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Phobias |
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| What are Phobias? |
| Phobias are excessive,
intense, or irrational fears which mean people avoid certain situations,
activities, objects, or animals. Phobias are more common in women.
Phobias can be overwhelming, frightening, isolating, and debilitating. They place limitations on people's lives. Many are bewildered by their emotions when confronted by the phobic object, but feel powerless to control them. People experiencing phobias can lose hope that they will recover and lead a worthwhile life. Phobias are of four main types:
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| Specific Phobias |
| These are very common - most
people are not seriously affected by them. They are fears of specific
objects, situations, or activities e.g. heights, water, flying, dogs,
cats, spiders etc. If you are phobic about spiders you will feel extremely
anxious anywhere near a situation you imagine spiders to be, even though
you know the fear is irrational. Once you leave the situation you
feel fine.
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| Blood, injury, and injection Phobias |
| Although most people do not
like these things, some people are so phobic they feel extremely anxious
even hearing about them. They find it hard to visit hospitals, and will
avoid going to the dentist. The sight of blood and the thought of
contamination by blood may make them panic. During the
life-span there is a one in eight chance of having a specific phobia or a
blood/ injury/ injection phobia. Most start in childhood or the
20s.
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| Social Phobias |
| While most people are anxious
if they must speak in front of a crowd, some people suffer from social
phobic fear in everyday situations. One person in five has a fear of
public speaking, but one in 10 will have social phobia badly enough
at some time in their life that they will be significantly affected.
They are afraid people will think badly of them, treat them unkindly, or
ignore them because of the way they act in a social setting. They
are afraid to be observed shaking, sweating, or blushing. For some
it is a fear of only one activity e.g. eating in public, using a public
toilet, or in meetings, whilst for others it includes most social
situations. People with social phobia are at risk of developing other
problems, such as agoraphobia, alcohol and drug abuse, or depression.
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| Agoraphobia |
| This is a complicated phobia,
and is usually accompanied by panic attacks during which the sufferer will
fear something dreadful is going to happen. The fear extends to places
that they may have a panic attack, so they avoid such places - usually
shops, public places, cars etc. They fear being away from safety or
help in case they collapse. They fear being unable to escape from
the place should a panic attack occur. Safety is ensured by being at
home or in the company of someone they trust. Agoraphobia can differ
from day to day and is different from most specific phobias where anxiety
happens every time the feared stimulus is met.
Agoraphobia is usually considered the most severe of the phobias. People with agoraphobia may also have generalised anxiety, depression, or disturbed sleep. Agoraphobia affects 1 - 2% of the population at some time in their life, and usually starts between adolescence and 35. Untreated agoraphobia can be a life-long problem and may become so severe that you are housebound and become depressed or suicidal.
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| What sustains Phobias? |
| Avoidance of the feared
stimulus keeps phobias going. If you always avoid a situation, this
erodes confidence. It prevents you learning that the intensity of
your fear is far greater than the actual thing you face. Instead, you
learn avoidance makes you feel ok temporarily. This is acceptable if
your life is not greatly affected, but if you avoid social situations you
fail to gain confidence with people and your life becomes very restricted.
In agoraphobia, panic attacks sustain the phobia. Anything that is anxiety provoking will make it harder to recover from agoraphobia or social phobia.
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| How are Phobias treated? |
| Psychological treatment is
the most proven treatment for phobias and the success rates are very high.
Exposure therapy and flooding are the psychological treatments of
choice. This means carefully being exposed to the phobic object or
situation in a gradual and stepwise manner - known as systematic
desensitisation. For example, if dog phobia is the problem, the person
might start off by thinking about dogs, then looking at pictures of dogs,
then real dogs, the seeing a dog which is tied up, then eventually
touching a quiet dog. These steps are often first taken in the
imagination. The treatment is proceeded by deep muscle relaxation,
and the person will not move onto the next step until the current step is
achievable whilst staying relaxed.
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Recommended Site for extensive
information on phobias and treatment:
http://www.phobiafacts.com/fear-and-phobias.html
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If you, or anyone you know, show symptoms of a phobia and you would like to make an appointment to discuss this with me, email a-lamont@xtra.co.nz, or telephone (03) 354-1969 |
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