Psychology Facts

▲ Phobias ▲

》A phobia is an overwhelming and debilitating fear of an object, place, situation, feeling or animal. Phobias are more pronounced than fears. They develop when a person has an exaggerated or unrealistic sense of danger about a situation or object.

》The impact of a phobia can range from annoying to severely disabling. People with phobias often realize their fear is irrational, but they're unable to do anything about it. Such fears can interfere with work, school, and personal relationships.

》The term 'phobia' is often used to refer to a fear of one particular trigger. However, there are three types of phobia recognized by the American Psychiatric Association (APA). These include:

Specific phobia: This is an intense, irrational fear of a specific trigger.

Social phobia, or social anxiety: This is a profound fear of public humiliation and being singled out or judged by others in a social situation. The idea of large social gatherings is terrifying for someone with social anxiety. It is not the same as shyness.

Agoraphobia: This is a fear of situations from which it would be difficult to escape if a person were to experience extreme panic, such being in a lift or being outside of the home. It is commonly misunderstood as a fear of open spaces but could also apply to being confined in a small space, such as an elevator, or being on public transport. People with agoraphobia have an increased risk of panic disorder.

》The most common specific phobias in the U.S. include:

Claustrophobia: Fear of being in constricted, confined spaces
Aerophobia: Fear of flying
Arachnophobia: Fear of spiders
Driving phobia: Fear of driving a car
Emetophobia: Fear of vomiting
Erythrophobia: Fear of blushing
Hypochondria: Fear of becoming ill
Zoophobia: Fear of animals
Aquaphobia: Fear of water
Acrophobia: Fear of heights
Blood, injury, and injection (BII) phobia: Fear of injuries involving bloodTrusted Source
Escalaphobia: Fear of escalators
Tunnel phobia: Fear of tunnels

》Typical symptoms associated with phobias include:

Breathlessness
Dizziness, trembling, and increased heart rate
Fear of dying
Nausea
Preoccupation with the feared object
A sense of unreality
In some cases, these symptoms may escalate into a full-scale anxiety attack.

》According to the National Institute of Mental Health, social anxiety disorder affects about 7% of adult Americans in a given year and specific phobias affect approximately 9%. In general, women are affected more than men.

》According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, only about 10% of reported phobia cases become life-long phobias.

》Genetic and environmental factors can cause phobias. Children who have a close relative with an anxiety disorder are at risk of developing a phobia. Distressing events, such as nearly drowning, can bring on a phobia. Exposure to confined spaces, extreme heights, and animal or insect bites can all be sources of phobias.

》There are a number of treatment approaches for phobias, and the effectiveness of each approach depends on the person and their type of phobia.

In exposure treatments, the person is strategically exposed to their feared object in order to help them overcome their fear.

Another method often used in phobia treatment is counter-conditioning. In this method, the person is taught a new response to the feared object. Rather than panic in the face of the feared object or situation, the person learns relaxation techniques to replace anxiety and fear.

Behaviour therapy is often successful in overcoming phobias. In such therapy, the phobic person is gradually exposed to the anxiety-provoking object or situation in a controlled manner until he eventually ceases to feel anxiety, having realized that his fearful expectations of the situation remain unfulfilled.