Firstly, thanks so much for your great advice and honest feedback! I recently read the "Blood on table" question and many other seemingly far-fetched ideas for getting HIV on this website. I indeed think I fall into this category..I have many irrational thoughts about HIV -and in most cases I know they are "out-there", but really just cannot stop worrying. I know that others would not worry about the same situations. You recommended that the person should receive help for this "mental HIV" problem". Could you let me (and others like me) know how to go about getting over these kind of thoughts about HIV. Who could help with such an issue? I would love not to spend my time and energy thinking about HIV anymore and am desperate to get some help!

Hello,

Realizing that your fears are irrational is a major first step in confronting and ultimately conquering them! Many folks have irrational fears about all sorts of things fear of spiders (arachnophobia), fear of snakes (ophidiophobia), fear of flying (aviophobia) fear of heights (acrophobia), etc. and those are just the common ones. There are also loads of less common, less well known phobias, such as:

Arachibutyrophobia: fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of the mouth

Blennophobia: fear of slime

Bogyphobia: fear of bogeyman

Didaskaleinophobia: fear of school

Hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia: fear of long words

Paraskevidekatriaphobia: fear of Friday the 13th

And even Dubya undoubtedly has a few real phobias as well, such as:

Epistemophobia: fear of knowledge

Phronemophobia: fear of thinking

Logophobia: fear of words

These are all real medical diagnoses, real phobias! You can look them up if you don't believe it! Of course, if you asked Dubya what "phobia" means, he would probably say "phobia is what you have left over after you drink two out of a six-pack."

OK, getting back to AIDS-phobia or fear of HIV/AIDS, this is an increasingly common phobia, as you can surmise by perusing the archives. Any qualified psychologist or psychiatrist should be well equipped to evaluate and treat phobias, no matter what the object of your fear may be. Ask your general medical doctor for a recommendation or referral to someone qualified in your area.

Good luck!

Dr. Bob