“What should I do if I have to move to another city in the future, but I’m afraid to even leave the house?” I often get asked questions related to working through agoraphobia. Where to begin? How to achieve global goals if something less global is scary? I’ll say right away - there is a way out! The main thing is to start looking at the problem from the right angle. It is important to take into account that you can move gradually, and even small results lead to global achievements in the future. If you reason according to the “all or nothing” principle, you can slide into self-criticism and disappointment. My professional advice: if it is difficult, divide the behavioral part of therapy into smaller sections, and if this is difficult, even smaller. What does it mean? Are you afraid to travel by bus to another city or a neighboring village alone? You can start by going with someone. If this seems impossible, take a walk in your area. Difficult? You can start going out the door and standing in the yard for 5 minutes. For some reason, some people think that this is not possible, because avoidant behavior must be eliminated. Yes, it needs to be removed, but this can be done gradually. Remember, there is no shame in starting with something simple and more understandable; the main thing is to write down a specific plan of action for yourself and start with what you can do. Even if it seems that your achievement is insignificant, on the scale of the entire therapy it is a huge step! The result may be wavy. That is, some days it may be better, some days it may be worse, but this does not mean that there is no result at all. Work on anxiety and agoraphobia happens in waves. Sometimes it’s easier, sometimes it’s more difficult. Your behavioral elaborations can be influenced by various factors: the presence or absence of a large number of people, your state of health, individual thoughts, activation of beliefs about an upcoming event, smells, sounds, circumstances. Therefore, the work proceeds gradually and, most importantly, through awareness of WHAT you are doing and why. It is important to take into account all its stages in the work: working with thoughts, behavior and body. Here is a good exercise for preparing and assessing behavioral activation: Write down thoughts regarding the upcoming elaboration. What worries you? What's scary? What assumptions and forecasts do you have? For example: “If I go outside, I will have a panic attack and will not survive it.” Next, you can remind yourself that you already know about panic (if you are not informed, go through the information stage first), why is it not dangerous, what does panic mean? In fact, a relatively healthy person is able to cope with panic and stress and survive these unpleasant sensations. You can mark your anxiety level when going outside: 0-10 points. And remind yourself of what you already know about a panic attack or symptom (unpleasant, does not mean dangerous). Afterwards, when you return home, remember what exactly helped you get out and be on the street, and what hindered you. What thoughts helped? Which ones got in the way? For example: the thoughts “Panic is not dangerous” helped me to be on the street and accept any condition in the body. Thoughts: “I need to run home, I’m going to die” were ineffective and based on past experience and lack of information about the condition. Also, write a short conclusion about the study: When I go outside, I may be scared, because before I was very afraid of panic, but I gain new experience and reinforce the belief that panic can be tolerated.” Thus, from the step By the next step you will advance in the skill of acceptance, and you will be able to start doing more complex elaborations. You will also get a complete picture of your anxiety portrait and exactly what thoughts help or hinder you from moving on. https://vk.com/rightmindpsy - more articles and useful videos in our community on working with anxiety and phobias