Can CBT help “Fear of Fear”

[DCarerParticipant]

This is my 1st post, I am a carer for my wife.  She is sometimes anxious about “contamination” for which I guess CBT might  help.

Her bigger problem is that she has had OCD for 2 years, so now she is anxious about being anxious, this is a real fear even though she knows that there is no contamination that can hurt her.  Its the anxiety she fears not the “contamination”.  SHe “wafts” her hands under the tap, not to clean them but as a learnt behaviour than reduces anxiety. She doesn’t believe CBT will help, as her fer is genuine and well demonstrated.

Has anyone put there come across this and used CBT?

[wannabefreeParticipant]

Hi there. I’ve only just seen your post, but my answer is an emphatic ‘Yes’.  CBT can and does indeed help. I have contamination OCD also.

Sometimes, ‘The only thing to fear, is fear itself’. In CBT we are supported to challenge the fear, head on, so that we effectively destroy it’s power over us. My GP referred me, it can take a while, waiting lists and such like. But the there is a really good book called ‘Feel the fear, and do it anyway’, by Susan Jeffers. It is easily obtained from Amazon or Waterstones etc. Another one is ‘The feeling good Handbook’ By David D. Burns. Both are brilliant, and a good read.

Welcome!

Wannabe

 

[Forum Moderators]

Hi:

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