My fear

[sister-ray]

I suffer with aniexty, depression and agrophobia but in the midst of all that I have a phobia about electric and gas things, I fear they are going catch fire, or leak and I wont be able to get me and my pets out in time, It got a a point where if i brought anything new I would have to have someone with me when first using it, I have been known to buy things and not use them for ages, and also when electric things heat up they creak sometimes,I feel very sensitive to this and feel they are faulty, luckily at the moment its not too bad but it has made my life intolerable sometimes, has anyone else ever had this, or heard of it?

 

[sister-ray]

I suffer with aniexty, depression and agrophobia but in the midst of all that I have a phobia about electric and gas things, I fear they are going catch fire, or leak and I wont be able to get me and my pets out in time, It got a a point where if i brought anything new I would have to have someone with me when first using it, I have been known to buy things and not use them for ages, and also when electric things heat up they creak sometimes,I feel very sensitive to this and feel they are faulty, luckily at the moment its not too bad but it has made my life intolerable sometimes, has anyone else ever had this, or heard of it?

 

[David Baxter PhD]

I have had a few clients with similar problems. In those cases, it was a form of OCD -- obsessive intrusive thoughts but without the compulsions (rituals).

 

[David Baxter PhD]

I have had a few clients with similar problems. In those cases, it was a form of OCD -- obsessive intrusive thoughts but without the compulsions (rituals).

 

[sister-ray]

Hello Mr baxter,
I know my thoughts come from my childhood. I had a father who was always doing DIY with things and he manged to blow a TV up, caused a small fire in a heater after repairing it wrong, the same happened with many other things, I remember as a child always being scared to touch electrical things just incase, that has haunted neally all of my life, its so hard to be rid of these things from childhood.

 

[sister-ray]

Hello Mr baxter,
I know my thoughts come from my childhood. I had a father who was always doing DIY with things and he manged to blow a TV up, caused a small fire in a heater after repairing it wrong, the same happened with many other things, I remember as a child always being scared to touch electrical things just incase, that has haunted neally all of my life, its so hard to be rid of these things from childhood.

 

[David Baxter PhD]

The clients I am referring to also had triggers for their obsessive thoughts. It's a treatable problem, though.

 

[David Baxter PhD]

The clients I am referring to also had triggers for their obsessive thoughts. It's a treatable problem, though.

 

[sister-ray]

How would you treat it? I have seen a psychologist but her way was after talking about to expose me to the fear, only this was done in her office and she was present, it wasnt so much of a problem in this situation, it did help me see that the items arent going to explode or catch fire, so that helped, but the problem is worse when I am at home, on my own. As I said earlier its not so bad at the moment but sometimes I feel so stupid not being able to switch things on or having to ask a friend to be there, just in case..

 

[sister-ray]

How would you treat it? I have seen a psychologist but her way was after talking about to expose me to the fear, only this was done in her office and she was present, it wasnt so much of a problem in this situation, it did help me see that the items arent going to explode or catch fire, so that helped, but the problem is worse when I am at home, on my own. As I said earlier its not so bad at the moment but sometimes I feel so stupid not being able to switch things on or having to ask a friend to be there, just in case..

 

[David Baxter PhD]

I'm not concinced that "exposure" is the most effective treatment for the obsessive forms of OCD (as opposed to the more compulsive forms).

What I usually try to do is help the individual to understand that the thoughts are nothing special or magical, that they have no predictive powers, that they are simply your way of worrying about what many people would worry about... It's more a question of accepting that this is just how you worry instead of fearing and fighting the thoughts.

Some cognitive restructuring/reframing techniques are also often helpful.

 

[David Baxter PhD]

I'm not concinced that "exposure" is the most effective treatment for the obsessive forms of OCD (as opposed to the more compulsive forms).

What I usually try to do is help the individual to understand that the thoughts are nothing special or magical, that they have no predictive powers, that they are simply your way of worrying about what many people would worry about... It's more a question of accepting that this is just how you worry instead of fearing and fighting the thoughts.

Some cognitive restructuring/reframing techniques are also often helpful.

 

[sister-ray]

Thanks Mr Baxter. I wish I could get the help I need to get well not just with the electric items phobia but with all of it, I cant afford to pay privately, I wish I could, I really feel I would get better treatment, unfortunatley as I said on introductions post I dont have any choice here, you have to rely on one place and the help they give, you have no say, they tell you what help your getting and for how long and thats it, being treated like that, not respected, not listened to makes me worse, thats why Im out on my own now coping with it all, with just my GP to talk to and a lady that comes to help me with my shopping etc, its no way to live but thats all there is.

 

[sister-ray]

Thanks Mr Baxter. I wish I could get the help I need to get well not just with the electric items phobia but with all of it, I cant afford to pay privately, I wish I could, I really feel I would get better treatment, unfortunatley as I said on introductions post I dont have any choice here, you have to rely on one place and the help they give, you have no say, they tell you what help your getting and for how long and thats it, being treated like that, not respected, not listened to makes me worse, thats why Im out on my own now coping with it all, with just my GP to talk to and a lady that comes to help me with my shopping etc, its no way to live but thats all there is.