Dog phobia

Our reader Anna asked for an elaboration on dog phobias. From a psychoanaltycal point of view dog phobia as other phobias is a way of expressing anxiety. The person may think along these lines (sub-consciously): if I manage to avoid dogs I won't be so anxious.
And you know what? It sometimes works.
Mind you, the phobia can be manageable up to a certain point. When it upsets your life (eg not visiting a friend because of his dog) it's time to do something about it. Cognitive therapy is quite used in these cases. I'll ask our new collaborator and cognitive therapist Esther Schuller to write about it.
Welcome Esther!

HAPPY NEW YEAR

It's interesting how our minds work and how we like to atribute meanings to calendar and dates. What happened between yesterday and today? Nothing or maybe a lot, it depends on the individual.
Although the international and national situations are worrying, let's face 2012 as the French philosopher Giles Deleuze wrote: "to be ethical is to live up to the circumstances".
Exits 1, enters 2: Happy New Year