Hello this might seem a confusing question but has anyone got a phobia that makes them avoid going out that isnt agoraphobia?
I have a severe dog phobia that has got so bad i dont go out at all other than if i get a taxi or a lift off a family member to take me door to door. i can not walk any where in case of the fear of seeing a dog. this is getting very difficult for me as i have a daughter who's nearly 7 and i can not take her to school, take her to the park or anything, it is very upsetting when once she came home and said that one of the kids at school thought that she didnt have a mum. i have had a couple of different cognitive behavioral therapy courses but none that had any affect as they weren't long enough and the therapist didnt really go the route i wanted to go down. i have recently started to get a little help from my sister who has just got a puppy, i have use the strategies that were in a phobia book that i got and im doing small steps to being able to be near the dog, i have only been to do this 3 times but next time i am hoping to be able to stand next to the dog outside while its on the lead. i know i am a long way away to overcoming my phobia but it is progress.
if anyone has got a phobia doesnt have to be a dog phobia like mine but has preventing them from going out normally please get in touch, it would be great to hear from others with similar situations because can get very lonely not having people who truely understand how it feels to feel trapped by a horrible phobia.
thank you for reading.
heather (cheshire,england)