# I never leave the house!



## vela (Apr 19, 2012)

This friend thing is really difficult for me. I'm never quite sure that my friends are going to stick around. I always feel like one day they're going to realize that I'm a total loser and run away?

The ironic part is, it's usually me who fades away. I feel like they'd be better off without me or something? I dunno.. I suck at friendships. Although I have had one friend for over ten years now. How she still wants to hang out with me, I will never understand!

Of course ALL of my friends are online. Only one of them is even on the same continent as I am! I have no local friends at all, I don't even know anyone locally! 

That's my problem, I never leave the house. The only place I ever go is to therapy. The rest of the I never go anywhere. So I don't know what to do? I really want friends I can actually hang out with and do things with. 

However, I'm far too terrified to actually leave the house on my own and wander into a strange world by myself. So I need to like find a way to meet people near me online whom I can then meet in person?

I really don't ever go anywhere. I don't even have my driver's license. Even if I did, socializing with strangers in person isn't really an option for me. I can't bring myself to go shopping in a store with them. lol

I'm so lonely that it's killing me.


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## Str (Jun 4, 2013)

A lot more people are like you than you think, but most people won't show it, because anything different from normal usually gets punished in some way. My strategy is to fake being normal and try to look for signs of other people who I think are nice, and then slowly open up to them step by step to test if they are who I think they are.

Aside from that, when you're always at home, going outside is indeed very intimidating (I know too well how it feels). But I also know how it feels to feel comfortable in that same world, due to gradual exposure. Having a daily rhythm (college, work) helps a lot usually.


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## Farideh (Nov 13, 2011)

Agoraphobia sucks doesn't it? Try to start going out to places out of your comfort zone. Do this on the weekends. I hate facing my fears because I start getting panic attacks but it's better to feel the panic attack than avoid your fears. Maybe go take a brisk walk around the block. I stayed home for a full week and I thought I was going to go crazy. Now that I have a car, I sometimes go run errands by myself. My panic attack is worse when I'm by myself but I can't make someone accompany me everywhere I go. lol I also took a medication from the panic attack and it just made me drowsy and the anxiety was still there. So I just avoid caffeine...nicotine. Exercising kind of decreases the symptoms of anxiety. Not sure if it does for everyone.


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