Quote:
Originally Posted by justafriend306
I apologize as I know not the background. Is it running into people? Being outside? Or is there a different trigger?
For me, I actually felt safer walking in my neighbourhood in the dark when there were no people. My therapist (who even met me a few times) suggested I take my walks 30min later each week until eventually I was able to encounter being around some other people. She was also good enough to discover a 24hr grocery store so I could get out and do my groceries when the shop was nearly empty.
Do you have some sort of patio or deck or maybe a place you could put a chair outside? You could start with simply touching the chair.
Maybe too if you were to place something comforting inside the door?
Perhaps I'm just grasping at straws. I really wish I could help.
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Thanks, justafriend. You are sweet. Good question. I don't have agoraphobia, but there are times shen I get agoraphobic. Basically, when especially depressed. Or paranoid. It is not outside per se, but the interaction. Having to deal with people. Being seen. Just dealing at all. Only about a dozen people would even know who I am at all. So it's not a case of, "Oh my, what would Mrs. Withersnoot say?!" kind of situation. No one would recognize me or care. Still, it pains me to realize how close I am to being that person who trundles onto the bus in pajamas and clearly a mess.
Night is better, yes. Feels more hidden. My neighborhood is not considered all that safe, but it bothers me less than you'd think. It is much harder to make myself go out to get help in the middle of the day than to walk down to the convienence store alone in the middle of the night.
Which I guess underscores how much about "getting help" it really is.
Good God. Sometimes writing it out, you know?
Hey, yeah, red light district, drugs, homeless, the odd gang shooting, no sidewalks, sparse lighting, 3 am. Walk down to the store? Um, yeah, ok.
Go out in the daylight to a place set up to help? Terrifying!
Yeah, that about sums it up.