I stopped going outside and there are things that I want/need to do

[trying ungracefully]

Has anyone had any tricks that worked that got them out of the house?

About last month ago I was going to job interviews and going outside. Job searching didn't go well and it just fucked things up for me.

I want to go get a library card though so I can start borrowing books and hanging out there if I feel like it. I want to go to the beach because summer is almost over and the lake is really warm right now. I want to go to the forest to read because it is such a beautiful scenery. I want to try volunteering to see if it will help with me getting a job.

I need to get a job. I need to get blood work done to figure out if I have hypothyroidism because I had blood work more than a year ago showing I probably did but I needed a follow up. I need to start picking up my own medication because I am an adult and it is embarrassing that my mom picks it up when the store is a 10 minute walk away.

I can't take the small steps that I am told to take. I'm told to literally start in my room and work my way to the front door slowly feeling how I feel and calming myself down but it is so hard to push myself to do that because it is so uncomfortable. But I need to feel uncomfortable for change which really sucks because it is hard to push myself into that forcefully.

Sometimes I get the energy and motivation and my brain is just off to go somewhere and it worked in the past. But if the bus doesn't come in a short time I get anxious and I just can't go because waiting is unbearable for some reason. Even though to go where I am going I can wait in my house and the bus stop is right at the corner. I just start overthinking and it is a lot. I think of everyone watching me, the space I want to keep from them, how I feel large in a bus, how people might stare, how people might think I am weird, how I am clumsy on buses, etc. It just all overwhelms me at once and then I get back in my head.

But I am supposed to go on a trip with my boyfriend soon, it has been put off a lot because of different things with him. It is out of state and I am excited for it because I am hoping it gets me feeling okay with being outside more. It's going to be easier there because I feel like it doesn't matter if people look at me and think I am weird since I don't live there, I don't get anxiety sometimes but that's what's going on in my head. Then I convinced him to go to the beach with me soon because it is a lot easier to go out with someone I think is safe I just wish I could go alone. I am 21 and never have been to the beach alone. It really is a big goal I love the beach and I hate being ghostly pale I want to tan.

Maybe those things will get me on a roll to go out more. I also applied to jobs to see if my obsession with charms from Pandora right now will help me. I did the math and it is going to take around $1000 more to fill it completely which would be easy if I got a job because I could spend my first paycheck on that since I am supported the save from there. I bought one charm and got it already and I am going to get another one soon. After that I am all out of money though.

 

[Emillss]

Try to get outside once a day to stay healthy and get some fresh air. I usually just walk to work or school (it takes me about 40 minutes since I'm afraid of public transport) or go to a cafe

 

[TBONTB]

Has anyone had any tricks that worked that got them out of the house?

About last month ago I was going to job interviews and going outside. Job searching didn't go well and it just fucked things up for me.

I want to go get a library card though so I can start borrowing books and hanging out there if I feel like it. I want to go to the beach because summer is almost over and the lake is really warm right now. I want to go to the forest to read because it is such a beautiful scenery. I want to try volunteering to see if it will help with me getting a job.

I need to get a job. I need to get blood work done to figure out if I have hypothyroidism because I had blood work more than a year ago showing I probably did but I needed a follow up. I need to start picking up my own medication because I am an adult and it is embarrassing that my mom picks it up when the store is a 10 minute walk away.

I can't take the small steps that I am told to take. I'm told to literally start in my room and work my way to the front door slowly feeling how I feel and calming myself down but it is so hard to push myself to do that because it is so uncomfortable. But I need to feel uncomfortable for change which really sucks because it is hard to push myself into that forcefully.

Sometimes I get the energy and motivation and my brain is just off to go somewhere and it worked in the past. But if the bus doesn't come in a short time I get anxious and I just can't go because waiting is unbearable for some reason. Even though to go where I am going I can wait in my house and the bus stop is right at the corner. I just start overthinking and it is a lot. I think of everyone watching me, the space I want to keep from them, how I feel large in a bus, how people might stare, how people might think I am weird, how I am clumsy on buses, etc. It just all overwhelms me at once and then I get back in my head.

But I am supposed to go on a trip with my boyfriend soon, it has been put off a lot because of different things with him. It is out of state and I am excited for it because I am hoping it gets me feeling okay with being outside more. It's going to be easier there because I feel like it doesn't matter if people look at me and think I am weird since I don't live there, I don't get anxiety sometimes but that's what's going on in my head. Then I convinced him to go to the beach with me soon because it is a lot easier to go out with someone I think is safe I just wish I could go alone. I am 21 and never have been to the beach alone. It really is a big goal I love the beach and I hate being ghostly pale I want to tan.

Maybe those things will get me on a roll to go out more. I also applied to jobs to see if my obsession with charms from Pandora right now will help me. I did the math and it is going to take around $1000 more to fill it completely which would be easy if I got a job because I could spend my first paycheck on that since I am supported the save from there. I bought one charm and got it already and I am going to get another one soon. After that I am all out of money though.

Can someone walk with you while you practice a few times? For example walk with Mom to get your meds a couple of times, then switch to doing yourself?

Sounds like you have all the right ideas, just need to start with a baby step. Will you pay back here when you do it?

 

[trying ungracefully]

Can someone walk with you while you practice a few times? For example walk with Mom to get your meds a couple of times, then switch to doing yourself?

Sounds like you have all the right ideas, just need to start with a baby step. Will you pay back here when you do it?

I could do that actually because my mom has mentioned how she'd be fine walking places with me and she already drove me to the pharmacy to see how to pick up my meds so I could know when I do it myself.

 

[an alien]

Have you tried even smaller steps? Going outside can be a lot. Can you get comfy sitting indoors next to an open door? Maybe close enough you could swing your legs outside but youre not outside, just getting fresh air. Then maybe move to just sitting outside for a few minutes and going in. Pick a time of day you are most comfortable. Maybe earlier in the day and you could listen for bird sounds, later in the evening and you could feel a bit more safe in dimmer light.

People that dont have these types of fear really over estimate what a baby step is but a baby step is whatever moves you forward no matter how small. A 10 min walk to a pharmacy is huge undertaking when even opening that front door makes your blood run cold. Walking to grab the mail is a way more conquerable task than a 10 minute walk and a pharmacy interaction and even then you still need to work up to a task that size. If you always view leaving the house as stress and things you have to do it will always have that fear behind it but what about just going to be outside just to be outside for a minute or two- no commitments, no errands, no demands, no appointments- just going outside for the sake of being outside and spending a couple minutes just outside your front door and getting some fresh air will give you the boost of "hey I did it!!" it make you feel like maybe you can do the bigger things. Give yourself smaller win conditions and you *will* be able to build yourself up to bigger and better things.

I dont pull these idea from nowhere either, my aunt had truly crippling agoraphobia for the better part of a decade and those are the kind of steps that got her moving again and now there is not a shred of fear left in her body about being out. Give yourself credit if you can just get to the door and open it- take a few deep breaths, and close the door again. Thats a win! Every step forward no matter how small it might seem is a win worth taking pride in. Whatever pace you can go at is the right one.