I'm impressed by your honest and 'uncomfortable' post @thekittygirl. It can be such a challenge to feel discomfort while just trying to live your life.
I'm a psychologist, so I might be super biased and believe me if I say I do hear ya when you talk about feeling scared of the idea of spilling your guts to a stranger, but oh would I love to see you talking to a therapist! Without underestimating the severity of your anxieties, anxiety is basically one of the easiest things to treat! There are many coping strategies that already can be taught in 2 to 3 sessions! You don't even always have to go that deep to the source to already feel helped and make your life just that little bit easier...
Here in The Netherlands we don't work with drugs much, I would also never recommend trying that as a first remedy. It's often just suppressing feelings and creating an illusion of 'feeling better'. No judgement to those who use or need it, just my advise based on what you're sharing with us.
And from a non-therapist standpoint: I just want to give you a virtual hug :-) Good luck with this and be proud of stepping out of your comfort zone!
Thank you for the lovely and encouraging comment! Hearing that anxiety is one of the easiest things to treat is definitely a surprise, as it seems to be a deeply-entrenched thing with so many facets. Thank you for the virtual hugs and your kind and thought words! 😊
Ah, no thanks needed! I just feel like there are so many problems in our lifes we can sort of 'solve', and it just is such an upgrade to your well-being and general state of happiness if that succeeds!
The individual anxieties are relatively easy to treat - panic attacks are something that can be controlled with the right exercises, and if you want to get rid of crowd or street or other anxieties you can do that too. There might be a hormonal or another underlying component of course, which is what makes it complex and 'deeply-entranched', so a perfect solution might not be there, but your life can become so much easier!
See if you can find a cognitive behavioral therapist (with license please) in your area! If I need to check their website with a professional eye please let me know?
(I realize healthcare is basically free in the Netherlands, so I have no ideas if my 'motivational speech' about going into therapy has a very negative financial component in it for you - I hope it's available to you.)