Fear of flying on airplanes, getting into a confined space - almost everyone has a phobia, a fear of something. Rational fears are a normal feeling based on the instinct of self-preservation, but sometimes it turns into pathology.
A phobia is an irrational fear of an object, situation or environment. Objects that are expected or encountered in reality cause a strong emotional reaction: anxiety or even panic. The person does everything possible to avoid the situation. At their worst, these disorders can cause severe anxiety, depression, and panic attacks. This stress triggers chronic pain, ADHD, sleep disorders, eating disorders, substance abuse, and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).
Symptoms of a panic attack
- Labored breathing
- Nausea
- Headache
- Dry mouth
- Cardiopalmus
- Numbness
- Chills
- Shiver
- Sweating.
How to determine if it is a phobia
This state goes beyond ordinary fear.
For example, a person may get scared when walking through the forest and sees a bear. This is a normal adaptive response, part of the body's fight-or-flight response to stress. A phobia is an irrational fear. For example, a person may be deathly afraid of dogs and try to avoid them in any way. In this case, most likely, a dangerous situation will not arise.
According to the American Psychiatric Association, symptoms must last for 6 months or longer, be life-limiting, cause behavioral changes or extreme distress, and not be caused by another disorder.
People have been terrified of the same situation for years. They are aware that their fear is unfounded, but they cannot do anything. In this case, you need the help of a professional, since in addition to psychological disorders, they can be accompanied by a variety of vegetative symptoms: rapid heartbeat, sweating, redness of the face, trembling in the body, dry mouth, nausea, discomfort in the stomach, difficulty breathing and even suffocation.
Experts have identified dozens of phobias. The list includes the strange and absurd - fear of flowers and beards - as well as more understandable ones: fear of the dentist or illness. Let's tell you what each phobia is called.
Changing the daily routine
How can you not worry about anything all day long? It’s very simple, add a few pleasant moments to your usual schedule. This will help you get distracted and get a good dose of positive emotions. They will help you cope with almost any stress.
- Breakfast should be delicious. Yogurt, natural, chocolate with tea, oatmeal with honey and dried fruits - it doesn’t matter what you start your day with, the main thing is that it brings you a feeling of happiness.
- Don't skip exercise, it gives you vigor and strength to withstand stress all day.
- Learn to distract yourself from unpleasant situations. At such moments, think about what brings you peace.
- In particularly difficult situations, look at the flowing water. Is there a river nearby? No problem, just a water tap is enough.
- Write down your concerns on paper. Then just tear it up and throw it away. Imagine throwing away your problems along with the scraps.
Mysophobia
People suffering from mysophobia, also known as germophobia, have an excessive fear of germs, bacteria, infection, and dirt of any kind.
Refusal of contact with others, constant hand washing and frequent and very thorough cleaning are signs of mysophobia. Those who have obsessive-compulsive order tendencies are more likely to suffer from it. If you find yourself worrying excessively about germs and it's negatively impacting your quality of life, consider seeking help from a mental health professional.
Breakdown
The student has the right to respect for human dignity, protection from all forms of physical and mental violence, personal insult, protection of life and health
The teacher is obliged to comply with legal, moral and ethical standards, follow the requirements of professional ethics; respect the honor and dignity of students and other participants in educational relations.
Step two. Write an appeal addressed to the school principal (it can be either individual or collective), list the facts and circumstances that violate the rights of students to respect for honor and dignity and ask to take corrective action against the teacher, or to bring disciplinary action.
If the situation cannot be corrected, the parent can raise the question of transferring the child to another class or to another teacher. The procedure for transfer and other organizational issues related to the activities of the school must be reflected in the Charter of the educational institution. Parents have the right to familiarize themselves with all documents that regulate the activities of the school and affect their rights.
Step four. An appeal to the court, the prosecutor's office, the police, or the education control inspectorate can follow both after a disciplinary proceeding and in cases where a disciplinary proceeding was not carried out or during this proceeding the behavior of the teacher described by you was not established.
