PHOBIA?

INTRODUCTION:
A persistent and irrational fear of a specific situation , object , or activity (e.g. heights ,
dogs , water , blood , driving , flying ) , which is consequently either strenuously avoided or
endured with marked distress .

A specific phobia, an anxiety order, formerly called simple phobia, characterized by a

marked and persistent fear of a specific object, activity, or situation. The fear is
traditionally defined as excessive or unreasonable and is invariably triggered by the
presence or anticipation of the feared object or situation, which is either avoided or
endured with marked anxiety or distress.

The National Institute of Mental Health states that approximately 19.2 million American adults
suffer from some form of a specific phobia. They often present early in life but it is important to
recognize that the geriatric population may develop phobia too, especially as they experience the
negative effects of medical conditions. Previous accounting for 2.1% of this group. Adult
phobias often last many years and will not subside unless treated appropriately. Those who suffer
from specific phobias tend to avoid the trigger and , in certain situation, this can have a major
detriment to quality of life.

According to DSM-4-TR, specific phobias are classified into 5 subtypes:

 Animal type (which includes fears of animals or insects),

 Natural environmental type (which includes fears of entities in the natural
surroundings such as heights, water , storms , lightning ),
 Blood injection injury type (which includes fear of seeing blood or an injury and of
receiving an injection or other invasive medical procedure ),
 Situational type(which include fear of public , transportation , elevators , bridges ,
enclosed spaces),
 Other type, which includes fears that cannot be classified under any of the other
subtypes , eg fear of choking , vomiting , or contracting an illness; children’s fears of
clowns or loud noises)
Causes:
Phobias are when your brain takes fear and anxiety to extreme degrees. Under ordinary
circumstances, these emotions can be protective and helpful. They’re your brain’s way of
warning you that something is wrong and you might be (or currently are) in danger. But
experts don’t fully understand why these emotions can turn into phobias. However, several
factors and processes may contribute to having a phobia.

 Traumatic experiences.
These can be experiences that happen to you or that you see happen to
someone else.
 Genetics.
Certain types of phobias are more likely to happen in people who have a relative
with that type of phobia. The types with higher rates in family members are animal,
blood/medical procedure/injury and situational phobias.
 Informational transmission.
Some phobias may happen because of things you learn about or things you see or
hear repeatedly.

 Learned fears.
 People can learn about the phobias or fears of others and may develop a phobia
as a result. This may be a factor in why people with overprotective parents may be
more likely to have specific phobia.

Symptoms:
People with phobias often purposely avoid coming into contact with the thing that
causes them fear and anxiety. For example, someone with a fear of spiders
(arachnophobia) may not want to touch a spider or even look at a picture of one.
In some cases, a person can develop a phobia where they become fearful of
experiencing anxiety itself because it feels so uncomfortable.
People with phobia can have panic attacks. These can be very frightening and
distressing. The symptoms often occur suddenly and without warning.
As well as overwhelming feeling of anxiety, a panic attack can cause physical
symptoms, such as:
 Sweating
 Trembling
 Hot flushes or chills
 Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
 A choking sensation
 Rapid heartbeat(tachycardia)
 Pain or tightness in the chest
 A sensation of butterflies in the stomach
 Nausea
 Headaches and dizziness
 Feeling faint
 Numbness or pins and needles
 Dry mouth
 A need to go to toilet
 Ringing in your ears
 Confusion or disorientation

Psychological symptoms
In severe cases, you may also experience psychological symptoms, such as:
 Fear of losing control
 Fear of fainting
 Feelings of dread
 Fear of dying
Treatment:
Many people with a phobia don’t need traeatment and avoding the object of their fear is
enough to control the problem.
However, it may not always be possible to avoid certain phobias, such as a fear of flying. In
this instance, you may decide to get professional help and advice to find out about
treatment options.
Most phobias are treatable, but no single treatment is guaranteed to work for all phobias.
In some cases, a combination of different treatments may be recommended.
The main treatment types are:
 Talking treatments
 Medication

Talking treatments

Talking treatments, such as counseling, are often very effective at treating phobias. In
particular, cognitive behavioral therapy.(CBT) has been found to be very effective for
treating phobias.

Cognitive behavioural therapy(CBT)

CBTis a type of counseling that can help you manage your problems by changing the way
you think and behave. It can beused 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.

For example, if you have a fear of snakes (ophidiophobia), your therapist may start by
asking you to read about snakes. They may later show you a picture of snake. They may
then arrange for you to visit the reptile house of your local zoo to look at some real snakes.
The final step would be for you to hold a snake.

