>But just being aware of that and wanting to do so, isn't enough to make it reasonably possible. It takes work, sometimes a lot of work, and time, to fix the anxiety and such.
"Getting off your ass" is the first step to getting past anxiety.
>you don't sounds like a hikki, you just sound like someone who had a more normal kind of reclusive period
To be honest, most people on here who call themselves "hiki" seem to just be relatively normal people who have slipped into a reclusive way of life somehow, but don't want to go back to 'normal' life so have this cool little label that means that they are unique. I'm not saying these people don't suffer anxiety about going outside after such a long period because it's such a major change. But just because a person is scared to go outside it doesn't mean that they should stay inside for the rest of their life.