I'm afraid to leave my house and I don't go anywhere unless I absolutely have to. The last time I left my house was on Christmas Eve.

My husband used to work out of a union and we had to travel a lot and since we had 2 vehicles I always stayed behind him and I wasn't afraid to drive through major cities.

Now I'm pretty much a hermit and it sucks.

Hi there! Well, I've had agoraphobia for about 3 years now. I barely left the house, maybe once every 2 weeks with the husband to go to the store. This year I said 'enough!' and am getting out a bit. I drive once a week at least 2 miles, and last weekend I made a 30 minute trip, as a passenger, to my sister's house, where I hadn't been in years. I haven't overcome it yet, but I'm on my way. Let me know if I can help support you.

I'm currently in a similar situation. I live in the heart of downtown Seattle where theres always alot of people outside and for the past 2 months of been terrified to leave my studio apartment unless my fiance is with me I too feel like a prisoner. Even getting the mail and using the public laundry facility is difficult for me. I have to find a new job within the next two weeks and I'm terrified to go to the interview alone I wish you luck, my agoraphobia comes and goes there's not much advice I can give you other than ride it out and maybe try to visit more with friends and or family if they live nearby (make lunch plans) ect. I hope this helps....

I could barely leave my room at one point it was so bad. Having support from loved ones, meds, therapy and just taking one step at a time has helped. It's still hard some days, but with practice and perserverance it CAN and WILL get better. I hope you are well!

I understand where you are. It's hard, but continue to take small steps, even if you think they aren't a "big deal". For people like us, every step counts. My thoughts are with you!

I am new to the board but not to agoraphobia.I am in your position as we speak.I do manage to go to my moms house every weekend which is all of 5 miles away.Even then I get my moments.I try to keep myself occupied with things while I am riding(I do not drive anymore).I either write in a book or count things.I agree with others when they say take baby steps and do just little things each day.I know easier said then done.If you ever need to talk I am on the computer pretty much all day.

Hi,i havent overcome it ,however i do get out almost every day,i find that i need to go out walking within the first hour of every day,for around 1 hour with my dogs,i need to tell myself repeatedly that i need to go out for my own well being and i will feel so much better for the rest of the day,its hard work ,but worth it.The fear is so intense but has to be faced to break it down.If its kept up it should become easier over time ,message my if you need to chat ,good luck

I can't believe how many people have this! I have it mostly but not 100% of the time.. It's a strange thing. Sometimes I can go out and be social. But it really has to be with people I have known for years that are like family to me. Or my real family. The advice I keep getting from my therapist is to take small steps. But take steps. And forgive yourself if you fall backwards. The last thing you need to do in this situation is be hard on ourselves. We do that most of the time anyway. Give yourself a pat on the back for taking one step outside. Be proud of yourself for trying. And if you can't try that day, you can try again tomorrow. Some days are worse than others. I am with you and I'm here if you ever need to talk.

I wanted to thank all of you who posted on here! It has made a world of difference in my life - I have been making such progress because all of your comments and suggestions!

Hi i just read your post and had to reply, i too am agoraphobic. It started about 3 years ago, im not sure why, but at 1st i just felt terrified to drive on the motorway into the city.. then after a few months i noticed i felt the same fear if i tried to go say more than 10 miles from home. I live in a very rural place. Over more months my circle of 'safety' shrunk to just a couple of miles from home until eventually for the last 12 months i cannot go further than the small park opposite my house early in the morning and late at night with my dog. Every other minute of the day i am housebound. I am only 26 and this is ruining my life. I have recently started seeing a cpn (psychiatric nurse) who i am slowly thinking about starting some 'exposure work' with but the thought of this terrifies me almost as much as the thought of being like this forever. I would love to chat sometime to someone else who understands. Emma x.

Thank all of you for all your very interesting comments but also disturbing to me as most are young and you don't need to be like you are at such an early time in life.
I am 58yrs this yr and have had acouple of times that this has cropped up but have managed to cope reasonably well. You have to push yourself quite a lot which is hard but the rewards are great. If you are totally mobile then it means you have to take one step at a time and enjoy the sites you haven't seen for a while, concentrait on that rather than how you are feeling about yourself. Make sure you go a little further each day and observe more. I found previously whenI had this that is how I overcame it to the degree that I was showing my dogs and towing a 12dt caravan the whole of the uk and running my own business.
It hit me again when I lost my grandso, Brother mother and father over a number of yrs. and now having M.S osteoprosis and arthritus am not very mobile
so envy all of you. You can overcome this , but you need courage and support it, I am here for you with any questions you have. I kow you can beat this ....Love to you all Vanessa xxxxxxxxx

I have been agoraphobic for as long as I can remember. I have ben able to force myself to get out. I worked with my husband when our kids where young. Then didn't know how hard it was for me to leave the house until recently. They are 21 and 20. I have to fight panic attacks every where that I go. There are days that I have walked out of a store or family members house begging my husband to take me home. I used to be able to drive but I no longer have a drivers liscence. I do not under any circumstances leave my house without my husband. I have just in the last couple of weeks starting going out my back door and standing for a couple of minutes by myself. My point is I am going to keep fighting it. I don't know if I will every totally overcome it. We just have to learn to be happy with the small accomplishments. I went to a wedding for the first time a couple of months ago. I even had a pretty good time. So just keep taking each day as it comes.

everyone says therapy is important but what people dont understand is, as an agoraphobic, you're literally confined to a "safe zone" and getting to treatment is the problem...I am afraid to go too far from the hospital area near where I live for fears that I have with my anxiety and the nearest center for treatment is 14 miles away..I can only go a mile or 2 tops from my area and help can be literally impossible to get...More centers need to be opened nationwide and more help should be offered for those of us that suffer, especially agoraphobics...

Rancidnate Amen to that! BTW What's up with your screenname? Are you calling yourself Rancid? Don't do that :-( Your not Rancid!! Unless you have that name for another reason. if that's the case I apologize :-)

actually Rancid is a punk rock band. I am a huge punk fan and love Rancid. Their music has really gotten me through some hard times, the singer Tim Armstrong has overcome issues, even homelessness and he is a humble guy and I have learned alot from the way he has lived his life.