How to Cope With Germaphobia

Germaphobia, also known as mysophobia, is an irrational fear that overestimates the risk of being exposed to dangerous germs. Many people of all ages suffer from various levels of germaphobia. These steps assist sufferers and their loved ones with coping and finding help with this mental disorder.

Instructions

Difficulty: Challenging

1. Determine if you have symptoms of germaphobia. Common symptoms are dizziness, breathlessness, nausea, dry mouth and raised heart rate when presented with the possibility of unclean or germ ridden activities.
2. Monitor other reactions to situations where you feel you are exposed to harmful germs. Excessive hand washing, avoiding social settings or not directly touching door knobs are typical behaviors of germaphobia sufferers.
3. Seek professional treatment such as behavior therapy for the irrational fear of germs. Behavior therapy includes exposing the germaphobe to feared situations such as hand shaking and helping them to avoid a reaction like using an excessive amount of hand sanitizer.
4. Try different treatments such as Energy Psychology, hypnotherapy and modeling if necessary. Sometimes anti-anxiety medications such as Paxil, Prozac and Zoloft are coupled with other treatments and behavior therapy.
5. Evaluate the effectiveness of the treatment with a professional, psychologist or psychiatrist, to determine when your fear of germs is manageable. Reactions to different situations that usually trigger anxious behavior is one way to determine treatment progress.

Tips & Warnings

• Seek professional help especially if this phobia disrupts the sufferer's life causing them to be isolated.
• A germaphobe is often a sufferer of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, thoughts leading to excessive and compulsive actions, and hypocondriasis, fear of getting ill.