Are you afraid to go anywhere? Do you only feel safe within the walls of your own home? Are you afraid you may become overwhelmed by anxiety in a public place where other people will see you? Do you cling to the privacy of your own inner world and miss out on the one outside?
If so, you are probably suffering from agoraphobia, one of the many anxiety disorders afflicting millions of people of all ages and all walks of life.
Your experiences of agoraphobia may manifest as a particular fear of being in a place that is crowded, such as a shopping mall or subway, or it may be a fear of waiting in a line at the grocery store or being in an elevator in a public building. Driving a car may seem especially threatening. You may terrorize yourself with images of having a panic attack while you are in heavy traffic, or waiting for a stoplight to change.
All of these feelings become heavy chains that bind you to the inside of your house. You live your life in anxious frustration, constantly making excuses to friends and family as to why you don't join them on shopping trips or at school events.
But you do not have to live this way forever.
The first thing to do to overcome your agoraphobia is to stop judging yourself for your fears. Be compassionate with the most important person in your life. That person is you. Stop the negative self-talk. You deserve all the loving care you can give yourself so that you can reclaim your life and live as a normal person. Many people live with some level of anxiety. For you, anxiety is often overwhelming. This does not mean that you are a defective person or insane. You just need extra help, extra love.
Give yourself this extra love in the form of nonjudgmental acceptance. This is the first thing to do to overcome agoraphobia.
Once you have given yourself the love and kindness you deserve, explore the various methods for the treatment of anxiety, including agoraphobia. Some people turn to therapists and medications, and are helped in this way. Some prefer more natural, drug-free approaches that may involve meditation.
Rest assured that many people overcome agoraphobia. You can be counted among those people who are not afraid of being away from home. You can be fully engaged in the world around you.
