Hello there. My name's Emily, I'm 18-years-old, and I've suffered from this phobia my whole life. As a kid, it always caused a lot of avoidance, but never any true anxiety. Just recently, I've been a total wreck, though. I've been having panic attacks every night for the past three weeks, which makes me feel n*, which only causes more panic, so on and so forth. Literally nothing can distract me anymore. My therapist gave me tips on how to calm down, but nothing works, and I'm feeling pretty helpless. I see my therapist for OCD and I really feel like I should be on medication, since my OCD and anxiety is getting out of control, but I'm cripplingly afraid to try a medication in the fear that it'll make me n* or v*. I honestly feel like I'm in a huge pickle because either option brings me great worries. I either stay off of medication and live in constant anxiety, or get on medication, and live in constant anxiety that it'll make me feel worse physically. I'm totally stuck, which is why I came here. Hopefully I can make some friends and at least feel less alone.
Phobias aside, I'm going to school for fashion, I love alternative music, and work at a dog groomers. Oddly enough, the doggy-germs don't freak me out! Nice to meet you guys, and hope to hear from you soon