The term ‘Phobia’ was coined from the Greek word "Phobos,” which means aversion or fear. Thus, a phobia disorder is nothing but a fear or anxiety disorder, wherein the individual experiences extreme, intense, or irrational fear about a particular object/thing, situation, environment, or even another living being, like a human, insect, or animal.
When left untreated, the individual may not lead an ordinary life and might end up complicating things. Hence, knowing a phobia’s causes, signs, and treatment methods is essential.
What causes a phobia?
Medically, no one common cause has been identified so far. The causes of phobia could be genetic, environmental influence, stressful situations, past traumas, a person’s previous life experience, or anything else. Having said this, only a therapist or psychiatrist can help with the proper diagnosis—understanding the patient’s complete history, analyzing the appropriate signs or symptoms, and identifying the right type of phobia.
In general, children experience fear more than adults. Though most of them overcome it when growing up, some still suffer. Thus, attending to their fear is important to avoid developing a phobia.
What are the symptoms of phobias?
As said earlier, the causes and symptoms vary depending upon the type of phobia and the individual. However, there are some common physical and mental signs that phobic people demonstrate:
- Mental signs
- Uncontrollable emotions
- Unable to respond to fear triggers
- Intense anxiety
- Stressed mind
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- Physical signs
- Increased heart rate
- Sudden sweating
- Chest pain
- Dizziness
- indigestion
- Severe fatigue
- Diarrhea
- Trembling or shaking
- Breathing difficulties
The two major categories and their types of Phobia
- Simple phobia: This simple or specific phobia arises out of thinking and causes nothing dangerous. In this phobia, the fear can be intense but not as severe as in complex phobia. The types are:
- Situational: Under certain situations, like driving, crossing, or flying (aviophobia), individuals experience fear.
- Environmental: This includes the fear of darkness (nyctophobia), height (acrophobia), water (aquaphobia), etc.
- Physical: It involves fear of bodily problems, like injuries or accidents (dystychiphobia), cancer (cancerophobia), death (necrophobia), etc.
- Animal: This includes fear of dogs (cynophobia), snakes (ophidiophobia), bees (apiphobia), etc.
- Complex phobia: This type of phobia is more disruptive and deep-rooted than a simple phobia. Here, the consequences of the disorder may be dangerous and need immediate treatment.
- Social: This is characterized by extreme fear of getting judged by surrounding people and the individuals often try to avoid social gatherings to avoid the triggers.
- Agora: This type is characterized by an intense fear of facing strange people (xenophobia), public places, open spaces, or feeling alone in an enclosed environment (claustrophobia), like a lift, plane, car, etc.
Treatment for phobia disorder
While medications can only target the triggers, specialized therapies, like behavioral, exposure, and cognitive, are needed to overcome the extreme fear. Particularly, doctors recommend exposure therapy, in which the affected individual is allowed to be exposed to fearful things or situations but under controlled or regulated circumstances. Gradually, over multiple sessions, the individual gets out of the fear and defeats the phobia.
Above all, first, understand that any phobia is treatable and curable. Second, no one solution solves all kinds of phobias. Third, a problem well understood is half-solved. So, identifying the phobia symptoms with the help of a certified psychiatrist is the first step to treating a phobia.
What can you expect out of a first psychiatrist meet-up?
Why Choose Naveen Hospital's Phobia Treatment Center?
Naveen Hospital, a three-decade-old treatment center, offers holistic and personalized phobia care to affected individuals. From listening to the patient’s history to validating the symptoms to diagnosing the right kind of phobia, psychiatrists at Naveen Hospital are well-trained and experienced. Also, with the help of certified nurses and top-notch facilities, they provide specialized treatment for permanent sobriety and a peaceful life.
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