Has anyone recovered from agoraphobia, and if so how?

[ButNotTonight]

I've been agoraphobic for 20+ years. Not housebound. I hold down a full time job and lead an active social live, but it is all within a very specific area.
Over the years I've had times where I want to stretch my legs so to speak and have had every therapy under the sun and spent thousands. And yet here I am again. I don't necessarily want to go on holiday but I would love more than anything for a day trip out to the coast. I'm bored of my home town.

Does anyone have success stories to spur me on?

Could you try going a little bit further out of your comfort zone day by day, step by step?

Hi Reaa, thanks for posting - yes that is exactly what I am trying to do at the moment, a little bit further every weekend. It's exciting and scary in equal measures!

Allow the feelings of achievement, over take the feelings of fear.

I got agoraphobic symptoms with anxiety to the point I was housebound. I used the DARE response book and I don't suffer with that anymore, I'm going abroad this year 😊 you're already getting out so that's a massive positive and proof you can give yourself that you are your own 'safety net'. It's the perfect basis to start expanding your comfort zone, no matter how small.

Hello Dolly, I have downloaded DARE but not read it yet! Glad it helped you. How amazing that you are going abroad!

Aw excellent. Definitely give it a read, I had a newborn at the time and still found it easy enough to get through. Just focus on getting that trip to the coast you really want, the feeling you'll get when you do will be amazing!

Yup, to the point of not leaving my house (never even stepped foot into the garden) for 8 months.

I decided I couldn’t carry on like that any longer, I made an appointment with my GP, got prescribed citalopram to help with the anxiety and made a plan to go out a little further each day. At first it was just stepping out into the garden for a couple of minutes, then eventually to the local shops etc building it up. Took me 2 years but now I can go anywhere, somtimes feel a little apprehensive but push through it. No longer need the medication either.

Good luck, you can beat it.

That's fantastic Fission! I am taking Citalopram and it has helped my anxiety massively.

Hi @ButNotTonight just came across your old thread. Did you evert manage to make progress? My situation is the same as yours as in I have a “safe zone” so still go to work, out for meals etc but I’m dying to just have a few days away with out panic!