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.
People with ongoing medical conditions or health concerns often have phobias. Substance abuse and depression are also connected to phobias. Phobias have different symptoms from serious mental illnesses such as schizophrenia. In schizophrenia, people have visual and auditory hallucinations, delusions, paranoia, negative symptoms such as anhedonia, and disorganized symptoms.
Phobias may be irrational, but people with phobias do not fail reality testing. They often avoid social situations altogether and stay inside their homes. Those with chronic health problems may fear they will have a medical emergency in a public area or where no help is available.
Social phobia is also referred to as social anxiety disorder. A social phobia can be so severe that the simplest interactions, such as ordering at a restaurant or answering the telephone, can cause panic.
People with social phobia often go out of their way to avoid public situations. Many people dislike certain situations or objects, but to be a true phobia, the fear must interfere with daily life. Here are a few more of the most common ones:.
Glossophobia: This is known as performance anxiety, or 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. Glossophobia treatments can include either therapy or medication.
Acrophobia: This is the fear of heights. Barbara is terrified of flying. Unfortunately, she has to travel a lot for work, and this traveling takes a terrible toll. It gets worse and worse with every flight.
But better that, she tells herself, than getting on a plane again. It is normal and even helpful to experience fear in dangerous situations.
With our bodies and minds alert and ready for action, we are able to respond quickly and protect ourselves. But with phobias the threat is nonexistent or greatly exaggerated. For example, it is only natural to be afraid of a snarling Doberman, but it is irrational to be terrified of a friendly poodle on a leash, as you might be if you have a dog phobia.
Many childhood fears are natural and tend to develop at specific ages. For example, many young children are afraid of the dark and may need a nightlight to sleep. In most cases, they will grow out of this fear as they get older. These include fear of choking, fear of getting a disease such as cancer, and fear of clowns. Social phobia , also called social anxiety disorder , is fear of social situations where you may be embarrassed or judged.
If you have social phobia, then you may be excessively self-conscious and afraid of humiliating yourself in front of others. Fear of public speaking—an extremely common phobia—is a type of social phobia. Other fears associated with social phobia include fear of eating or drinking in public, talking to strangers, taking exams, mingling at a party, or being called on in class.
Agoraphobia was traditionally thought to involve a fear of public places and open spaces, but is now believed to develop as a complication of panic attacks.
You may also avoid cars, airplanes, subways, and other forms of travel. In more severe cases, you might only feel safe at home.
The symptoms of a phobia can range from mild feelings of apprehension and anxiety to a full-blown panic attack. Your fear will also be higher if getting away is difficult. The symptoms of blood-injection-injury phobia are slightly different from other phobias. When confronted with the sight of blood or a needle, you experience not only fear, but also disgust.
Like other phobias, you initially feel anxious as your heart speeds up. However, unlike other phobias, this acceleration is followed by a quick drop in blood pressure, which leads to nausea, dizziness, and fainting. Although a fear of fainting is common in all specific phobias, blood-injection-injury phobia is the only phobia where fainting can actually occur. Read: Overcoming a Fear of Needles. On the other hand, if you have a severe phobia of crowded spaces, living in a big city would pose a problem.
Self-help strategies and therapy can both be effective at treating a phobia. As a general rule, self-help is always worth a try. However, if your phobia is so severe that it triggers panic attacks or uncontrollable anxiety, you may want to seek additional support.
Therapy for phobias has a great track record. Not only does it work extremely well, but you tend to see results very quickly—sometimes in as a little as one to four sessions. Just having someone to hold your hand or stand by your side as you face your fears can be extremely helpful. But when it comes to conquering phobias, facing your fears is the key. While avoidance may make you feel better in the short-term, it prevents you from learning that your phobia may not be as frightening or overwhelming as you think.
You never get the chance to learn how to cope with your fears and experience control over the situation. As a result, the phobia becomes increasingly scarier and more daunting in your mind. The most effective way to overcome a phobia is by gradually and repeatedly exposing yourself to what you fear in a safe and controlled way.
Some people run away. Others cry. Some people become angry and hostile. Some freeze in place. Think about the times that you have accidentally run into a situation that triggered your phobia. Intentionally placing yourself into the feared situation will likely trigger a similar reaction. Some people find that when they intentionally confront their triggers, the sense of control it gives them lessens their reactions.
However, this experience is by no means universal. Flooding is a mental health technique in which a person who suffers from a phobia is immersed in a triggering situation.
However, the technique is used by trained mental health professionals, often alongside other relaxation techniques like mindful breathing and visualization exercises. Studies show that flooding can cause elevated stress not only in the patient but sometimes also in the therapist.
Some phobic reactions can lead to potentially dangerous behaviors. If your tendency is to run away from a trigger, attempting to confront a fear of heights by perching on a roof ledge could end tragically.
If you tend to lash out physically when confined, confronting your claustrophobia at a densely packed event could cause trouble. It can sometimes be tough to tell the difference between a fear and a phobia.
If your fear is persistent and irrational, causing more than a mild "butterflies in the stomach" reaction, and it is interfering with your life, your fear may be a phobia.
If you generally find yourself avoiding a particular situation or obsessing about an upcoming confrontation, or if you display dramatic reactions such as running away, shaking or crying, it's probably safe to assume that you may have more than a simple fear. Consult with your family doctor or a trained mental health professional about any fear that seems severe or affects your life. Many phobias can be treated in just a few sessions using a combination of therapy techniques and, possibly, medications.
Medication is not usually used to treat phobias. But it's sometimes prescribed to help people cope with the effects of anxiety. Phobias are the most common type of anxiety disorder.
Page last reviewed: 26 October Next review due: 26 October Overview - Phobias. Phobia symptoms A phobia is a type of anxiety disorder. Symptoms may include: unsteadiness, dizziness and lightheadedness nausea sweating increased heart rate or palpitations shortness of breath trembling or shaking an upset stomach If you do not come into contact with the source of your phobia very often, it may not affect your everyday life. Types of phobia There are a wide variety of objects or situations that someone could develop a phobia about.
But phobias can be divided into 2 main categories: specific or simple phobias complex phobias Specific or simple phobias Specific or simple phobias centre around a particular object, animal, situation or activity.
Common examples of simple phobias include: animal phobias — such as dogs, spiders, snakes or rodents environmental phobias — such as heights, deep water and germs situational phobias — such as visiting the dentist or flying bodily phobias — such as blood, vomit or having injections sexual phobias — such as performance anxiety or the fear of getting a sexually transmitted infection STI Complex phobias Complex phobias tend to be more disabling than simple phobias.
The 2 most common complex phobias are: agoraphobia social phobia Agoraphobia is often thought of as a fear of open spaces, but it's much more complex than this.
The anxiety usually results in the person avoiding situations such as: being alone being in crowded places, such as busy restaurants or supermarkets travelling on public transport Social phobia, also known as social anxiety disorder, centres around feeling anxious in social situations.
What causes phobias?
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