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always 101
02-09-2006, 03:39 AM
hi guys,
I'm new to any sort of interaction via the internet so this is fairly strange for me.
I'm a 24 year old male from london and am fairly sure that i'm suffering from both agoraphobia and anxiety.
I've been like this for a couple of years now and the symptoms show no signs of abbating.
I have a completly indifferent GP and a collection of friends who have no counternance for this type of illness so i'm relieved to be able to finally asuage some of the reppression i feel by conveying some of my feelings thus.
I've earned a living playing poker for around 3 years now but can no longer play in live games anymore as the attention it provokes, i find simply overwhelming.
I have become progressivly withdrawn from the world and only socialise around once every 3 weeks.
Playing poker online for a considerable period of time has undoubtabley contributed to the exacerbation of this problem.
It came to fruition last week when i put off going shopping for days as i just couldn't face it,it really caused me some distress.
I really needed to go and had to drink half a bottle of brandy just to undertake this most simple of tasks.
I find that i'm inordinatly pensive, and often fantasize about where i'm going and what i'm going to do with no real intention of doing anything that involves egressing the perameters of my house.
I some times dont eat for days and get unusualy nervous at even the smallest thing.I'm very self concious when i go out and believe everyone is looking at me, and the more they look , the more awkward i feel. like to hear what you think guys, thanks for listening.

Bridgie
02-13-2006, 01:10 PM
Hi Always, and Welcome to the forum! In my opinion, yes, your withdrawing from the world and hiding behind you computer screen is aggravating your problem. I am no expert, but I would recommend exposure therapy. The more you go out and do things, the easier it becomes. It may be difficult, but I think it essential to overcoming a lot of our problems and fears. Just read around the forums, you will find a lot of useful info here and many others who are experiencing the same thing. Good luck!