Agoraphobic symptoms without panic attacks?
I've been struggling to leave the house without somebody with me for some time, and it's been getting worse. I wasn't going to school as much as I should have because of this anxiety, and now that I'm done with high school, I've barely left the house at all except when somebody is with me. If somebody is with me, I feel no anxiety, but if I leave the house more then just the outside, then I feel very anxious. I don't have the symptoms of a panic attack though, which is what is more common with agoraphobia. I'm going to see somebody about this soon, but I would like your thoughts on whether this could fit with Agoraphobia or something else. I don't think it's social anxiety because although I don't like and avoid interactions with others, I don't feel anxious like I do when I leave the home. I just have this fear that somebody will kidnap me and do things to me if I leave alone, and if I have somebody, even if that somebody couldn't protect me rationally from a kidnapper, it makes me feel safe.
It could be also possible that you have avoidant personality disorder, but I don't know that much about it to tell you the exact differences.
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"I'm astounded by people who want to 'know' the universe when it's hard enough to find your way around Chinatown." - Woody Allen
The Wikipedia page is now different and I think it's pretty accurate: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agoraphobia
What you describe seems to fit it quite well but you say you are afraid of kidnappers and not of panic attacks (and you don't get panic attacks). Agoraphobia is the fear of being in a situation you can't control and then you become afraid of being afraid. You avoid situations because you are afraid of feeling anxious or having a panic attack. Eventually everywhere makes you anxious apart from some safe area. It's not something you just wake up with one day. I have spent years building up routines and avoiding certain things to satisfy my irrational fears.
I'm not really sure what to make of the kidnapping thing. It could also be a fear of being kidnapped, avoidant, paranoia, anxiety, depression or any number of things. Whatever it is, good luck, and I hope you go see someone soon about it! Don't let it get out of hand because it's only harder to fix.
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