If you are more happy, more stable and more secure, then stay with this in the short-medium term. Let yourself acclimatise to this state of affairs - without any worry or guilt.

Then in a while, when you are ready, take little steps further away.

Its like you have to get your confidence back - but little by little, and when you are ready. No one can say "You SHOULD be going here" etc They are not you, and only you know how you feel and what you can cope with.

Thanks for the advice. I'll try that. I am fortunate that no one complains about me not going anywhere. My husband is understanding and I don't have any friends to miss me. I think I will take the time to build up my confidence.

awww, I would totally go shopping with you or out to lunch :) that is what I do with my friends to make them feel better. You and your husband should get a babysitter and go on a date. That's be fun, right?

My father in-law took our sons for the day. I had a hard time being convinced to leave the house, but then we had a nice lunch and shopped some. It was a nice day. My husband is wonderful. I just wish I could spend more time with him. I guess I should be thanking God for the blessings of today.

It's good that you're happy and content, but what's so concerning is that you avoid going places where you think you might possibly get hurt. This problem can spiral out of control to the point of causing agoraphobia, which is staying home in fear of going out, being in crowds, etc. I think you do need treatment and could benefit greatly from it. You already realize there might be a problem, and that's a good thing. Now you need to get yourself into therapy and learn how to deal with the problem. Talk to some type of counselor, at least.

Don't let things get out of control, if they aren't already. Take action before this happens.

Thank you for your advice. I am recognizing this weekend that things have already gotten out of control. I saw that this weekend. I just don't trust people. People who were suppose to love me don't. People that were suppose to check on me haven't. I have given up on trying. I use to try to interact. It didn't happen so now I am just waiting. I don't know where to go or what to do since I don't trust people especially not therapists. I recognize the need. I just think it is a waste of money. I don't want to cause our family to struggle now that we are finally doing alright. Help is too expensive and for why so I can learn to associate with people who have no interest in me? Total waste of money.

hi. i can relate to you about the not going out. its good you have a good husband and kids 2 support. i would try to go out as often as you can even if its just down the shop so you dont get to the stage where you cant go out at all as i did and didnt go out 4 2 years. hope all goes well for you.

I understand your distrust of people. I have a lot of trust issues myself. However, you must not allow the issue to prevent you from getting the help you need. I mean, you can allow it to, but consider how nice it would be to not be held down by your fears...to be bound by them to the point of staying at home all the time and never reaching out to others. You realize the problem is out of control, but I honestly believe you can gain back that control that has been lost.

Therapists are not trusted by a lot of people, and the fact is, if you have a therapist you don't trust, you cannot benefit from them in any way. Often, you have to give a therapist a little bit of time, a chance to gain your trust. I'm not sure if you would ever be able to trust any therapist at all, but I think it would definitely be a good idea to seek out a psychiatrist who could prescribe some medication to help with the paranoia. Meds can really help a lot in many cases.

Think about, at least. If you can't afford treatment, check into whether your area has a community mental health center or not...like a non profit place. Those places usually charge you based on your income, and will even help you get medications. Also, Wal-Mart has that $4.00 list of meds you could look into and discuss with your doc.

I hope you get the help you deserve.