Fear of Cats and Dogs

[Jay_B]

Hey all! I joined this community a couple of days ago and find it very informative.

I have a question regarding my wife who was diagnosed with ADHD a year ago. Apart from all the regular symptoms that everyone talks about, she also has a crippling fear of cats and dogs. I used to think that she will get over it eventually, but it has reached a point where we cannot visit friends and family who have pets. Anyone facing similar issues and know how to deal with it?

[Shnookie]

Hi 👋 this Shnookie. When I was a teenager, I would go to dinner at my aunt Father’s sister Jewish Holocaust survivors

house for dinner. On occasion, my aunt would invite neighbors who were also had survivors. The wife had a tremendous fear of Dogs (especially German Shepard’s who were attack dogs for the Nazis). We ate in an outdoor area and my aunt’s German Shephard) was locked in an area far away from this woman. I know this seems extreme but if your relative or friend really want U to come over they can send the dog or cat to somebody else’s house during the time of the visit. It sounds like your wife has an extreme phobia. There R other ways such as hypnotherapy to work tho try to break thru the phobia. I know the example I wrote about is extreme but there were

Survivors who had PTSD and survivor’s guilt.

[Jay_B in reply to Shnookie]

Hi Shnookie, Thanks for your response. I have tried finding out if there was a traumatic experience that my wife had related to cats and dogs in the past but it does not seem to be the case. She never had pets growing up too. Not sure how she developed this phobia. I thought it was adhd related but maybe not. Some of the solutions you have mentioned are possible but only when friends and relatives are understanding. Its difficult for most people to understand this phobia I guess, because its not common.

[Shnookie in reply to Jay_B]

I totally understand. I know the example I gave was extreme, but unfortunately true. My mom had discomfort around dogs and cats when she was young but that was because a dog jumped up on her when she was little. Fortunately she outgrew most of her fears and we had dogs when we were growing up. If any of your friends and relatives, understand your wife’s phobia or maybe have a phobia of their own, then maybe they will drop their dog or cat off at someone’s place. I had a phobia about going in an elevator by myself for about 40 Years. When my mom died and I was her sole caregiver the phobia went away. I empathize with U. Take care M 😃💪🙏