AvPD AND Agoraphobia/S.A.D? At the same time?

Hello, I'm Sophia. And I'm 19 years old.

I've not been diagnosed with either disorders (it's been difficult for me to go out to see a doctor, at all - which is why, at the moment, I'm relying on the Internet alone).

Long story short - For the past two years, I've been struggling with going out (I even have problems stepping out of my front door to walk around in my garden or get my mail from the mailbox, etc). This year alone, I've only been out of the house for a maximum of 32 hours (always accompanied by my parents and many layers of scarves to hide myself under - it is rather embarrassing for my parents, and I feel terrible about it). All my friends are about to graduate from college but I haven't even enrolled myself into one because I am so terrified. I'm also afraid of picking up the phone (unless it's my mum or dad) and sending emails to people. So basically, I've lost all my friends because of this.

I only go out if I really, really need to and only if I'm sure that no one who knows me'd be there (I feel faint even thinking about someone I know coming up and talking to me or even looking at me). It's come to a point where I keep imagining the strangers around me are people I know (even though I know that I'd never met them before).

Okay so the point of this thread is.. I was wondering if it's possible for someone to suffer from both AvPD and Agoraphobia (or S.A.D. - I'm not sure which). Because from what I read about AvPD, it sounds a lot like what I'm going through. But I also experience a lot of anxiety at home and more when I'm outside of my comfort zone (my house).

So I was just wondering if someone could suffer from both disorders?

I was diagnosed with Social Anxiety Disorder and from what I've read, Avoidant Personality Disorder seems like an extreme and persistent version of it (Somebody may be able to correct me there though). I sort of self diagnosed with AvPD but nobody ever applied that label to me.

I'd really recommend trying to get yourself some CBT as this helped me. I wish I'd sought it out at a younger age. It works by challenging your thought processes and gradually getting you to experiment with changing behaviours and gradually doing things you've been avoiding.

I managed to get some group CBT last year which was really scary but helped. Before that, my doctor recommended some online courses - one based in Australia called MoodGym. I never really finished the online course and found face to face therapy better but it's a good start if you can't get any therapy straight away.