Q: I am 26 years old suffering from psychological problems. I am born and brought up in a joint family and now am married. I am staying with my in-laws and our room is on the second floor and my in-laws are on the ground floor. I am mostly with them on the ground floor but when I have to go to my floor alone, I don't understand why I feel afraid. This fear persists tillI come back to the ground floor. Recently I saw a horror movie, which is making me more scared and when I go to bed I dream about events which occurred in the morning. Why does this happen?

A:You obviously seem to be extremely scared and fearful of staying alone, which makes you feel so overwhelmed with the very thought of staying by yourself. Thoughts that are scary or worrisome in nature will naturally cause your feelings of nervousness and fear to escalate. Thus, it is important for you to challenge your negative thoughts, rather than build on them. Some distraction might help when you are by yourself. Try to keep yourself busy by doing things that interest you. Remember that thoughts by themselves do not mean anything. Therefore, even if you have negative thoughts popping in your head, they do not get converted into reality, just like that!