I never planned to become the expert on agoraphobia. Believe me, that's about the last thing I expected to do.

My education in psychology doesn't make me an agoraphobia expert. I'm also not an expert because I put up this web site.

Agoraphobia is something you have to experience to understand.

I am the expert on agoraphobia because I know the pain of living with it.

If you have agoraphobia right now, I understand the pain you are going through.....from personal experience. I’ve spent two years housebound with agoraphobia and five more suffering from panic attacks, anxiety, and stress-related illnesses.

My first panic attack happened while playing baseball. Suddenly, it felt like I couldn’t breathe. Then my heart started pounding and I got sweaty and shaky all over. My vision blurred, my mind started racing, and I felt like I was going to pass out or go crazy.

After that first panic attack, I spent many nights pacing around my house hyperventilating out of control, thinking I was about to die. I spent many days trapped in my house, on edge with anxiety, watching life pass by out the window.

I tried doctors - and got prescribed addictive medication I was afraid to take.

I tried a psychologist - but ended up paying by the hour to discuss a childhood I had no power to change.

I tried a support group - but had trouble sitting still in front of other people without having a panic attack.

Nothing seemed to help.

I finally recovered from agoraphobia when I took things into my own hands and followed a self-help program. I decided to quit looking for someone or something else to fix me and took responsibility for my own recovery. That decision changed my life.

Recovering from agoraphobia was hard work. I practiced all of the mainstream self-help techniques as if training for a sport - breathing and muscle relaxation, visualization, systematic desensitization, and replacing irrational thoughts.

I have to be honest - sometimes it seemed like these techniques were working, and other times I felt like I would be a prisoner in my home for the rest of my life.

On the journey back from agoraphobia, two discoveries made the difference for me:

• I discovered the positive side of panic - that the same charactertics that contributed to panic were also gifts I could use to my advantage.
• I found a purpose for living greater than my fear.

Now my passion in life is helping others make the same discoveries and reclaim their lives from agoraphobia as I did.

Since my recovery, I have earned two masters degrees (one in psychology and one in counseling) and lead a recovery group in my hometown of Clovis, California. I have also created this website with many articles on agoraphobia and other resources to help you.

I want to help you replace panic with a sense of purpose. I want to help you replace fear with freedom.

If a guy like me can do it, I know that you can too.

Sincerely,

Stephen Price
Agoraphobia Expert
Panic and Phobia Coach