Hi y'all. I was wondering if you know what the name for a fear of getting sick would be? In the past I have labeled myself a hypochondriac, but now I am wondring. My personal definition of a hypochondriac is one who obsesses about getting sick to the point of "finding" new diseases to suffer from. Almost like they like to be sick and go to the Dr. My problem is that I fear being sick. This time of the year terrifies me as it is flu season. I am terrified of the flu. I am also scared of Doctors and medications, so gettig the flu shot is out. I am so scared of getting sick that I obsess about getting a fever. If my face gets hot or red I freak out. I will work obsessivly to make it cool down and not be red. Like taking a walk in very cold weather, or using a cool wash cloth. I understand that those things alone probably are not bad, but I am realy in fear the whole time I am doing it. I realy get bad when my children or husband get sick. I have even stopped kissing my husband over this. When my phobias and panic attacks first started 10 years ago, I would take my temperature a lot. It got to the point of an obsession for me. I even ruined my wedding ring when mercury got on it. I have since stopped taking my temp, but I still obsess on getting ill. I realy do not like going where there are a bunch of new people because of this. We have been very reclusive (I homeschool my kids) and recently we have joined a group so the children can make new friends and so can I. They have been super supportive of me and I have realy grown by going there. But we have been sick three times since Sept. because we are around new germs. We have to go back in Feb. and I am not looking foreward to it. I don't want to get sick. Any thoughts on this? Sorry it is so wordy, but the whole thing is rather complex. Like most of my fears. Thanks for listening.
God Bless you and yours
Hears The Water