Phobia,Symptoms, Causes,Types, Treatment

People with a specific phobia, though, has developed an extreme fear of a particular object, activity, or situation which is out of proportion with the actual level of threat posed. People with a specific phobia with the actual level of threat posed. People with a specific phobia will actively avoid the feared object or situation, and experience a high level of anxiety if it is encountered.

What is Phobia?

Phobia is a type of anxiety disorder, defined by the American Psychological Association (APA) as “a phobia is an irrational and excessive fear of an object or situation”. Mostly phobia involves a sense of endangerment or fear of harm.

For example;                                                                                                            

Those with agoraphobia fear being trapped in an inescapable place or situation.

Phobia Symptoms:

Symptoms of Phobia can occur through experience/exposure to the feared object or situation. Symptoms include;

• Breathlessness
• Dizziness, trembling, and increased heart rate
• Fear of dying
• Nausea
• Preoccupation with the feared object
• A sense of unreality

Specific phobia is characterized by;

An intense fear or anxiety linked to a definite object, activity, or situation which is out of proportion with the degree of danger actually postured.

Active efforts to avoid the feared object, activity or situation (e.g., taking the stairs to avoid going in an elevator).

Causes of Phobia:

In the development of Phobia number of factors has been associated, these include;

• Genetic Factor
• Direct Learning
• Indirect Learning
• Unhelpful Thoughts
• Avoidance

Let’s discuss above mentioned causes of Phobia.

Genetic Factors:

People with a family history of situational phobias, animal phobias, and blood phobia, injection phobia, and injury phobias have a higher chance of evolving the phobia than those without a family history.

Direct Learning:

Several phobias (particularly those connected to animals, injections, and enclosed-spaces) occur following a negative experience.

For Example, A person may develop a phobia of dogs after having been bitten by a dog.

Indirect Learning:

A Person may become terrible of a particular object or situation after perceiving another person’s fearful response to that same object or situation.

Unhelpful Thoughts:

 Unhelpful thoughts such as overestimating the chance of harm or improper beliefs about the consequences of confronting a feared object/situation is also thought to add to the continued experience of a phobia.

Avoidance: 

Avoidance is a common behavioral reaction to a definite phobia as it permits people to avoid feelings of fear and anxiety. However, avoidance prevents chances to learn to challenge fearful beliefs and develop effective coping skills to accomplish anxiety. As a result, specific phobia is sustained and not overcome.

Categories of Phobia:

Phobia Classify into three categories which are;

1.      Specific Phobia 
2.       Agoraphobia  
3.       Social Phobia

Specific Phobia:

     Specific Phobia comprises, fear of a specific object. For Example, Snake, butterfly, and moth, the fear of butterflies and moths are called lepidopterophobia. Mottephobia, or the fear of moths alone is closely related to this phobia.

Such phobias usually fall into four different categories:

Situational 

Animals

Medical

Natural Environmental.

A few examples of common fear objects include spiders, dogs, needles, natural disasters, heights, and flying.

Agoraphobia:               

This defines as a fear of being confined in an inescapable place or situation. As an outcome, the phobic individual may begin to avoid such situations. In some cases, this fear can become so persistent and irresistible that the individual even fears to leave their home.

Social Phobias:

A fear of social situations include an extreme and pervasive fear of social situations. In several cases, this fear may center on a very particular type of social situation such as public speaking. In other instances, people may fear to accomplish any task in front of other people for fear that they will be somehow publicly humiliated.

Phobia Treatment:

  Exposure Therapy

       Cognitive Therapy

        Medication

        Hypnotherapy

Exposure Therapy:

Exposure therapy is considered the best effective treatment for specific phobias. In this therapy, the person confronts the feared object or situation without engaging in any avoidance or escape behaviors. By encouraging people to face their fears, it is thought that exposure therapy teaches a person that feelings of anxiety decrease naturally over time and that the feared consequences of a phobic object or situation are unlikely to occur.

The most effective form of exposure therapy is in vivo exposure.

In-Vivo Exposure:

This therapy conducted in a controlled environment and comprises directly opposing the person’s fear through a series of activities which provoke increasing levels of fear and anxiety. For Example:

 A person with a phobia of dogs may, first decide to approach a dog on a leash, then proceed to pat a dog on the head, then allow a dog to lick his/her hand, and eventually go to a dog park. A person usually undergoes exposure therapy until the most anxiety-provoking the situation has been successfully mastered.

Cognitive Therapy:

Cognitive therapy involves helping the person to identify and challenge unhelpful thoughts. This technique might be used alone or in conjunction with exposure therapy.

Medication:

Anti-depressants and Anti-anxiety medication can help calm emotional and physical reactions to fear. Often, a combination of medication and professional therapy is the most helpful.

Hypnotherapy:

Through this hypnotherapy, the basic cause of the phobia may be uncovered. The phobia may be caused by a past event that the person does not remember, a phenomenon known as repression. The mind represses traumatic memories from the conscious mind until the person is ready to deal with them. Hypnotherapy may also exclude the conditioned responses that occur during different situations.