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Fear Of Germs: Mysophobia

About:

Mysophobia is the irrational fear of germs and microbes that can carry disease. Mysophobia is from the Greek words 'myso' which means germs and 'phobos', which means to dread or to fear.
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People suffering with Mysophobia are terrified of getting contaminated and ill from germs, whether by eating something or touching things. This means they are obsessed with hygiene and cleanliness. But this goes beyond just making sure things look tidy and are organised. The world to the Mysophobic appears as a dirty, filthy environment that has unseen illness crawling over every surface. This means people suffering from this phobia might spend hours obsessively cleaning to try to create a 'sterile' environment. They often spend great sums of money just on cleaning products.
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The Msyophobic is also terrified of getting ill and are very afraid of anyone coughing or sneezing. They usually become even more obsessive about cleaning if they do fall ill. They are constantly thinking about the germs that could potentially contaminate them and do everything to prevent it.
Can I Be Cured?

Interesting Fact:

​This phobia didn't exist until fairly recent times as germs were undiscovered until the 1860s by Louis Pasteur, a French microbiologist.

Causes:

​Mysophobia is interesting as 9 out 10 times is caused directly by OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder). People with this condition feel compelled to do certain things over and over and get obsessive about certain things. Often, the fixation from someone suffering from OCD is hygiene which often develops into Mysophobia. The two conditions seem to go hand in hand. However, a person with OCD might start hand washing merely from routine instead of fear of germs but then somehow cross over with the phobia as well. More research is going into how these two conditions are connected.

Like many other phobias, this phobia can also be learned from parents who have it (who might also have OCD as well) The learned behaviour from parents is how the phobia can be developed without having OCD. The media and entertainment industry also feed into this fear with news reports and films about contagious diseases.

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Lastly, Mysophobia can also develop if someone had a traumatic experience with being very ill. This makes the person build up a fear response to try to avoid ever being that ill again, but goes too far and instead of protecting them, the fear just creates a lot of unnecessary misery!

Symptoms:

​People with Mysophobia are often seen washing their hands after touching anything beyond themselves, or obsessively washing food, cleaning surfaces etc. The sufferer might avoid public restrooms, transport, animals and other social situations. In fact they might avoid leaving their home all together.

Symptoms can include:
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  1. Rapid heart rate
  2. Dizziness
  3. Hot or cold flashes
  4. Hysteria
  5. Chest pain
  6. Feeling of choking
  7. Fainting
  8. Trembling and/or sweating
  9. Obsessive cleaning of surfaces or oneself
  10. Nausea or other gastrointestinal distress

​This fear can easily develop into other phobias like Nosocomephobia Fear of Hospital and  Agoraphobia, the fear of crowded spaces as the person may never want to leave the house because of their fear of getting ill from another person. Just being around someone sneezing could cause a severe Mysophobic to have a panic attack. 

Why You Should Get Treated:

​Because microscopic germs and microbes are literally everywhere, the trigger for someone experiencing Mysophobia is literally everywhere, with no real way to escape it. Most Mysophobes feel they are endlessly cleaning and it is still never enough. This can severely limit the life in almost every way.

​Not only is the person suffering from Mysophobia wasting precious time cleaning for hours and hours of every day but they are constantly living in fear and tension. They will also avoid many social activities and experiences outside because of this fear, thus isolating themselves incredibly. This in turn will seriously affect the mental health of a person with Mysophobia and they can develop intense depression whilst constantly living under anxiety and fear.

​Why See The Phobia Guru For Treatment:

I am often able to help people break free of their phobia in just one session, using the scientifically proven power of hypnotherapy combined with NLP and an immersive therapy option. My therapy skillfully combines these techniques uniquely to create the most powerful, effective and quickest way to beat a phobia.  You will be in the hands of a trained phobia expert who will help you transform your mind and liberate yourself from even the most extreme fears.

Hypnotherapy is so effective with phobias because it tackles the underlying trigger of the phobia within the subconscious. Once a person has access to their subconscious they can eliminate their conditioned response to the stimulus. So instead of treating just the symptoms, hypnotherapy can heal the source for a lasting result. The best part about hypnotherapy and phobias is that often it only takes one session to completely get over the phobia so you do not have to spend a lot of money on continual treatment. The NHS also promotes hypnotherapy as an effective treatment for phobias.

If you have a fear of phobias and are ready to put that fear in your past then either take my free phobia test or request a free phone consultation with me to find out how we can get you over your fear for good! Alternatively click the button below to learn about my 7 Day Phobia Removal System.
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