PHOBIAS

Phobia is a crushing and exhausting sense of fear of an object, place, situation, sentiment or animal.

Phobias are more intense in terms of the disturbance and burden they cause compared to simple fears. They are described as such, when a person has an extreme or non-realistic sense of danger in a situation or for an object.

If a phobia becomes very severe, a person may organize their life focusing on avoiding it, which can cause anxiety. Apart from the restrictions in the patient’s everyday life, it can also cause a lot of agony.

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Phobia as an Anxiety Disorder

A phobia is a type of anxiety disorder. You cannot deal with the symptoms until you come into contact with the source of your phobia.

However, in some cases, even the thought of the source of cause of a phobia can make the affected person feel anxiety or panic. This is known as anticipatory anxiety and the symptoms include:

Disequilibrium, dizziness, nausea, sweating, increased heart rate or palpitations, difficulty in breathing, tremor or stomach pain.

If you do not come into contact with the source of your phobia very often, it cannot affect your everyday life. However, if you have a complex phobia, such as agoraphobia, a normal life can be very difficult in its daily routines.

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)

CBT is a kind of therapy that can help you deal with your problems, changing the way you think and behave. It can be used so that you develop practical ways of addressing your phobia.

A part of the process that is often used for therapy in simple phobias involves a graduated exposure to your fear, so that you feel less anxiety due to it. This is known as desensitization or exposure therapy.

For example, if you have a fear of snakes (ophidiophobia), your therapist may begin your treatment by asking you to read about snakes. He/she can later show you a picture of a snake. Subsequently, he/she may arrange for you a visit at the section of reptiles at the local zoo so that you can see live snakes. The final step for you is to hold a snake.

The therapy consists of the graduated increase of the level of exposure to your fear, will allow you to take control of your phobia. As the therapy goes on, you will begin feeling less anxious about your phobia.

Source: nhs.uk

There is a wide range of objects or situations of which a person could develop a Phobia. Phobias are the most common type of anxiety disorder.

They can affect anyone, regardless of their age, sex and social status. Some of the most common phobias include:

arachnophobia: the fear of spiders

claustrophobia: the fear of closed spaces

agoraphobia: the fear of open and public places

social phobia: the fear of social situations

However, phobias can be distinguished into two main categories: Specific or Simple Phobias and Complex Phobias

The Specific or Simple Phobias are focused on a specific object, animal, situation or feeling. They are often developing during childhood or adolescence and can become less serious as one grows up.

Common examples of simple phobias are:

  • phobias of animals, such as dogs, spiders, snakes or rodents
  • environmental phobias, such as heights, deep waters and bacteria
  • situation phobias, such as the visit to a dentist
  • physical phobias, such as blood, vomiting, or having injections
  • sexual phobias, such as the sexual performance anxiety or the fear of being affected by a sexually transmitted disease

Complex Phobias tend to be more resistant than simple phobias. They tend to develop during adulthood and are usually related with a deep-rooted fear or anxiety of a specific situation or circumstance.

The two most common Complex Phobias are Agoraphobia and Social Phobia.

Agoraphobia is usually considered as the fear of open spaces, but it is a much more complex condition. A person with agoraphobia feels anxiety when they are in a position or situation from where they can difficultly escape if they have a panic attack.

Anxiety usually makes the person avoid situations such as: being alone, being in crowded places, such as crowded restaurants or supermarkets, using public transport.

Social phobia, also known as social anxiety disorder, focuses on the anxiety in social situations.

If you have a social phobia, it is possible that you are afraid to speak in front of other people, fearing of embarrassing yourself and being publicly humiliated.

In severe cases, this can become exhausting and prevent you from performing your daily activities, such as going out to eat or meeting friends.

Phobias do not have a single cause, but are due to a series of related factors. For example:

  • a phobia can be related with a specific event or trauma
  • a phobia can be a learned response that a person has developed early in their lives imitating a parent or sibling
  • the genetic inheritance may play a part; There are elements that show that some people are born with a tendency to be more anxious than others.

 

Most of the people with a phobia are fully aware of their problem.

A person may sometimes choose to live with a phobia, taking special care to avoid the object or situation they are afraid of. However, if you have a phobia, and you are constantly trying to avoid what you fear, this avoidance will just make the condition worse.

If you have a phobia, you must ask for help from your physician. He may refer you to a specialist with experience in behavioral therapy, such as a cognitive behavioral therapist.

Almost every phobia can be successfully addressed and treated, principally with the application of techniques of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.

Simple Specific Phobias can be addressed through the graduated exposure to the object, animal, place or situation that causes the fear and anxiety. This is known as desensitization or exposure therapy.

Usually there is no use of medication in the treatment of phobias. However, sometimes it is possible that some medication is prescribed in order to help patients deal with the consequences of anxiety.