So not only was I completely half-spound, but I was experiencing such high levels of anxiety that I was having unprovoked panic attacks pretty much all day.

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So today we are speaking to a woman who reached out, they have an extreme case of agoraphobia. If you don't know what agoraphobia is, it is an extreme or irrational fear of entering open or crowded places or leaving one's own home or being in places from which escape is difficult.

It seems like a very debilitating phobia, so really interested in this conversation to bring some light to agoraphobia and hear this woman's story and journey.

As always, we've got the guests on the line. Thanks so much for being on today.

Of course, I'm happy to be here.

So I guess to start off, was that definition accurate or what parts of that definition kind of apply the most to you?

Yeah, I think it's fairly accurate. I think agoraphobia can affect everyone in a lot of different ways. For me, it's not so much a fear of open places or crowds. It's more just being away from my perceived safe space, which would be my home.

That's basically how it affects me, as well as traveling distances away from my home. I have traveled in the past, but yet it's become less and less of a possibility for me over the years.

I think it's a different shade from people who have a general anxiety, because I think at some point in my life, and I know definitely some people that I know personally, they do not like traveling. They don't like being too far away from their home.

They're more comfortable in the places that they usually frequent.

So they have anxiety about traveling and being away from home, especially for too long or something like that. So what is the differentiator there? Like how does it become agoraphobia versus general anxiety?

That's actually interesting. I think a lot of people that I know and a lot of people that I've spoken with over the years, it seems like it's more popular and more liked to travel and to experience new things, get out of your hometown. At least that's how it is here.

So that's kind of an interesting perspective. I was kind of looking at it the other way. That's been my experience. But as far as it being different from generalized anxiety, I think there is a lot of overlap.

Once your anxiety becomes so severe that you develop agoraphobia, you've probably already experienced all of the symptoms a person who has generalized anxiety experiences.

But I'm really no expert on the topic. So I don't feel like I have a very well educated opinion on that one.

So I guess in your personal experience, at a certain point when you sort of were like, OK, this is not a quote unquote normal amount of anxiety. It's just much different. It feels more amplified. I assume.

Oh, yeah, yeah, for sure. So I've had friends who, or even people I went to school with who would experience anxiety related to tests and things where we'd have to perform or do public speaking.

But I mean, my anxiety, it kind of seemed like it was always present. Like there was always a threat somewhere. I don't know what it is. I don't know where it is.

And it would kind of come out at just awful times and times where there really wasn't anything to be afraid of. So I saw kind of the differences between my experience with anxiety.

And some of my peers and yeah, I did notice at a pretty young age, like, this is not quote normal. What I'm experiencing.

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