Exposure therapy works by gradually increasing the level of exposure to your fear, which
allows you to gain control over your phobia. As the treatment progresses, you should begin
to feel anxious about your phobia.
 WATER
Related phobias
- natural environmental type

- Aqua phobia
- Thalassaphobia
- Hydrophobia
- Bathophobia
- Limnophobia
- Potamophiba
- Submechanopobia
- Cymophobia

AQUAPHOBIA
Introduction
Aqua phobia is an irrational fear of water that is classified as a
specific phobia. Specific phobias are a type of anxiety disorder
that cause.
Persistent and unrealistic fear triggered by an object, person,
animal, activity, or situation.
Aquaphobia is a fear of water. People with aquaphobia have
severe fear when they see or think about water. They may be
afraid of bath or showers, drinking water, large bodies of water or
swimming pools. Aquaphobia treatments include exposure
therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy hypnotherapy and
medications.
Cause of aquaphobia may happen due to falling from a significant
height or watching someone else fall from a significant height.
Experiencing a negative event, such as a panic attack, while in a
high place.

THALLASOPHOBIA
Thalassophobia is the persistent and intense fear of deep
bodies of water, such as the ocean, seas, or lakes. Though very
closely related, thalassophobia should not e confused with
aquaphobia , which is classified as the fear of being in deep
bodies of water, the vastness of the sea, sea waves, aquatic
animals, and great distance from land.
The causes of thalassophobia are not clear and are a subject of
research by medical professionals as they can vary greatly
between individuals. Researchers have proposed that the fear of
large bodies of water is partly a humban evolutionary response,
and may also be related to popular culture influences which
include fright and distress. It is also theorized that the underlying
psychology of the phobia steam from the symbolic nature of
water. Specifically, the vastness of the sea is often connected to
ones deep unconscious.

HYDROPHOBIA
Hydrophobia is so named because it appears to be a fear of
water. However, unlike other phobias, hydrophobia doesn’t
actually involve the usual psychological symptoms , such as fear,
anxiety or panic. Instead , hydrophobia is symptomatic of the
rabies infection. It occurs during the later stages of the virus and
results in involuntary and painful spasms in the throat that occur
when drinking or thinking about drinking water.
Hydrophobia usually develops because of the physical symptoms
associated with rabies it is therefore a physiological condition,
rather than a psychological condition.

BATHOPHOBIA
Sufferers from bathphobia experience anxiety even though they
realize they are safe from falling into or being consumed by
depths. The feared object may be long dark hallway, a well or a
deep pool or lake.
A person might feel the fear or falling into something which
appears long or deep. A person could be easily scared of a long
hallway , a deep pool or a well.
The causes of bathophobia initiate when the person may have
gone through some accident or trauma where they may have
experienced falling. Bathophobia is related to the fear of falling .
Hence, people who have bathophobia avoid going to the terrace or
near a railing . Bathophobia could be genetic as well.

LIMNOPHOBIA
Limnophobia is an irrational fear of lakes. It is characterized by
intense and persistent anxiety or dead when near or thinking about
lakes, often resulting in avoidance behavior .
The fear of lakes can lead to avoidance of lakes and related
activities .
Limnophobia can have a significant impact on daily life and well-
being. Individuals with limnophobia may experience anxiety ,
panic or distress when in the presence or thought of lakes.

POTAMOPHOBIA
Potamophobia is the irrational fear of rivers or running water.
Someone suffering from this condition can expect to experience a
very high amount of anxiety from merely thinking of rivers or
running water.
Someone experiencing a full blown panic attack as a result ot their
potamophobia can expect to have an increased heart rate, an
increased of breathing , higher blood pressure , muscle tension,
trembling, and excessive sweating amoung several other
symptoms. They may take this to the extreme by ensuring that
they cannot be exposed to rivers or running water in any way.

SUBMECHANOPHOBIA
 Submechanophobia is a fear of submerged human-made objects
either partially or entirely underwater. People wuth this phobia
experience anxiety and distress when encountering objects like
shipwrecks, statues, sea mine, animatronics (as seen in theme
parks) or old buildings beneath the water surface.
Visual distortion caused by water and movement can make
objects appear alive and potentially harmful, even though they are
artificial and man-made.
The mind may react negatively to foreign objects in a natural
environment , triggering a fight –or-flight response.

CYMOPHOBIA
Cymophobia is the irrational fear of waves or wave-like motions.
Someone suffering from this condition can expect to experience a
very high amount of anxiety from merely thinking of waves or
wave-like motions. In fact , their anxiety may be so intense that
they may even endure a full blown panic attack as a result of it.
Someone experiencing a full blown panic attack as a result of
their cymophobia can expext to have an increased heart rate, an
incrased an increased of breathing , higher blood pressure ,
muscle tension, trembling, and excessive sweating amoung
several other symptoms. Although panic attacks may not always
be the case for everyone experiencing symptoms of cymophobia
it is still possible to occur, especially if their symptoms are very
severe.