Hi I've been dealing with anxiety for a while now cause something tramatic happened about a year ago and it made me feel like I wasn't safe so I stayed inside my room where no one could hurt me ... After I while I was feel great I felt like I had no anxiety until I had to go outside.... I missed 1 year of school because I couldn't deal with being fearful of everything so I avoided it now I have to go back to school tomorrow andi want to go to school but I'm scared of someone harming me or something happening or people just looking at me... I live in a town where everyone is so called "gang" members so I feel like everywhere I go someone is gonna try to come up to me and say something ... I don't know I just need help when I was a kid I never had this problem I was always outside happy never even had thoughts of even being harmed by anyone until last year now I isolate myself from the outside world and I just need to know how people go back into society after isolating themselves...
The first thing I would do is to find a therapist. You could tell them your problem and they could even help you over the phone for now, without you having to leave your house. I see a therapist for my anxiety and it helps a lot.
I was experiencing a bit of agoraphobia, like u, and as soon as I felt afraid to leave my house is when I called a therapist and went to them to get help. The main thing with agoraphobia is you must not give in to it, and you take baby steps but you do leave your house - this is a MUST. A therapist can help you with this and devise a plan for you to slowly adjust to leaving your house and getting back to your normal life.
Try using the Psychology Today website to find a therapist near you, that's what I used. It made it really easy =)
Thank u have u overcame or seen improvement from your anxiety since therapy? I was always iffy about seeing a therapist
Oh, sooooooo much better since seeing a therapist. The first therapist I saw, she wasn't very familiar with anxiety so I didn't find her helpful much. But then I tried a diff one who specialized in anxiety/depression and she really helped a lot. I used to see her once a week, now I go only once every few months maybe.
My anxiety always seems to come in phases, it'll be bad for a few months or even a year maybe. N then it kinda goes away again and it's not as bad for a while. But sadly it seems to come back eventually. BUT, I do have to say that, when it comes back, it definitely is not as bad as it used to be. The newer therapist has really helped me to rationalize my fears and now they don't seem as scary anymore. She also helped teach me some methods of calming down when I am extra anxious, like deep breathing techniques.
Also, I bought this book "The Anxiety & Phobia Workbook (sixth edition)" which I HIGHLY recommend. It is sooo helpful and soo so interesting. I really wish I read it earlier, that book also helped me a lot lately in feeling better and less anxious.