I’ve had social anxiety since before I can remember. By my teenage years, this had turned into a full-blown panic disorder. The attacks would hit almost exclusively during social situations, making presentations and parties a nightmare. Eventually, I became scared of so many social situations in my daily life that I became very avoidant. I began skipping class, staying inside as much as possible, and saw my friends less and less. My life became a tiny bubble with room for only two things: me and my fears.
Panic disorder and agoraphobia go hand-in-hand. When you experience panic attacks regularly, they can pave the way to a fear of going to public places. You worry that you’ll have a panic attack at the worst moments—in a meeting, on the subway, in your office. Eventually, these fears can become so intense that you begin to plan your life around them. They begin to dictate your behavior, and your range of experiences becomes smaller and smaller, pushing you into isolation and agoraphobia.
But while hiding might seem safer, you’ll never learn anything about yourself or your fears by shutting yourself off from the world. This is why treatment is so important: in a residential setting, with the help of trained professionals, you will learn of the potential you have to evolve and live the way that you want. As difficult as panic disorder with agoraphobia is, there are many ways to cope with both disorders in a way that gives you a level of autonomy over your life you might never have thought possible. This will help you move toward recovery in order to create a new path defined by positivity and freedom.
