John
04-14-2009, 01:50 PM
An agoraphobic mother has left her house for the first time in 20 years - thanks to Google Street View.
Sue Curtis, 40, has spent half her life inside her home and even married husband Alan in her sitting room, reports the Daily Telegraph.
But the mother-of-two's interest was sparked by Google Street View which led her to try self-help classes online.
And she has finally now ventured onto the pavement outside her house in West Harton, South Shields.
Mrs Curtis said: "It may not seem very far to walk, but for me, this is amazing, I'm getting there very slowly, and now I don't see no reason why I can't be cured in the future and lead a normal life again.
"It's all down to the classes, I've said for years I needed cognitive behavioural therapy to help me, and now that I've got access to it, I've been able to learn, and I feel like I have a new lease of life."
Mrs Curtis stopped leaving the house after experiencing severe panic attacks a day in 1989.
"It was very scary. At one point I was suffering between 15 and 20 attacks a day, my weight dropped down to just over five stone and I ended up bed-bound for 18 months," she said.
"It gradually came to a point where I knew I didn't want to be or go outside, so I just stayed in."
Sue Curtis, 40, has spent half her life inside her home and even married husband Alan in her sitting room, reports the Daily Telegraph.
But the mother-of-two's interest was sparked by Google Street View which led her to try self-help classes online.
And she has finally now ventured onto the pavement outside her house in West Harton, South Shields.
Mrs Curtis said: "It may not seem very far to walk, but for me, this is amazing, I'm getting there very slowly, and now I don't see no reason why I can't be cured in the future and lead a normal life again.
"It's all down to the classes, I've said for years I needed cognitive behavioural therapy to help me, and now that I've got access to it, I've been able to learn, and I feel like I have a new lease of life."
Mrs Curtis stopped leaving the house after experiencing severe panic attacks a day in 1989.
"It was very scary. At one point I was suffering between 15 and 20 attacks a day, my weight dropped down to just over five stone and I ended up bed-bound for 18 months," she said.
"It gradually came to a point where I knew I didn't want to be or go outside, so I just stayed in."