Here's MY question, which may or may not have been addressed already--my apologies if it has.



How in the WORLD does looking at pictures and listening to sounds of sick cure one who is only afraid of being sick themselves??



Sage, you say that after your initial therapy, you were rid of the fear
of getting sick yourself. This was acccomplished using exposure
therapy as you've outlined in your excellent articles on this site,
correct?



Well, um...how IS that?? How can you not fear yourself getting
sick without experiencing it directly during exposure therapy?



The reason I'm asking? My psychiatrist recently recommended that
I use ipecac to cure myself of the phobia--to give him a little credit,
he did suggest I do that only after completing a hierarchy of other
exposures, but...! My phobia is pretty mild
compared to some others I've been reading about here, but the intrusive
and unwanted daily thoughts drive me CRAZY.



Anyway, that's it. I'm new here, so I apologize for any protocol
I haven't followed. If anyone has any questions about my doctor,
my meds, or what my sessions have been like, feel free to ask. I
know I didn't know what to expect when I started therapy, so if I can
ease the uncertainty for others, I'm happy to do it.



LostAngeleno


Edited by: lostangeleno