Hi SimplyCatherine,
First, I should say that I was never officially diagnosed with agoraphobia; however, I have been afraid to leave my house. At one point I was even afraid to leave my room.
What helped me the most was consistency and making it a habit. I started off with relaxation; doing things that I enjoyed doing. Listening to my favourite music and singing it out loud was my turning point. I'd turn up the music and sing, despite having a terrible voice and being awfully bashful about having other people hearing me, too. After a few days, I'd emote, too. I'd close my door and move around like a moron, but it felt good. Really good. And pretty soon I was able to leave my room again without a problem.
Then came the hardest part: going outside. I took some major baby steps. At first, I'd clean my house and find garbage to take out. That way I'd have to go outside to the garbage bin. After I ran out of things to toss out, I'd make myself sit out in the back yard every single day for a few minutes at a time, and built it up to sitting outside several times a day, then eventually walking around the yard and just allowing myself to enjoy being outside. After a while, I'd spend most afternoons reading in the back yard and it became a comfortable routine.
Once I was comfortable with that, I'd give myself goals to go just a few steps further away from my yard every day. You'd think you'd look like a nut, but no one really cared and I made myself look busy by picking up litter. After a while, I was making goals to go to the corner store for milk or eggs or a newspaper every single day. Then I'd make goals to take a walk in the park or a few circles around the block.
The important thing was to do it every day. Even when you feel better again, try to keep it a habit. I've had a few relapses over the years, and they've all been traced back to not getting outside the house enough. It's a real problem for me because I work from home and not going outside is far too easy. Oh, and another mistake that I feel is well-worth mentioning, that I
still have problems with today, is to tell someone. For me, that's the
hardest part, but it's so much easier to get better when you're not trying to hide it from people.
Anyway, you'd be surprised how much good a daily ten minute walk can be for your head.
