Are you stuck inside your house or even your bedroom and you can't leave? Please let us know!
Hello everyone, I'm doing a listener project on the Hikikomori issue that is so prevalent among us social anxiety sufferers, yet it doesn't have good support systems or discussion.
Hikikomori (literally "pulling inward, being confined", i.e., "acute social withdrawal") is a Japanese term to refer to the phenomenon of reclusive adolescents or adults who withdraw from social life, often seeking extreme degrees of isolation and confinement. The term hikikomori refers to both the sociological phenomenon in general and the people belonging to this societal group. Hikikomori have been described as recluses, loners, or "modern-day hermits".
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hikikomori
Are you stuck inside your house or even just your bedroom and you can't leave?
Please let us know!
@BadIdeaFairy I'm not "stuck" per se, but I am pretty much hikikomori...
I've been Hikikomori for almost 3 years now 
I've been struggling with this for almost 2 years now. Some days I can go out and work and run errands, but then other times I cannot do it. Most of this year has been spent home, alone trying to convince myself that the world is an okay place to be in. Some days I don't even leave my bedroom or go outside. Sometimes I can't remember how long it's been since I went anywhere that I just get in the car and drive 4 minutes away to the closest shopping center. Some weeks I leave the house everyday, some weeks I am confined to one corner of my bedroom. I'm not really sure what to do anymore. This is maybe the 4th or 5th time this has happened to me in my adult life. I have seen so many things fall apart because I couldn't do things anymore. I do all the small things everyday that I can because I don't know what else to do. It's helped with my anxiety attacks and depression but I have an intense feeling when I think about going to work or school. I put myself in really uncomfortable situations because I hope it helps. It doesn't seem to be. My job is very, very social. I can't go and not be social because I work for cash and I would be broke(which is why I am now). I haven't worked since Memorial weekend. I don't know if I still have a contract anymore. This wasn't supposed to be this long but I don't know what to do. I can handle my depression and anxiety now but I have no idea how to handle this.
I'm struggling with this too though mostly because I'm a spineless piece of shit too afraid of the world at large, so I forever indulge in escapism. I'm pathetic and worthless. I should be killed.
@C137RickSanchez
I completely understand how you would think that, I do as well sometimes. I don't think you realise how much strength and courage and resilience it takes to suffer from this and still get up every morning. You're an incredible human being, despite what your anxiety is telling you. Please don't give up. I'm always here if you need to talk.
@beginning it takes nothing of anything to simply not die, and that's all there is to it. It's not strength or willpower, it's simply that nothing has killed me and I'm too spineless to kill myself
😞
@BadIdeaFairy
I am 
I am a home body. People make me nervous. Home is my safe place.
Thank you for everyone who took this opportunity to be heard about being stuck in your house. I am stuck too.
I battle with this daily
For a short time (about a month) in 2012 and again two years ago up until late last year, I was having panic attacks where I would feel dizzy and as if I was going to pass out if I left the house and tried to walk to the bus stops.
One of the causes of this was a congenital cataract that was rapidly progressing in my left eye and throwing off my balance. The rest of it seemed to be "all in my head" so to speak. Once I got the cataract removed, began taking my antidepressant, and began working toward improving confidence in simply walking from the bus stops back to my condo without feeling dizzy, I began signing up for and going to MeetUp events that I was interested in, and I haven't had any full-on panic attack since. 
@AbbyHarris1976
Yea meetup groups I was told help you get out and make friends. I just came back from one called Women helping Women, it was really cool to talk about somethings I'm going thru with other women and to get some things off my chest. If only there were more participation in groups in my area ( several people rsvp but don't show up)
@tadpurp01
Thst happens to me, also ... and I organize a group, so it really is the dog days of summer when I want to schedule something and no one shows up. Im still going to keep up with this and maybe theyll start coming when they see Im serious about keeping the group going
@AbbyHarris1976 - thank you SO much for sharing your experience!! I actually have bouts of being anxious to leave the house besides going to work, until I actually get myself out there and realize its not so bad after all - it actually makes me feel much more productive and accomplished for the day. One thing I noticed that Id like to share is that my husband, the awesome person he is, will go to the store for me whenever I need anything at all - food, medicine, etc. One weekend, he went away for a bachelor party and I was forced to leave the house if I wanted anything. It was that weekend that I realized that him doing everything for me became a crutch and a security blanket for me, and there was no reason I couldnt leave the house to get things for myself! Its just about pushing past those comfort zones. Whenever I feel myself fall back into that rut, I take a quick trip to grab coffee or another small errand to snap myself out of it. So happy to hear youre doing well with this!
@SunflowerSeed1233
You're welcome!
It was my therapist at my workplace who I was seeing last year who suggested MeetUp. That was a real breakthrough for me and I soon "graduated" from the CBT. I checked in with her last November to let her know about all the progress I've made since then.