Hey guys, this is the most mature community I know of, with a lot of educated people with a lot of life experience, and I am looking for your help today.
Basically one of my friends (this isn't a fake friend but a real friend) has been declining coming out with over a long period of time, I thought something was wrong so I asked him. He told me he had a fear of going outdoors which he had acquired recently, and that whenever he left the house he had panic attacks. My problem is this, I found out about this roughly a year ago, and my friend promised me he was getting help, he isn't very open and doesn't speak to me about it, so I don't breach the subject. I thought he might have gotten over his phobia so I invited him out to go watch a movie with me and some other friends, and he declined saying he had a christening to go to (an outdoor event going to a public place) so I assumed he was alright about going out now, so we re-scheduled for another day. The night before we was gonna go out he tells me he still has his phobia and whenever he goes out he still has panic attacks, but NOW he is seeing someone to help him get over his phobia.
I have absolutely no idea whats going on, and I have no idea what I should do. At the moment I have two trains of thought, one he has a serious illness and needs my help and support to get through it, and if thats the case then I would like some suggestions on how I can help him, if anyone here has any hands on experience with Agoraphobia or knows anyone who has got over it. And my second thought is that he is lieing, very badly, just so he doesn't have to go out with me, and has come up with this exscuse so he doesn't hurt my feelings because he doesn't like hanging out with me.
Some background information: He is a student, he doesn't work. He tells me he has friends at his house all the time, but I've never actually asked if I could hang out at his house, because I'm not sure if his phobia extends to having people in his house, or if it's just when he goes outside.
Basically one of my friends (this isn't a fake friend but a real friend) has been declining coming out with over a long period of time, I thought something was wrong so I asked him. He told me he had a fear of going outdoors which he had acquired recently, and that whenever he left the house he had panic attacks. My problem is this, I found out about this roughly a year ago, and my friend promised me he was getting help, he isn't very open and doesn't speak to me about it, so I don't breach the subject. I thought he might have gotten over his phobia so I invited him out to go watch a movie with me and some other friends, and he declined saying he had a christening to go to (an outdoor event going to a public place) so I assumed he was alright about going out now, so we re-scheduled for another day. The night before we was gonna go out he tells me he still has his phobia and whenever he goes out he still has panic attacks, but NOW he is seeing someone to help him get over his phobia.
I have absolutely no idea whats going on, and I have no idea what I should do. At the moment I have two trains of thought, one he has a serious illness and needs my help and support to get through it, and if thats the case then I would like some suggestions on how I can help him, if anyone here has any hands on experience with Agoraphobia or knows anyone who has got over it. And my second thought is that he is lieing, very badly, just so he doesn't have to go out with me, and has come up with this exscuse so he doesn't hurt my feelings because he doesn't like hanging out with me.
Some background information: He is a student, he doesn't work. He tells me he has friends at his house all the time, but I've never actually asked if I could hang out at his house, because I'm not sure if his phobia extends to having people in his house, or if it's just when he goes outside.
