Rachel Williamson, from Kildare, Ireland was diagnosed with agoraphobia – a fear of public spaces – in September 2024 and would feel physically sick even if she went out in her garden
A young woman barely left her house for six years after one day waking up and feeling “overwhelmingly anxious and fearful”. Rachel Williamson lost her job and refused to socialise with friends as things quickly “snowballed” in December 2019.
The customer service worker, from Kildare, Ireland even missed important events including her parents’ retirement party and her dad’s 70th birthday. The 25-year-old admitted that going beyond her garden or the local garage felt “impossible”, even though the shop was just 400 metres away. Rachel was diagnosed with agoraphobia – a fear of public spaces – in September 2024 and now undergoes therapy and takes anti-anxiety medication daily.
Rachel, who had no previous health conditions, said: “It essentially came out of nowhere. Growing up, I was the complete opposite. I was lively, sociable, and always wanted to go out and have fun.
“But then one morning I woke up and felt overwhelmingly anxious and fearful. It completely consumed me and took over my entire life – and I just simply never left my home. I’ve missed out on so much, lost friends and precious moments with my loved ones. But now I’m on treatment and I feel a lot more hopeful about the future.”
She added: “I was working as normal until I woke up one morning and had an overwhelming anxiety. I was phoning in sick so often and giving them every excuse under the sun. I never stepped foot in the office again. Things unfortunately snowballed from there, and I soon became completely housebound.”
Rachel, who had only left her home 12 times in six years, initially thought her anxiety was a PTSD response, which came after an alleged attack, but after a number of months she “knew it was something more chronic”. “What started as me avoiding work, progressed into me not leaving my house at all,” Rachel said. “I didn’t want to go to doctors’ appointments, which made getting help more difficult.
“And I couldn’t walk as far as the end of the garden. Every time I approached my front door or even thought about going outside, it was like an overwhelming panic attack.”
The condition “destroyed” Rachel’s social life and she would “make excuses” to friends and family as to why she was unable to hang out. People started to question what was wrong with her and she would even confine herself to her bedroom when family members would turn up at her door.
“I just felt trapped,” she said. “All I would do with myself is wake up, have breakfast and then do essentially nothing with my life.”
With the help of boyfriend Mikey Farrow, 26, who she reconnected with after securing a working-from-home job as another customer assistant, Rachel was prompted to go to the doctors and received a diagnosis. He helped her battle her demons and the couple moved to Waterford, Ireland, with each other in December 2022, which was an hour away from Rachel’s home, and was the furthest and first time she had left her house.
But Rachel soon fell back into her old ways and, again, rarely left the house for another two years. Mikey prompted her to visit her local doctor back home in Kildare, and in September 2024, she was finally diagnosed with agoraphobia.
“We both finally had enough,” Rachel said. “Our date nights were only movie nights, and our life as a couple didn’t really exist outside of the house.
“I took a mental health assessment, and when I finally received my diagnosis, it was a bittersweet moment. For so long, I wanted answers and felt like people didn’t take me seriously. I was finally seen.”
Rachel was prescribed cognitive behavioural therapy and venlafaxine – an anti-anxiety medication. The impact the medication and therapy has had has been “lifechanging” and Rachel now leaves the house at least twice a week. She’s managed to go to the beach, go shopping and have dinner at a restaurant for the first time in six years.
“The medication has worked wonders,” she said. “It’s completely changed my life, and I’m more inclined to leave the house now.”
She added: “I feel OK to pick a few things up from the local supermarket and just recently my partner and I went to the beach. I haven’t been to one in over six years, but every day I’m conquering something new. I feel like I’ve left behind my most valuable years. But now I’m more determined than ever to re-live them – it’s just one step at a time.”