What is phobia ?
DEFINITION
A persistent, irrational fear of a specific
object, activity or situation that leads to a
compelling desire to avoid it.
The majority of phobias develop during early
childhood, teenagers years or early
adulthood.
It is rather unusual for a phobia to develop
‘out of nowhere’ after the age of 30-35.
Different Types of Phobia
AGROPHOBIA A fear of places or situations that
you can’t escape from. Ex (fear being in large
crowds, they get panic attacks)
Social Phobia
Extreme worry about social situations. Ex
(ordering at a restaurant or answering the
telephone, can cause panic).
Specific Phobias
Many people dislike certain situations or objects,
but to be true phobia, the fear must interfere with
your daily life.
SPECIFIC PHOBIAS:
1. GLOSSOPHOBIA: The fear of speaking in
front of an audience. People with this
phobia have severe physical symptoms
when they even think about being in front
of a group of people.
2. ACROPHOBIA: The fear of heights. People
with this phobia will avoid mountains,
bridges, or the higher floors of buildings.
Symptoms include dizziness, sweating, and
feeling as if you’ll pass out or lose
consciousness.
3. CLAUSTROPHOBIA: The fear of enclosed
or tight spaces. It prevents the person from
riding in cars and elevators.
4. AVIATOPHOBIA: The fear of flying.
5. DENTOPHOBIA: Fear of the dentist or
dental procedures.
6. HEMOPHOBIA: Fear of blood or injury. A
person with hemophobia may faint when
they come in contact with their own or
another person’s blood.
7. ARACHNOPHOBIA: The fear of spiders.
8. CYNOPHOBIA: Fear of dogs.
9. OPHIDIOPHOBIA: Fear of snakes.
10. NYCTOPHOBIA: Fear of the nighttime or
darkness. When it progresses past
adolescence, it’s considered a phobia.
Cause of Phobias
It is unusual for a phobia to start after the age
of 30; most of them begin during early
childhood, teenage years, or early adulthood. A
stressful situation or experience , a frightening
event, or a parent or household member who
has a phobia, which the child becomes
progressively aware of, can cause him.
Stressful situation
Certain experiences
Frightening events
It is also known that children can develop the
same phobia one of their parents suffered from
if they were progressively aware of this during
childhood.
Types of cause
1. Common causes for specific (simple)
phobias
These usually develop when the child is aged 4-
5. In some cases, it may be the result of
something that happened early in life. The
trigger might have been unpleasant experience
in a confined space, which festered and
developed into CLAUSTROPHOBIA over time. As
mentioned above, witnessing a family
member’s phobia is a common cause for
phobias that started during childhood. A child
whose mother has ARACHNOPHOBIA is much
more likely to develop the same phobia.
Experts stress that phobias picked up from
parents are learned fears – they are not
genetically inherited.
2. Common causes for complex phobias
The causes for agoraphobia or social phobia
are still a mystery; nobody is sure exactly why
they appear. Researchers believe they are
caused by a combination of life experiences,
brain chemistry, and genetics.
Social phobias are more likely to be caused be
an extremely stressful experience than
agoraphobia, researchers say.
What are the Symptoms of Phobias?
Symptoms:
1. Pounding of racing heart
2. Shortness of breath
3. Rapid speech or inability to speak
4. Dry mouth
5. Upset stomach or nausea
6. Elevated blood pressure
Psychological Symptoms
In severe cases, you may also experience
psychological symptoms, such as:
[Link] of losing control
[Link] of fainting
[Link] of dread
[Link] of dying
Can phobias be Hereditary?
New research out of Emory University shws
the ways that phobia can actually be passed
down through our DNA – just like other
inherited traits. They conducted a research
trained mice to fear a certain cherry –
blossom-scent. They then looked at the mice’s
sperm. The one’s scared of the floral fragrance
had produced sperm in which the DNA
responsible for smell sensitivity was more
active than normal. The frightened mice’’s
children and their grandchildren also exhibited
an extreme sensitivity to the smell, despite
never being trained to fear it.
This discovery shows the multigenerational
effect of phobias, and other disorders.
Scientifically, this is known as
“transgenerational epigenetic inheritance,”
which essentially means that your environment
can affect your genetics in a ways that can be
passed to children.
Treating Phobias:
[Link]-help techniques:-
A self-help program could include:
i. Lifestyle changes
ii. A course of cognitive behaviourial therapy
(CBT)
iii. Attending a self-help group
iv. Using exposure therapy to overcome your
fear
v. A combination of these
[Link] treatments
[Link]
Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT)
CBT is a type of counselling that can help you
manage your problems by changing the way
you think and behave. It can be used to
develop practical ways of dealing with your
phobia.
One part of the CBT treatment process that’s
often used to treat simple phobias involves
gradual exposure to your fear, so you feel
less anxious about it.
This is known as desensitization or exposure
therapy.
Talking Treatments\ Psychotherapy
Talking traetments such as counsellimg and
psychotherapy , are often very effective
methods for treating phobias. In particular,
cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and
mindfulness have been found to be very
effective methods of treating phobias
Medication:
Medication isn’t usually recommended for
trating phobias, because talking therapies are
usually effective and don’thave any side
effects. However, medication is sometimes
prescribed on a short-time basis to traet the
effects of phobias such as anxiety.
Three types of medication oare recommendd
for treating anxiety. These are:
[Link]
2. Tranquilizers
3. Beta-blockers: Any of a class of drugs which
prevent the stimulation of the adrenergic
receptors responsible for increased cardiac
action, used to control heart rhythm, treat
angina, and reduce high blood pressure.
How to overcome a Phobia?
1. Identify your fear
Really think about what yuore afraid of. For
example, while you may hate going to the dentist,
it might be the use of needles that you’re truly
afraid of . In this case, you’d want to focus on
your fear of needles, not the dentist.
If you’re having trouble pinpointing your phobia ,
writ e down a list of the thing you’re afraid of .
You may be able to isolate the true fear.
Write down your goals
Set tangible , achievable goals. It will also be
helpful during treatment to consider the benfits
that come from these goals. Write down a variety
of goals at different levels. Hving small
achievements will help you work towards tougher
aims.
The act of writing down your goals can actually
help you succeed. You’re more likely to write
down detailed , achievable goals, rather than
vague ones. You’ll also be more committed to
sticking with them.
[Link] a coping strategy
It’s naïve to assume that you won’t encounter any
obstacles. Instead , imagine how you want to
react to what frightens you. You could visualize
something else, face the fear head on for a set
amount of time , or you could ditract yourself by
doing an activity.
[Link] that being afraid is perfectly normal
After all, fear has helped humans survive in many
situations. On the other hand, fears may easily
turn into phobias, also prevent someone from
accomplishing certain things. For example:
It is normal to feel anxious if you look down from
a skyscraper. On the other hand, turning down a
dream job just because it happens to be at the top
of a skyscraper, is not helping you achieve your
goals/dreams.
Many people feel anxious about getting shots or
having blood drawn. Shots can be painful. It is
when someone avoid medical examinations and
treatments just because he or she might get a
shot, that the fear becomes problematic.
Reference:
i. https://
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articles/[Link]
ii. [Link]
Phobias/ages/[Link]
iii. [Link]
phobia-simple-specifics#types3
iv. [Link]
Phobias/Pages/[Link]
v. [Link]
2013/12/58284/fear-anxiety-genetics
vi. [Link]
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