A woman who suffered with crippling agoraphobia "struggled" to leave her house for SIX YEARS. "

Rachel Williamson, 25, was diagnosed with agoraphobia - a fear of public spaces - in September 2024.

She even found it "difficult" to go further than her own back garden without "feeling physically sick". "

It came after a six-year-long battle with anxiety and panic attacks every time she left her home, which started back in December 2019, when she woke up for work one morning and felt "overwhelmingly anxious". "

The customer service worker called in sick and two weeks later lost her job after things "snowballed". "

Rachel, who had only left her home 12 times in six years, said that going beyond her garden or the local garage felt "impossible" - and that she often ignored the door, even for family, choosing to stay in bed instead."

She missed important events as a result - including her parents' retirement party and her dad's 70th birthday - as most days were either spent in her room or occupying herself with anything she could find around the house.

It wasn't until Rachel reconnected with an old friend, her now boyfriend, Mikey Farrow, 26, after securing a working-from-home job as another customer assistant, that she was prompted to go to the doctors and received a diagnosis.

She now undergoes therapy and takes anti-anxiety medication daily, which has "helped" coax her out of the house. "

Rachel, who had no previous health conditions, from Kildare, Ireland, 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."

Rachel was diagnosed with agoraphobia - a fear of public spaces - in September 2024.

It came after she woke up one morning before work "feeling anxious" six years prior."

"I was working as normal until I woke up one morning and had an overwhelming anxiety," she said. "

"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." "

She initially thought her anxiety was a PTSD response, which came after an alleged sexual attack earlier that year.

But when months passed of being completely housebound, 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."

Rachel admitted the panic disorder "destroyed" her social life."

She would "make excuses" to friends and family as to why she was unable to hang out."

And as a result, she missed out on important events, including her parents' retirement party and her dad's 70th birthday.

"People kept asking what was wrong with me," she said. "

Rachel never went to the local shops - the closest being a garage which was under 400 metres away - and when family members would turn up at her door, she would confine herself to her bedroom.

"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." "

Despite her struggles with socialising, Rachel reunited with an old friend and colleague, Mikey, who had messaged her for a date, three months after securing a work-from-home customer service job in April 2022.

He helped her battle her demons, and the couple moved to Waterford, Ireland, with each other in December that year, which was an hour away from Rachel's home, and was the furthest and first time she had left her house.

"He understood me and I appreciated his support so much," she said. "

But soon her dark days returned, and after almost another two years of isolation, 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," she 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 following months have been "life-changing" for her as she's begun to feel more like her usual self. "

"The medication has worked wonders," she said."

"It's completely changed my life, and I'm more inclined to leave the house now." "

Rachel admits she now leaves the house at least twice a week and says "this year has been filled with milestones", being the first time in six years she's gone to the beach, shopped, and dined in a restaurant. "

She said: "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."