Hi I have been diagnosed with agoraphobia fear of leaving the house.?

Maybe the person who said agoraphobia is a symptom is right, but that's no reason not to treat the symptom. If you suffer from other anxiety problems, overcoming agoraphobia can be a step toward overcoming them.

In a nutshell, systematic desensitization is making a list of things that seem scary to you, ranking them in order of how scary they seem, and using that ranked list as your set of objectives. Imagining something can be an objective. Start with something really, really easy, like sitting in your backyard or standing by an open front door. Then you could have more easy objectives - walking to the mailbox and walking around the block, or imagining yourself doing one of those things.

The thing to remember is never go from A to B until you're completely comfortable with A. This comes with experience and a very simple relaxation method, slow breathing, which is used to treat panic disorder and PTSD.

Agoraphobia is often closely related to panic disorder. This is a panic answer rated Best, 5 stars.

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Of course, you could get help from a therapist for your phobia but many people prefer self-help. A therapist's time is costly, and so the program is liable to proceed at a pace that's faster than what the client is comfortable with.

You can read about this in The Feeling Good Handbook by psychiatrist David Burns, which is often recommended by professionals. You can find out about anxiety and how its treatment with a book like this.

I, thankfully, do *not* have agoraphobia, however, I do have the anxiety disorder known as OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder), as well as social anxiety. You're very brave and courageous to be looking for treatment(s). Either a clinical psychologist (PhD or PsyD) or a licensed-clinical social worker (LCSW) may provide an "official" mental health diagnosis and may administer cognitive-behavioral therapy (cbt).

Cognitive-behavioral therapy (cbt) deals with how one's thoughts affect one's behavior and has been shown to be rather effective in those with various anxiety disorders (and/or depression). It's my understanding that "exposure therapy" may also help those with symptoms of a phobia, and it's usually done rather gradually. Please make an appointment with a licensed mental health professional for a mental health evaluation and treatment plan.

This website should have some local counseling agencies, which may also include a board-certified psychiatrist who is on-staff, such as if medication is recommended, too:

https://findtreatment.samhsa.gov/ and can type one's zip code or state of residence into search.

1-800-662-HELP (4357).

I was given medication amd once I learned to deal with the "stress" of having the irrational fear of being in places I felt were not safe I learned to go to the grocery store, the rest just came slowly as I learned I could leave my secure place and come back safely.

Agoraphobia is a symptom, not a disease. You have low self-esteem and you don't want to have to interact with other people. This is a symptom of anxiety which is usually caused by there being unresolved issues in your life that you need to address. Counselling can help.