“Agoraphobia is an anxiety disorder characterized by symptoms of anxiety in situations where the person perceives their environment to be unsafe with no way to escape. These situations can include public transit, shopping centers, crowds and queues, or simply being outside their home on their own.”
Was that Covid that triggered this 5 years ago, or something else?
Yes, it was indeed the lockdown that triggered this severe form. I’ve always suffered from it, but that was the cherry on top.
Good catch. I’m not agoraphobic, but I have definitely never returned to pre-covid levels of leaving the house/socializing. I used to go out to socialize a few times a week, and left the house every day. Now it’s a few times a month at that.
I wouldn’t categorize myself as agorophobic, as I DO enjoy my time spent outside as long as I’m not in crowds or socializing with more than a handful of people, but it definitely got worse after covid.
Home is where what little stuff I do have is, and there’s nobody there that I dislike or dislikes me. Outside is increasingly hostile for humans with climate change, and the likelihood that I might get shot over my political stances because a neighbor thinks I might have different political views has never been higher.
So yeah, I don’t go out as much either and covid was definitely the tipping point of “I don’t go out much anymore”