Do i have agoraphobia?

[BC-chick]

I know i have social anxiety for sure.. but do i also have agoraphobia?

I have no problem going outside to parks, malls...etc by myself where there's strangers. Speaking to strangers actually gives me NO social anxiety at all... actually 70% of my SA drops when i am in a place where no one knows me and i don't know them.

My social anxiety is more then 100% when i'm in an area where people i know might be there..like certain cities i try to avoid because it happened to me many times where i ran into ex boyfriends or old friends from high school or other people i never want to see again. Also it's very hard to go to family gatherings on my boyfriends side, because they have judged me before to my face and i always have to drink before i see them...if i don't then i might appear nervous..

I just feel like they will see me and judge me. Like i am always alone. I don't have a ring on my finger or kids or a car..and i don't look all fancy. Most people from my high school probably have all these things by now. So i never want to see them again.. i hate my city so much because all these people i had fights with live here and i hate the fact that i have to even share the same air with them. i want to move..maybe it;s the best option but do i have agoraphobia?

 

[psych]

Idk, cannot diagnose ppl, I'm not a doctor.
But, I know exactly how you feel. In my neighborhood, I get anxious and scared of being seen...
If I'm in a place where nobody knows me, or would recognize me, I have almost no trouble with it. Being anonymous makes me feel free.
I have moved, & now it happens to me here also.
I'm sorry all I have the ability to do is commiserate. Wish I could be of more help to you.

 

[WeirdyMcGee]

hmm... well, what you're describing isn't really the same as how I feel so I couldn't really say. haha

But re-reading the definition on wiki-- it sounds to me like you match up well enough?
What do you think?

 

[Ignace]

I think agoraphobia is more like being afraid of open places (with evt lots of people). This is my major problem too. But since you can go to parks etc without a problem I guess you don't. Being afraid to be judged belongs more to SA, as far as my medical education reaches. I didn't have one btw ...