Here in the United States, as with the rest of the world we find ourselves in a unprecedented situation. That said, I would like to welcome the world to “my world”. As an agoraphobia sufferer I spend my life…”at home”. Every day, 24/7, week after week. month after month.
For almost everyone of you this concept is new (not leaving your home). I am hearing stories about the frustration many are feeling and it has only been less than a week. As of February 2020 it has been 12 YEARS for me.
So that said, you will get just a taste of what it is like to try and get much needed goods and services for your survival at home. You will have a better understanding the difficulty related to being stuck at home when family and friends are in distress for whatever reason. At the very least you will understand the isolation that occurs with this condition.
For me…life has not changed. I get up at the same time, eat my meals at the same time, go to bed at the same time. My laundry and dishes get done, as do my animals get fed and cared for. If it weren’t for them I would not leave the house to even venture outdoors. My anxiety jumps 10 fold as I dress to go out the door every time.
What we have in common now is that we are all home and restricted as to travel…just for different reasons. Stay strong. If I can do it for 12 years..you will be able to do it for 3 weeks if need be, or even 3 months. I lived without any income at all for over 2 years. I am grateful that the Federal government is willing to help those who have found themselves without an income. Having had to wait 2 years for a Social Security hearing to just find out if I was going to get approved while I fought off creditors and searched for free food to keep from starving to death in itself just melted my anxiety, panic and agoraphobia into my entire body and brain. I had always held out hope I would get better, but that experience in itself destroyed any hope that was left.
So…take a deep breath, know this will be over soon for all of you and you all will be out there in the world doing what you all do best in no time. Thank you too for reading this post, and giving a bit of thought to those of us who even when restrictions are lifted will still be stuck at home. Stay healthy…stay safe. 🙂
The Busy Agoraphobic 