Getting Out does not help me

I've been told by my therapist and family members that the reason I have panic attacks is because I just need to get out more. This doesn't make sense to me though because even though I would go to school everyday and go to work everyday I would still have panic attacks and sometimes completely break down and not be able to leave the house for a while. So even though I was forced to go to school and went to work, I have not gotten any better, so this does not seem to be the right treatment for me, but "getting out" seems to be the only solution anyone has. It just seems hopeless.
I try to just go through the motions and pretend everything is okay but it's hard and it doesn't make anything better.
Are there any other agoraphobics that feel as if just getting out doesn't help?

Going to work and going to school is not classed as "going out." They mean fun things - cafes, museums, gigs, bowling, bars, whatever you're into - stuff that you want to go to.

That's all the GPs say get out more and exercise more What the Hell I have been battling for the last 8yrs and going out more and exercise more hasn't helped me out yet

I haven't had many panic attacks, but I do know those happen because of anxiety and I agree with the people say we need to go out in public more. I've been working a job for the last two years part time as a delivery guy and just doing that and approaching people and knocking on doors to deliver flowers has helped me be more comfortable around people.

My advice is keep getting out of the house. It seems to get easier with age if you keep doing it.

It depends on what the focus point of your reason for not wanting to go out side is. For me I love the out door but not so much love being around people. If I live in the country I would be out doors all the time running in the woods jumping in to creek and stuff like that. You do need to find more positive reason for being out doors if all it is work for you than you will get tired of the outdoors fast. You need fun things to do outside to.

I only benefit from doing things by myself, because going out with people, no matter who it is, just always makes me terribly uncomfortable.

Getting out in nature is the only thing that makes me feel human.

I can normally control my anxiety around people. The more free time I have on my hands the worse my anxiety gets. The point of "getting out" is to keep your mind occupied on whatever it is you are doing so that you don't think about the anxiety as much. Anxiety comes from thoughts. The less time we have to think about worrisome thoughts, the greater our chances of getting through a day without having any serious anxiety attacks.

Quietguy11 said:

I can normally control my anxiety around people. The more free time I have on my hands the worse my anxiety gets. The point of "getting out" is to keep your mind occupied on whatever it is you are doing so that you don't think about the anxiety as much. Anxiety comes from thoughts. The less time we have to think about worrisome thoughts, the greater our chances of getting through a day without having any serious anxiety attacks.

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I like this mind set normally I try to go bike riding and I normally talk myself out of going because I also try to think if I run in to somebody what would I say to them to start a good conversation so that I can make the bike trip more meanful. But in the end I get so work up about this not being able to think of any good lines that I can use I just don`t go at all. Maybe I would go bike riding more if I just stop worrying about making friends and just go.

I only used going to school and work as examples, I've been out to lots of places. I've been like this for a very long time. One of my phobias is crossing streets, so my therapist told me that just doing it everyday would help me get over it. As I told her, I did this everyday going to work and I would be okay until every once in a while I would freak out really bad. I told her I didn't understand why that would happen; it's confusing how I could be doing something everyday and be completely fine until one day I'm not. The same thing happens with the agoraphobia. I can go out to movies and other places sometimes and be okay and other times the thought of leaving the house makes me panic. It's like something just comes over me and the reason isn't always clear to me.
And I don't think going out doing fun stuff would really help me either. I can be completely fine going out on my good days. There isn't really much outside that I want to do anyway; I've always been an inside person. I've been invited out a couple times recently and I chose not to go because I really didn't care to, not because of fear.

Very perplexing. I don't think the cause is simple, there could be a number of underlying issues. Probably one of the main factors is chemical. You have a bad day chemically, go out and end up having a panic attack. There could also be a number of other psychological factors that you're not even aware of that are contributing to your problem. So, what appears as "random", may in fact be very explainable.........complicated, no doubt.

You might have to accept a life of good days out and bad days. I forgot who coined this quote, but to paraphrase, "it's not the insomnia that keeps us up, it's the fear of it". Yes, your problem is very real but there may be ways to mitigate it so you can enjoy life more.

sometimes they suggest this as they believe repeated exposure to something can help you become numb to it. like thinking the more you do something the less concerned you will be about doing it. it doesn't always work out like that though.

learning the control the symptoms of panic is probably more important.

It always felt like being thrown in to the deep end for me. Overwhelming and harmful.

I'd get in over my head, invariably fail, and then feel like a complete loser. That stuff is supposed to be graduated, based on the individual, so if it's too much for you I hope you tell your therapist.

girlinthecorner said:

I've been told by my therapist and family members that the reason I have panic attacks is because I just need to get out more. This doesn't make sense to me though because even though I would go to school everyday and go to work everyday I would still have panic attacks and sometimes completely break down and not be able to leave the house for a while. So even though I was forced to go to school and went to work, I have not gotten any better, so this does not seem to be the right treatment for me, but "getting out" seems to be the only solution anyone has. It just seems hopeless.
I try to just go through the motions and pretend everything is okay but it's hard and it doesn't make anything better.
Are there any other agoraphobics that feel as if just getting out doesn't help?

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Years ago, I was told that practicing social interaction would help me relax around people. That was nearly thirty years ago. I have often forced myself to be social, and found that I am as nervous and awkward as ever. In fact, people pick up on my nervousness and bully me. So the advice that practice helps seems not to be good advice. It's strange because intuitively you would think that it would help.

I think that phobias can only be truly overcome through exposure, but if the experience is bad, then the phobia will only worsen.

I think a lot of it has to do with what we're taught at home. Repeated exposure to the outside world might not help if you have not learned any good social skills to begin with. You keep doing the same things over again, essentially repeating mistakes from the past. What needs to change is the way you react to people and situations. It helps if you have a coach or mentor who can provide you feedback - this way you are learning from mistakes and improving as you go along.