Hi, I'm a 19 year old female and I've started having anxiety attacks since I was 13 when i was bullied but I felt like I have developed agoraphobia. I would like to apologize beforehand for the lengthy post since I'm new to this.

Since i was just 13, I did not know what was happening and I started to fear my own thoughts as i started thinking of what is wrong with me physically since no adults would believe that my attacks are anything serious. However, now it has gotten to the point that this i feel constantly afraid of being embarrased and having attacks in public and it is disrupting with my life. I started to fear people and going out of my house,especially places which are crowded and noisy where my attacks would usually occur. This has also affected my social life and self esteem. The anxiety and fear that's been growing in me for years only went downhill when i finally saw a psychiatrist a few months ago. He only told me that I have anxiety attacks and gave me anti-depressants, changing the type of anti-depressant when I told him it only got worse. The fact that my anxiety is real only made me more concious of it and I started to stress myself and fear my thoughts even more. I couldn't find a way to stop my anxieties and the psychiatrists only says the same things my friends and family did such as 'find a hobby, exercise and get in touch with friends.' The problem is, my anxiety and agoraphobia itself is ruining my social life and happiness. I can't socialize with people without fearing that they would judge me or hate me and I can't get myself to exercise since i always feel light headed and get attacks when i exercise which makes me fear having an attack if i try to jog or swim. I know I need to stop being afraid but I don't know how to convince myself. I realize the problem is in me and the psychiatrist did not help me uncover my problems so I stopped going for therapies.

However, I cannot get out of this anxiety loop. It's gotten to the point that don't know what to do anymore. I can't look forward to life and the fact that this is all just in my head is making me feel insane. I've been an emotional wreck ever since the psychiatrist confirmed that i have anxiety issues. I feel as if all the fears and anxiety i had since i was 13 was confirmed and I suddenly have to handle it. This is too much for me. Please tell me what you think I should do to stop or accept my anxieties or your own experience so that I can understand it better and know i'm not the only one....