My phobia has started making my world smaller. I’ll avoid places, put off simple errands, and tell myself I’ll deal with it later, even when I know avoiding it usually makes the fear worse. Last month I skipped a friend’s dinner because it was at a restaurant with the thing I’m afraid of, then felt stupid and isolated at home.
I want to start facing it in small steps, but even planning that makes me anxious. Has anyone found a manageable first step that didn’t feel completely overwhelming?