Well I have a big chore that I would like to accomplish(clean the basement)
I tried to do it before I found dead mice in the basement.
I picked it up thinking it was a toy of my cats but was real I threw it and
had a panic attack and have not cleaned the basement since that episode
I have a big fear of dead animals If I see roadkill I get sick to my stomach
or if i see a bird dead on the street I have to cross to the other side to get
away from it.
Please help with any suggestions
Michelle
Hi Michele,
Ugh! Many of us would agree that picking up a dead mouse unexpectantly is gross ....but for you it triggered your flight or fight response, meaning that your body sensed that danger was present and it needed to respond to fight off the danger....in this case, a dead mouse. However, panic attacks are "false alarms," in that the body is responding far more intensely than the situation calls for.
Given that you stated that you have a fear of dead animals in general, you very likely have a specific phobia. Specific phobias involved having a excessive and unreasonable fear in the presence of as specific object, place or situation.
Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy is highly effective for overcoming specific phobias because you can learn to break this stimulus (dead animal) response (panic) pattern and get your basement cleaned!
Let us know how it goes!
Regards,
Dr. Jennifer Fee
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