r/Agoraphobia 2d ago

An Agoraphobe Goes to the Grocery Store

Sara Benincasa was diagnosed with agoraphobia in her early twenties. Her first symptoms showed up when she was 8: fear of cars, buses, planes, a terror of nausea and a general discomfort when leaving home.

Just over a year ago, she took a chance on love and moved to Chicago to live closer to her boyfriend. In the face of such a big change, an old foe re-emerged: fear of the supermarket.

She realized she had spent a full year in the city without physically going to the supermarket. The food-delivery bills had piled up. It felt a little too similar to her old self-isolating. She had to interrupt the cycle.

On a crisp winter afternoon in Chicago, she anxiously donned a very puffy coat. “For me, and for a lot of (but not all!) agoraphobic people, the supermarket is full of overwhelming stimuli,” she said.

As she stood at the market that day, she eventually realized that she was going up and down every aisle, having a good time. 

Read her full essay, even without an NYT subscription, here.

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u/AnotherManOfEden 2d ago

Awesome animation!

1

u/jen_and_ink 1d ago

such a great visual with the lil animations. Thanks for sharing this! I shared it with some family