It is generalizable.

[kyrielle]

My new response to dogs, that is. J.'s wife was in the office with their dog this evening, just as I was leaving. A very hyper-friendly, gentle-seeming dog; I didn't catch her name. Her head came above my hands, so not as big as the labs, but still not tiny. She had black-and-tan coloration that reminded me of a doberman, but the face was wrong.

I got licked. And at one point, not realizing she was there, a turn I made put the tips of my fingers in her mouth. I didn't worry at all (I did startle; I wasn't expecting anything there; but I didn't react like she'd bite, didn't even think of it till after the fact - because it was quite implausible to consider, with how she'd been acting; which would not have deterred a gut response of fear in the least, a few years ago).

I don't think I'll ever adore dogs, as some people do. More like I view kids: sometimes annoying as heck, sometimes nice for a while, but please take them away when you're done.

But considering how bad I used to be...I'm pleased.

Comments

[pheon.livejournal.com]

That's great! Sounds like you've made a lot of progress....

Ooh...

[lanir.livejournal.com]

Neat! Kind of envious, actually. I'm nowhere near that good at dealing with people (yes, people I dunno bother me a lot, malls and such are avoided like plagues).

[the_rck]

It's good to see proof that phobias can ease. I've known it theoretically for years without knowing anybody who'd managed to do it. Congratulations.

[kyrielle]

Thanks.

And to be fair, that's a 15-year-old phobia. It took a long time (given that I was actively working at avoiding close contact with the trigger when I could, that's probably no surprise). But it did go.

I think I could have said this a year ago, really. Except I had to let go of the idea I was phobic, too - and that I hadn't done yet.