Hi there, this is my first time posting here so i’ll give a little background. I’m a 19 F living in the UK, and i’ve struggled with anxiety my entire life. I learned to drive just over a year ago, and roughly 6 months ago I developed extreme driving anxiety, that then progressed into my everyday life, at university lectures and at work.

However, I’ve noticed that since i’m barely working due to COVID, and my university has been all online, that anytime I have to leave my home, the anxiety is completely overwhelming. I’m assuming this is due to my lack of exposure to the outside world, the bright lights and crowds of people throughout the year, causing me to become extremely sensitive to it. I’m just curious if anyone has noticed a similar reaction to the pandemic and their anxiety, and if so, how do you plan to tackle it? I really don’t want to be scared to leave my home for fear of becoming overwhelmed and having a panic attack. 

I should also just mention that this anxiety doesn’t come from a fear of getting COVID, it is more just having severe anxiety symptoms anywhere outside of my house such as in shops, in long car journeys, out for walks etc.