When is the problem not the problem?
When it is what is underneath the problem.
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Dear Philippa
I have always wanted to live alone through struggling living with others. Recently, I rented my first 1 bedroom flat to myself, without a sharer. For a few months it was blissful, until I started hearing rodents in the attic above me. Things got worse when I started seeing mice in the kitchen. I’m a self confessed clean freak and the presence of rodents brought out a severe anxiety I didn’t know I had. Whilst they seem to have gone away, even now, what was once my safe space, has now become an anxiety inducing prison I don’t feel comfortable in. I recently got a kitten to help with the problem, which it has, but now I find myself paranoid and transfixed upon fleas constantly on my body and my clothes and bed. I feel I have developed an irrational fear of rodents/ fleas/ bugs that is destroying my life. It’s all I can think about, even when I logically put it into perspective that it’s no big deal, I can’t help but feel terrified of losing control of a pest problem in what was once my sanctuary. How can I overcome this fear and anxiety and enjoy my life again without constantly thinking and worrying about pests?
My Reply
I do not think this is really about mice or fleas.
