Odd bit here. Not sure if it is true of all agoraphobics, but for me it is much easier talking to people I don't know, and being in places I have never been or better still do not ever have to be again.
My Psychiatrist has expressed the reasoning that I don't feel trapped on these occasions. And I think that is probably the best way to explain it. If I get overly panicked I can back my way out of these encounters quickly, without worry of explaining later.
It isn't perfect. I still have times where I leave a half finished shopping cart in a grocery aisle and make a dash to escape during a panic attack. But these events are rare these days as I am careful about when I shop to avoid crowds. LOL, all I ask, is old ladies, and it's always the old ladies, PLEASE quit blocking the aisle with your carts and your rears and especially when you corner me on both sides! Trigger! Triggertriggertrigger.
Yet, you will find me at garage sales and antique stores and driving two lane roads to small towns and out of the way places to eat...alone. And I'll be happy and singing to the radio and chuckling at the cheap prices as antiques are soooo undervalued these days.
It's a weird life when one struggles to understand their own illness. But I'm getting there. And yes, talk to strangers! Much easier than explaining why you didn't show up for Thanksgiving again!