People with OCD, anxiety, etc. can and do live normal lives just like anyone else in my opinion. I believe remar asked a good question. As with anything we don't understand, gaining that knowledge about a particular subject can make it much less scary and give one the tools to confront it in my opinion. Have/are you in therapy?
Are you in therapy right now? It's really hard to say how it will take for you to get over this fear. We're all different and need longer or shorter periods of time with therapy to get over our fears.