I think i'm afraid to leave the house

[whonow17]

Hello, this is my first post here so I'll add some background info. I have suffered from depression and anxiety for 6 or so years and have had my ups and down with it and have managed to conquer somethings that previously held me back. But during this time I mainly stayed at home, didn't go to school and if I did it was to see friends, and even after school finished I continued to remain at home other than to see friends. Now I'm nearly 3 years out of school and find that anything that takes me out of home for more than a few hours makes me so anxious and I sometimes don't go! I'm currently studying at a TAFE and I'm studying something I want to do as a career, but have missed so much class this semester, then recently I got a job but quit two weeks in because the management was bad, but I'm starting to think that maybe it's my subconscious telling me that I need to be at home? I wouldn't say I was depressed at the moment but have had a lot of anxiety this year that has stopped me from doing this. I do see a psychologist once a month but feel like I needed this off my chest. Has anyone else ever experienced this? Or am I going mad? Just need some guidance.

[Chicken_Wings]

Hi Whonow,

I can relate. I’ve been through periods where I didn’t want to leave the house, even to do things I would usually enjoy.

Home is a safe place. You’re surrounded by your things, it’s comfortable and you feel in control. It’s understandable that in times when you feel anxious you’d rather be somewhere safe.

I’m not sure if quitting the job is 100% down to anxiety about leaving the house; it sounds like maybe just a smart move if the company was rubbish.

If you find yourself having trouble going out and you want to, I would suggest ensuring you go places where you feel comfortable and make sure to reassure yourself that if you want to, you can leave.

If you think of a place and don’t feel comfortable there (when maybe you should) then challenge those beliefs about the place. Why don’t you want to be there? What can you do to make the place feel more comfortable?

Its important to keep trying. Even a small success is still a success. So even if all you do one day is to the supermarket, that’s still a win.