Dominate Your Fears

A better understanding of phobia entails knowing other mental disorders related to it. They are identical in some ways, and similar remedies are applicable for their control.

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

When a thing becomes an obsession and is a result of compulsion (urgent, repeated behaviors), you have a serious problem. When you wash your hands 30 to 50 times a day for fear of getting germs through your hands, chances are, you have OCD. When you watch out for cracks on the ground or pavement each time you walk for fear of being swallowed up by the earth, you probably have OCD.

General Anxiety Disorder (GAD)

When you are always afraid and restless for no apparent reason, and you are always at the verge of panic, you probably have a case of GAD. Some people, especially women, have this feeling and attribute it to their intuition. Many experts are of this opinion. However, if the anxiety is near panic accompanied by slight body tremors, it may be GAD.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

When past tragic fears recur in your dreams, imaginations, and guilt, and cause anxiety that lasts for months and even years, it might be a PTSD. The tragedy may be brought about by war, rape, natural and unnatural calamities (flood, tornado, or accidents) that have embedded themselves in the subconscious being of the victim.

Somatoform Disorders (SD)

If you complain of an ailment or disease that may just be a result of your imagination, you may have SD. You think you really feel the symptoms of the ailment; but when the doctors test you, the results are negative. When you are afflicted with SD, you feel frustrated with having to suffer some ailment; when in fact, you don’t have any sickness. You may even get irritated when people find nothing wrong with you.

These disorders may accompany a phobia. When you see these symptoms, consult a professional counselor. Better yet, visit a psychiatrist.

Professional help, along with techniques in this book, can help you counteract such disorders. You can choose to master your fears and phobias and make them bow to you, instead of you bowing to them.