All About Mysophobia, the Fear of Germs, & How To Overcome it with CBT Therapy & Counselling in Wolverhampton & West Midlands

What is Mysophobia?

Mysophobia is the Fear of Germs and during 2020 became highly relevant given the situation with the Coronavirus pandemic.

Whilst people have understandably become stressed and anxious about catching COVID19, the fact remains that most people only suffer mild symptoms.

However, in order to mobilise the British public into action through social distancing, the messages coming from the UK Government were deliberately crafted to create a sense of fear, so it is important to be aware of the effects of these communications.

Although Mysophobia is relatively un-common there is a very common ‘condition’ associated with this particular phobia called Emetophobia, the fear of vomiting or being sick.

Sufferers of emtophobia have a very strong fear of ‘Norovirus’ as this is considered to be THE ‘sickness’ bug.

In this sense Mysophobia sufferers can be extremely anxious and go to great lengths to be ‘clean’ and ‘hygenic’, often washing their hands many, many time in a day.

All phobias, regardless of what the feared object or circumstances are, produce feelings of anxiety and stress for the sufferer, and Mysophobia is no different in this sense.

Whilst the feared object or situation may seem, to other people, to be ‘ridiculous’ or ‘silly’, the person who suffers from Mysophobia knows only too well that the anxious feelings they experience are real enough.

We completely understand this and will treat you and your Mysophobia seriously.

Mysophobia Symptoms

The symptoms of Mysophobia are very similar to other specific phobias and will often include:

• Anger problems
• Generalised Anxiety
• Social anxiety
• Control issues
• Feelings of depression
• Insomnia & sleeping problems
• Low Self-Esteem
• Low Self-Confidence
• Panic attacks
• Overthinking things
• Paranoia
• Stress
• Avoidance and safety behaviours

Mysophobia symptoms tend to be automatic leaving the sufferer feeling like they have little or no control over the way they feel.

This often results in the use of avoidance or safety behaviours in an attempt to prevent exposure to what they consider to be the triggering events.

Unfortunately, safety behaviours tend to produce a paradoxical effect and end up reinforcing the phobia and associated distress rather than making things better.

Mysophobia may be the result of earlier traumatic experiences that can be directly (or indirectly) linked to the object or situational fear, but this is not always the case because phobic responses can also be inherited as learned behaviours from the social context in which they were brought up.

Over time, Mysophobia may have become normalised or accepted as part of a person’s life and where this has been the case, sufferers may not seek help for their problem for many years as they have learnt to live with it.

In just as many cases, however, Mysophobia may become much worse and start to get in the way of normal living. This is particularly true if the safety and avoidance behaviours have grown in frequency and sophistication.

The good news is that the majority of people who suffer from Mysophobia will find a course of psychotherapy helps enormously.

You can read more about the different types of psychological therapy for the fear of Germs below.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Mysophobia

If you’re determined to overcome your Mysophobia then we highly recommend following our Tranceformental CBT programme with Paul which is available as an Online Therapy as well as a self-help course.

The Tranceformental programme is a highly successful & pragmatic psychotherapy course, run over 10 sessions, that will teach you everything you need to know to understand your problem, identify any unhelpful thinking styles or limiting beliefs and then show you how to make changes using methods derived from Cognitive Behavioural Therapy.

Tranceformental CBT programme is a clinically proven approach used by mental health practitioners around the World.

Alternative Psychological Approaches for Mysophobia

Although our preferred form of psychological therapy for Mysophobia is Tranceformental CBT, we also offer alternative psychotherapies for those who might prefer a different approach.

These include:

Psychodynamic therapy which focuses on understanding why the problem has arisen and relies on the therapy relationship to bring about change. Available with Paul.

Counselling which is less formally structured than CBT but still provides a safe and non-judgmental environment in which to discuss issues. Talking problems through with a skilled counsellor is often therapeutic in its own right.

Hypnotherapy is an alternative form of psychotherapy that can be applied to a very wide range of problems and is available with Joan.

Free Initial Consultations for Mysophobia

We offer all prospective clients FREE initial consultations to discuss your Mysophobia problems prior to commencing any therapy programmes.

The consultation and lasts around 50 minutes.

During this consultation we will discuss the various psychological therapy options that are available to you and make a considered recommendation based on your individual personal circumstances.

Initial consultations are also available online.

At Tranceform Psychology we recognise the importance of the therapy relationship in helping people to bring about effective change, so it is important to meet (either face-to-face or online) before deciding to follow a course of psychotherapy.

Our policy is to help people make a fully balanced & considered decision about undertaking work with us, including both the financial and personal implications.