You can probably start with careful exposure therapy. I’m not sure how to do that with germ phobia. I dealt with a fear of spiders by reading about them and looking at pictures until I stopped feeling disgust/anxiety. I then just kind of noted and moved on when I saw one in real life. These days I see a spider and can even move it if it’s in a bad spot without feeling anxious.
Not knowing your triggers, I can’t say if that path would help or make it worse.
For my social anxiety, I started out getting books from the library about that specific phobia. It took a lot of time to get from there to telling my doctor I was anxious all the time, to medication, and then therapy. I doubt I’ll ever be free of it, but I can do a lot of things now I once couldn’t (small talk with customers? wow!)
It kind of has to be guided by you and the specifics of your phobia, unfortunately. Like, would looking at a picture of a dirty surface for five minutes a day make you anxious? Just a little, or a lot? If a little, try it. If a lot, scale it back further. Hopefully someone with a similar phobia comes around with more relevant advice. Good luck?
You can probably start with careful exposure therapy. I’m not sure how to do that with germ phobia. I dealt with a fear of spiders by reading about them and looking at pictures until I stopped feeling disgust/anxiety. I then just kind of noted and moved on when I saw one in real life. These days I see a spider and can even move it if it’s in a bad spot without feeling anxious.
Not knowing your triggers, I can’t say if that path would help or make it worse.
https://fherehab.com/learning/germophobia-treatment This could be useful for learning terms so you can look up and find reviews for self help books.
For my social anxiety, I started out getting books from the library about that specific phobia. It took a lot of time to get from there to telling my doctor I was anxious all the time, to medication, and then therapy. I doubt I’ll ever be free of it, but I can do a lot of things now I once couldn’t (small talk with customers? wow!)
It kind of has to be guided by you and the specifics of your phobia, unfortunately. Like, would looking at a picture of a dirty surface for five minutes a day make you anxious? Just a little, or a lot? If a little, try it. If a lot, scale it back further. Hopefully someone with a similar phobia comes around with more relevant advice. Good luck?