Today the exterminator came to do the anti-lady-beetle spraying, as he does every fall. My poor husband (MPH ) works overnights and just couldn't stay awake to greet him, so I volunteered to meet him at the door, ask him a question, and then pay him when he was done. He doesn't even come into the house, just sprays the perimeter and around windows and doors outside. I did manage to meet him at the door and ask him the question, but once I was done with that I couldn't handle the terror any more and had to run upstairs and wake MPH so he could be ready to pay the man when he was done spraying.

Then I ran away like a 5-year-old and hid in my office, just like I always do when somebody comes to the door. It doesn't matter who it is or whether my husband is home or awake; I run away like Frankenstein's monster is at the door. The minister from our local church dropped by once, and I just about crawled under the bed. It makes me feel like a pathetic little coward, not at all the image I have of myself or the one I want to present to the world.

I'm not sure how to deal with this kind of phobia. There isn't really any way to just have part of a person drop by for exposure therapy, and even having limited exposure to a stranger like I did today doesn't seem to lessen the fear. My neighbors all think I'm stuck up because I don't stay outside and chat when they pass by on their evening walks.

Does anybody else here hide from visitors like this? Do any of you have some tips to help me get past this fear?