I am surprised to find that I understand what you are going through. I am not to the point where you are and I pray I can keep it from getting any worse than it is.

I have always been a very outgoing person, always talking to people,making my living at being a manager in the customer service field of some kind.Partly because I was always a people pleaser and emapthic to others, it came easy to me.

Not anymore. I am now to the point where, I too often go make several small trips to the grocery so I can use to self scan.

I talk to my friend of 27 years daily and I go to therapy once a week although it is something I have to force upon myself. I take the most scenic drive possible there and back to help ease the stress the anxiety causes.

I have disabling medical conitions that I don't even talk openly with to my doctor because I am afraid to.I can't bring myself to even call and make an appoinment, or I cancel the one I might make.

I do not live alone , but I do spend alot of time alone with my dog and and the cat if she graces me with her prescence.We used to go out to eat alot and I can't hardly stand to go anymore because I don't like to have to give my order, and I feel anxious in crowds.

I have wondered if this is how ladies end up having a man give their orders for them.I have been guilty of going to the bathroom before the waitress gets there, leaving instructions as to what I want so I don't have to do the talking.

For me too it is the attention I can't stand. I don't want to be looked at, listened to, spoken to,seen at all. I would prefer to be invisible. I don't work and I have dialup so if i am online I cannot get calls and I have found myself leaving it hooked up for that reason alot.

I have been dealing with a great deal of repressed memories and have ptsd too and I feel like it could be possibly be that causing all this... the anxiety I mean.. the agoraphobia-type symptoms. The more I face in therapy, the more likely i am to feel too anxious to go out anywhere.

And then with my physical pain and fatigue I often feel so in adequate and useless, that I just prefer to stay home alone with the shades drawn. I don't sit around and cry or anything like that.. not too much anyway.

I didn't meant to make this about me. I feel like the more I type, the more messed up i sound. I don't guess I can be of much help to ya hun, but I wish I could.

I keep trying to make it a habit of doing light yoga for a bad back, which also helps to releive stress and anxiety.And I practice visualization that I learned in therapy. It seems to be helpful too, although i have to practice it so that if i have a bad panic attack, I am able to do the visualization.

I close my eyes and breath deep and slow, I let my mind see myself as a white she-wolf and the mountain ridge...strong and free.. I sometimes can imagine the feel of the wind blowing across my soft coat... and I imagine I can smell the fresh breeze.

Maybe this is something you can try when you find yourself needing to drive around the parking lot... go park it and do see yourself somewhere else.. at the beach alone.. a deserted island or something... and breath slow and deep. It might help ease you just enough tot go in the store.. baby steps...

Good Luck!