Hi, I'm new to this great group. I have an immediate question: I'm working really hard to overcome my agoraphobia, which I've had on and off for the last nine years - sometimes I've gone for a couple of years completely free from it, other times I spend a year barely able to make outside. I've had medication, CBT, exposure therapy, etc and I think all of those things work and don't really have a problem with them. My problem is the reaction of my friends and family. My mother and father both consistently say to me 'You've just got to get out there' and have no appreciation for the difficulty that presents to me! I feel like an idiot all the time when I'm around them. And my friends think that I'm avoiding them on purpose, even when I overcome my embarrassment and explain my problems. It's like people think I want to be lonely and trapped indoors. I don't know how to deal with these reactions. So not only do I have to deal with my own sadness at being stuck, I end up comforting and reassuring my parents! I wish that agoraphobia was understood in the same way as having a broken leg or arm - it takes time to heal, you can treat it, but while it's broken, it hurts!
