, they think they're being watched and judged all the time and this makes them uneasy when they're in the company of others. In this way, agoraphobia is really just another type of social phobia, it just happens to be worse when you get away from your safety zone.

I was told to ask myself this rather odd question: could I walk happily down my high street and into the shops and cafes if everyone else were blind? I realised I could, that it was the scrutiny of other people that I feared and if they were all blind I wouldn't have to worry about them looking at me. That if I suddenly felt dizzy or faint it wouldn't matter because they wouldn't be able to see me, so I'd feel better a lot faster if I didn't have to worry about them watching and judging me. Does this strike a chord with anyone else here?

It was after I'd thought about this that I realised properly for the first time how much self-consciousness was ruining my life. Of course I knew people weren't really watching and judging me all the time, but this was what I'd been telling myself for years. I made a real effort after that to tell myself that other people had better things to do that scrutinise me from the moment I left home to the moment I returned, and this made a big difference to how I felt. It took a long time to get my confidence back but I'm glad to say now that I no longer feel so afraid to go out or uneasy when in other people's company.

 

[Smokeringz]

i pretty much fear being judged, i feel i cant leave the house until im fucking amazing at guitar and have good looks, heh.

 

[Liz17]

yeah, sadly I told myself once I had all my teeth fixed (braces) I could go out and feel less ugly and more confident. Maybe Im using that as an excuse?