The outbreak of Covid-19 has caused an increase in the number of people with obsessive-compulsive disorder in the world, as the excessive fear of catching a corona infection has grown, according to many medical studies. With the relatively receding Covid-19 virus and people adapting to its presence, attention turned to how to make people overcome “corona obsessive” to return to their normal lives, but the surprise was the re-emergence of the monkeypox virus, which brought back to light one of the uncommon types of phobia, which is “contact phobia.” or "havophobia". According to psychologist Rana Abu Shakra, the person with "contact phobia" is afraid of anyone else touching him, even if this person is a family or friend, but the spread of the monkeypox virus led to the emergence of a new case of this phobia that emerges only when strangers touch. . In an interview with "Sky News Arabia", Abu Shakra said: "A large group of people has become terrified and afraid when touching others, even if it was by mistake, while being in workplaces and public places that are crowded with people, such as groceries or public transportation." They feel the need to sterilize themselves or even go home and wash in order to avoid catching the monkeypox virus." What does declaring a disease a global emergency mean? Abu Shakra explained that: "Catching monkeypox infection cannot be that easy, as it requires close contact and not passing," noting that the "intimidation" campaign that spread after the appearance of monkeypox and was based on false information, caused the creation of false beliefs, and prompted People to move from "corona obsessive" to "monkeypox obsessive" by applying the concept of "no touching". For his part, the specialist in treating mental disorders, Muhammad Al-Khatib, told “Sky News Arabia”, that the situation that arose among people after monkeypox is exactly the same as the situation that appeared after the spread of Corona, as there is a group of people, who feels that everything around them may infect them. With the passage of time, people have adapted to Covid-19, and the virus has become not scary for a large number of them, and it is likely that this scenario will be repeated with monkeypox. Al-Khatib stressed the need to separate those who suffer from a phobia of "contact phobia" for fear of monkeypox, a large part of whom will recover once they adapt to reality, and those who suffer from the traditional version of the phobia who may need intervention by a specialist. The psychiatrist did not rule out the transformation of some of those who showed symptoms of "contact phobia" due to monkeypox to become people who suffer from the traditional version of the phobia. Symptoms and treatment The severity of the symptoms of “contact phobia” in its traditional version varies from one patient to another. According to Al-Khatib, there is no known cause for this disorder, but a number of researchers believe that it is hereditary or caused by a fear of germs. Psychological advice and treatment by confronting the patient with his fears, even giving him antidepressants in some cases.

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