Phobia and OCD have very high prevalence to the extent that a large number of population is affected by these disorders. With the advent of newer forms of psychotherapies and medicines, the awareness of OCD and the persons seeking treatment have increased tremendously. Still phobia is the condition, which is relatively a less priority for both the affected persons and mental health professionals. We infrequently talk of phobia. The primary reason of this less attention is that the persons with phobia do not recognize that they have a phobic condition, or if they recognize; they do not consider it as treatable or not aware that effective forms of psychotherapeutic measures are available to address the phobic condition. Instead the persons with phobia and some patients of OCD get involved in self-help books, inspiration and motivational quotes and programs. Also they are likely to consider self-hypnosis and affirmations to overcome the phobic condition. The attempt to deal with phobia and OCD through self-help books and other similar programs yield partial success in some cases as seen in clinical set up. The patients come to us after reading lots of such books and fail to resolve the phobia.
While working with the patients of phobia and OCD, I realized that these patients suffer silently to the deeper levels of their being. They also have associated feelings of sadness, inadequacy, shame and humiliation. They do not open up easily and completely before their friends and well wishers. The topic itself becomes so overwhelming to them that they feel it as fearful and even disgusting to give a detailed narrative of their problems.
All emotional disorders be it phobia or OCD impose certain limitations on the functioning of the affected persons and their family members. A person affected by social anxiety disorder feels inadequate and worries about being judged by others cannot function optimally in his/her workplace. He would keep on shying away from fellow workers and avoid the assignments involving speaking or presentations before others. Such kind of scenario is a restriction on the expression of full potentials of the affected person which in turn causes National loss due to sub-optimal functioning.
I am grateful to my patients who provided me an opportunity to develop Cognitive Drill Therapy for efficient resolution of Phobia and OCD.
I wish that this therapy should reach to most if not all persons affected by phobia/OCD and the professionals world-wide dealing with such simple and pious souls terrified by creation of their own imagination.
Place: Agra (India) Dr. Rakesh Jain
Date: 15th October 2016