If You Have Agoraphobia, What Do You Wish People Knew About It?
Agoraphobia (ag-uh-ruh-FOE-be-uh) is defined as a type of anxiety disorder that involves fear and avoidance of places or situations that might cause panic and feelings of being trapped, helpless, or embarrassed.
Recently, it's come to our attention because the main character in the upcoming thriller sci-fi film Latency has acute agoraphobia, and despite her well-meaning bestie trying to encourage her out of the apartment, we learn that it just doesn't work like that.
Even opening the front door to collect a package is excruciatingly difficult for the character, Hana, who is played by Sasha Luss.
If you live with agoraphobia, are there things you wish people knew about it that aren't widely understood?
Perhaps you'd like your loved ones to know that you can't "just get over it" or "just go outside" and that your feelings stem from severe anxiety.
Maybe you'd like the general public to know that agoraphobia isn't just about being scared to leave the house and can manifest in many different ways.
Or maybe there are ways you've learned to manage your symptoms that you'd like to share with others struggling through something similar.
Whatever it is you wish people understood about you, we want to open a space for you to speak about it so that more people can understand this experience. Share your response below and you could be featured in a future BuzzFeed Community post.