I can't leave my house because of panic and anxiety.

[teez]

Hiya charlotte your certainly not alone hun,,theres loads of us out there all sat in our homes watching the world go by,,i also had a simular thing happen years ago when i begged my doctor for help,,ive had agoraphobia now for 20 odd year longer than youve been alive lol,,at its worse like you i couldnt even leave my bedroom,,at its best i could go anywhere do anything,,i had the worst for ten years couldnt even go near my front door,,im not trying to frighten you just letting you know im on the same level or was ,,with much hard work i can now go out most days ,,still struggle i wont lie and i have to work at it,,but it can be done,,the trick is to start very small,,if you find leaving your room hard,,practice leaving for minutes every day till this is second nature,,then downstairs,,walk to the front door ,,then open it ,,eventually step outside go back in,,never rush it just tiny steps every single day doent matter how long you take over this ,,if you need to talk im only to glad to compare notes with you,,you can beat this and will ,,i know others like us who lead a normal life now ,,and your certainly not silly this is an illness and needs treating as such keep your head high and be proud of yourself for taking your first steps to get help x

[loopylu86]

I can relate to everything you have said!! Wow! My first panic attacks happened at your age (i'm 26 now) They didn't last and life continued. They returned at 22 after stress and then went after 9 months and returned after a VERY stressful year and the turning point being my nan passing away on August 3rd. A few days later I had the worst panic attack of my life and went on the sick from work and literally did not want to leave my bedroom. I didn't eat for a week. Even getting up to pee was an effort due to the constant dizziness and feeling disconnected to everything. My attacks are wild. I get so worked up that I throw up in fear.I also couldn't talk about it because speaking out loud in depth about panic attacks would make me anxious and feel on verge of having another. Funny that. So a month down the line...I am finally getting back out and about..What I did was force myself everyday to do a little something. 3 weeks ago...I was shaking as I put the key in to start the engine. But I still drove. I then went to Tesco...I had a panic attack and drove straight home under the covers...So the next day..I got back in the car and retraced the entire route I did the day before. Doing this was SO HARD. Beyond words hard. But I did it..and I felt terrified the entire time. I now less than a month later have no problem going to Tesco. I also have began taking Citalopram and the effects have started to kick in and they are amazing. Additional to that..I have been to two CBT sessions..which just being able to offload all my problems to someone impartial has helped! I have gone from exactly where you are to this in less than a month and I still get dodgy days. (last night was awful) but I am getting there~! You can too! Don't let it fester!! Get help now. Docs etc. You will come through!! I can assure you of that!!!! xx