Agoraphobia & Social Anxiety Support Group
Agoraphobia is an anxiety disorder, often precipitated by the fear of having a panic attack in a setting from which there is no easy means of escape. As a result, sufferers of agoraphobia may avoid public and/or unfamiliar places. In severe cases, the sufferer may become confined to their home, experiencing difficulty traveling from this "safe place."
I have been a caregiver for almost 9 years for my husband, who had a stroke that put him in a wheelchair, left-side affected by the stroke and has some behavior issues. He had a second stroke. Because of the second stroke, I have to stay home with him most of the time. I don't get out as much for a "me time or have a girls day out". Because of this I feel a bit agraphobic at times. Now I do go to the necessary places like: his doctors appointments, grocery shopping ( the grocery store is like 3 blocks down the street) taking him for haircuts, etc. There is another issue: gossip in the neighborhood about me which isn't true. Spread by a certain person. This also makes me feel like just staying in the house. I have felt agraphobic before, I don't want to go back to that. I also been fighting social anxiety issues. Please tell me some of y'all's stories so I feel so alone in all this.
As much as I cannot relate to your daily struggle, I do know what agoraphobia feels like and it is HORRIBLE. On the daily, I commute to work and it takes me about an hour and a half. I am used to the long commute and actually enjoy it for the most part. Well, in 2017, my now-ex first joined the military and for the first time in five years, we were suddenly long distance. For some reason, it triggered this horrifying anxiety in me that never really made sense. Maybe I wanted to be home because I couldn't cope? It felt like the main part of my life was suddenly gone. Regardless of what the trigger was, I was petrified to go to work. I didn't want to eat, I didn't want to go anywhere, I didn't want to be around anyone. I felt like a constant ball of nerves and nothing made it go away. Part of my commute is on a boat, and I remember that I would have panic attacks before boarding. It's a short ride, but the thought of leaving my home town was horrible. I would pace the boat.
The thing that I can tell you is this, sometimes we can't stop the anxiety from coming on. Sometimes it doesn't even make sense, and comes from what feels like nowhere. But remember all of the things you ARE able to do and commend yourself for them. It may sound silly, but every time you leave the house, give yourself a mental applause. You aren't letting your anxiety win when you face it and keep on keeping on! I remember I faced my agoraphobia with baby steps. I would meditate on the boat, and if I was able to ride the boat without needing the pace the entire 30 minutes, I would mentally praise myself. I would make a mental checkllist of what I was able to accomplish, and then I felt like I could keep on facing things. After practicing this, I realized that I stopped feeling anxious on my commutes altogether.
I believe in you,
Private message me if you ever need to vent.
Best wishes to you.