How did you go about getting help?

[peachykeen]

This is killing me. I need to do something to help myself, but I don't
even know where to begin. I'm so stressed around the clock about
my kids, hubby, or myself getting ill. I'm to the point that I hardly
ever leave the house, and take the kids out even less. They're not
school age yet (TG), and they have literally been out of the house
two times in the last month. I only leave once a week, to get
groceries. Every time we leave I'm in a panic for two days after we
get home, until I feel like the "danger" time has passed and we're
mostly clear of getting ill. My hubby works, and there are so many
sv's going around now, and I'm so stressed! His boss has had ill kids
this week, someone at his work was complaining of stomach pain
today. I'm almost afraid to touch him when he gets home, because
what if he was exposed and gets ill overnight? Really, we leave the
house so little that the only way the kids or I could get s* would be
from hubby. I feel like I'm wishing my life away, constantly wishing
it was two weeks from now, or two months from now, or
summertime, so maybe the sv wouldn't be going around so much
and I could relax a little.

I've looked at the treatments board and gone through the exposure
therapy link, where it shows the photos that increasingly get more
graphic. Those didn't bother me at all. I mean, I hate to see
someone v*, but for me the fear is specifically of contagious v* and
of myself getting a v* illness. Plus, my kids v* for various reasons
(they've never had a sv though), and I can deal with it fine because I
know I won't catch anything from it.

I don't have a general doctor that I can talk to about this. How do I
find someone that can help me deal? Where do you look for a
therapist that is experienced with phobias? Do you just start calling
and asking? How about getting anxiety meds? I think I could use
some, they might help me cope better than I am. I just don't even
know where to start, but I do know that I'm tired of living like this,
and it can't be good for my physical health, to be this poor in my
mental health. Help!!

[fafa]

Wow, yousound really stressed. I'm no doctor but it really isn't healthy for your kids to be at home all the time. I think it is actually healthier for them in the long run that they get a bit ill so that their immune systems are better. I don't mean to freak you out but I don't think you staying in doors will prevent your kids, you or your hubby getting ill. I think it is probably safer to make sure that you all eat healthy foods, get plenty of excercise and fight illnesses off naturally. You've [like all of us] have already got one phobia you really don't need another one [i.e agraphobia]...


I understand your fear of getting the dreaded sv* as I am so petrified of it myself, but you just need to get up each day and lead a normal life, as you don't want to look back and think that your curbed your life, love and fun with the family for something that might not ever happen to you or your family and if it does it will end and you will all recover naturally.


I'm sorry but I don't have any links or info for treatments, have you searched on the internet? Might be worth getting another doctor to talk to.


I hope you feel better.

[peachykeen]

Thanks for your reply! I know my kids need to be out in the world,
that's part of what makes this so hard - I don't want to hinder their
development because of my phobia. They do get ill with colds often.
In fact, they've had two nasty colds in the last 6 weeks. Colds don't
bother me in the least. I've been accused of being a germaphobe,
but I don't consider my self to be - I'm just a sv-aphobe, lol! I guess
in my mind I've convinced myself that if we don't go anywhere we
won't be exposed to the nasties and have a better chance of staying
healthy.

I guess maybe I'll see if there are any therapists in my area that will
accept our health insurance, then start calling them to see if any deal
with phobias. I don't really know where else to begin, but I know
that something has to change because I can't live the rest of my life
like this.