[pinkdiva42]

Hi all, i am new here to this site and this is my first attempt at starting to be more socially active. My second step will be going back to therapy and participating at leaste once a week at my loca mental health club house. I have never been officially diagnosed with agoraphobia but have been housebound pretty much most all the time for the last year or so.
I am just way more comfortable being home, although i wish i wasnt because i get very lonely being home by myself all day and not accomplishing anything at all. I really need to have a life and go out and do things, i am just so socailly deficient that it drives me crazy. I can barely say hi to people. Online its differnt because i am not self concioius and not face to face. If anyone has any suggestions or ideas to help me slowly adjust to leaving the home and feeling comfortable, i would truly appreciate it tons. Hugs

[eskielover]

I had years that wete similar. Though it was depression & being in & out of the hospital that hit me. For me it turned out to be situational because as soon as I left my bad marriage & started a life of my own far away it was like a new me, the one that had been trapped inside all my life finally came out.

We never know what the key to unlock the door will finally be.

Welcome to PC....wonderful, kind people here & many to relate wirh our struggles....some still struggling, some who have gone through the struggle but working to get stronger.

Ive been here since 2004 & have made some very good friends here. Hope you find PC to be a great help as you work toward your goals

[All Is Revealed]

You've come to the right place. Psych Central is a great place to be yourself. You will learn a lot here.

I have agoraphobia. My advice is set yourself small goals. Sitting on your front porch. Then a walk down the street. Then a little bit further and so on. Also be kind to yourself. I came out of the hospital in October and because of various issues I couldn't even leave my bed. I was so excited when I made it to the couch. Every step is worth celebration.

[pinkdiva42]

Originally Posted by All Is Revealed

You've come to the right place. Psych Central is a great place to be yourself. You will learn a lot here.

Thank you so much!

[pinkdiva42]

Originally Posted by TheSadGirl

I have agoraphobia. My advice is set yourself small goals. Sitting on your front porch. Then a walk down the street. Then a little bit further and so on. Also be kind to yourself. I came out of the hospital in October and because of various issues I couldn't even leave my bed. I was so excited when I made it to the couch. Every step is worth celebration.

Thank you , yes i have to reward myself for small things. I did get out today for a few minutes and basically it was because i was out of ciggs... but it did feel good for the small time i was out... baby steps.. breathe...

[betty_bender]

Hi ,
I'm just jumping in....
I can get agoraphobic too.
I've been I guess I can say I've been battling cancer since I've been 24. And back in the 90s chemotherapy was almost barbaric. At least for me it was I couldn't stop throwing up and crying. Having a mother that was paralyzed because she was in a car accident drunk because her husband just died in bed next to her six months before on Christmas Day wasn't easy deal with either. Not to mention my 13 year old brother who was just an Angry Kid and missed his dad and hated his mom and was afraid of me because I look like death and I looked like I was dying because I was.
Cancer came again for me almost to the day 20 years later. And this time it had to deal with organs. So they cut a big part of my colon out and all my grill parts and put me through chemo again. This time I had husband but he wasn't around much of course he had to work. He even left me alone for six weeks to do chemo on my own. It wasn't as barbaric this time, you would hope they would get somewhere in 20 years.
Now again today I am recovering from a small bladder surgery where they removed 2 tumors. I'm fine, but I won't find out until Friday December 8th if it's Cancer.
At least I know why I'm afraid to leave my house..... because something might happen that I can't control.
Sounds pretty stupid doesn't it considering I can't control what happens in my own body. But then again it doesn't because at least in my house I can control pretty much whatever goes on around me.
Food for thought agoraphobics!