Agoraphobia
It is estimated that about 1% of adults suffer from agoraphobia. A separate category of phobia, this type of anxiety disorder causes panic when a person encounters certain places or situations. He feels that he has no control over the situation, and getting out of it may be difficult. A common type is fear of loneliness, or monophobia.
What are they afraid of?
- Crowds;
- stay home alone;
- open spaces;
- public transport;
- confined spaces.
Specialist help
If you understand that conventional methods do not help you, and you cannot help but worry about problems more than necessary, trust a psychologist. In this way, you will not only learn to control your emotions, but also part with a number of serious problems from the past that can ruin the future.
In addition, it is also worth checking the health of the endocrine system and the thyroid gland as a whole. A hormonal imbalance negatively affects the body's resistance to stress. It is easy to check the body's level of protection through DNA testing. It will show how vulnerable your body is to external irritants.
Arachnophobia
Spiders can be scary and disgusting to most people, but an arachnophobe will have a greatly exaggerated, panicked reaction when encountering even the smallest of these eight-legged creatures. If you are so afraid of spiders that you avoid going to places where you think they might be, or you have to leave the house when you see them, you may be one of the approximately 5% of people who have this phobia.
Analysis and analysis of fears
To get rid of the constant worries that are so annoying every day, you need to do a lot of work on yourself. If you don’t do this, you will interfere with the lives of not only yourself, but also those around you. To live without worrying and without spending a lot of energy on stress, learn to deal with all your fears. Divide them into two lists: solvable and unsolvable.
Let's start with the problems that can be solved. If you understand that with due effort you can easily cope with them, then you should not waste your nerves worrying about this. Now let's look at another list. Ask yourself, can I change anything? And if the answer is no, then stop worrying about something that has nothing to do with you.
A few more interesting phobias
Metro
In megacities there are many more irritants that can become the object of phobia. For example, after explosions in residential areas of the capital, residents began to fear terrorist attacks, and tragedies in the metro led to metrophobia.
And although, according to statistics, the most dangerous transport for life is road transport, 60% of Muscovites are afraid of the subway, especially escalators and crossings. According to experts, the very fact of descent is associated with increased danger, which is reinforced by the lack of air and the crush of irritated people violating each other’s personal space. By the way, the fear of the subway is associated not so much with unrest as with a long stay underground, usually from 40 minutes to an hour.
Workers
Against the backdrop of social cataclysms - the economic crisis and staff reductions - the most common is the fear of losing a job. Experts consider this a completely normal phenomenon, and moreover, theoretically - just theoretically! - the situation may become a reality. Therefore, a person tries it on himself and the more he thinks about it, discusses it with family and friends, the more real this image becomes in his mind. And then a focus of excitation is formed, and the next mention of contraction causes the appearance of obsessive pathological fear.
Stress, busy schedules and responsible work exhaust the psyche, opening up access to ergophobia - the fear of not being able to cope with one's work, Hellenophobia - not understanding scientific terms, kairophobia - the fear of new situations, Internetophobia - the fear of going online.
Urban
A popular source of fear for metropolitan residents is the likelihood of contracting an infection - molismophobia (especially in the midst of a pandemic).
According to doctors, this typical urban fear is due to the fact that everyone is forced to come into daily contact with many people from whom he potentially risks contracting something. This can happen not only on the street, in a store or on the subway, but also at a party.
Mass advertising of drugs, constantly reminding us of all kinds of infections and diseases transmitted in everyday life, also adds fuel to the fire. Phobias caused by the media are quite common.
Their manifestation is provoked not only by crime chronicles, but also by analytical programs about global warming, melting icebergs in Antarctica, and possible floods. By the way, large-scale climate change can lead to another one - weather phobia (this is one of the strangest phobias).
“What’s happening to me?”: 16 signs of a nervous breakdown that require help
Author:
Bondar Yulia
3 minutes
2830
Although the term was once used to refer to a wide range of mental illnesses, in modern medicine there is no such “diagnosis” anymore.
However, the so-called "nervous breakdown" remains a symptom of mental disorders such as depression, anxiety disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. It may accompany the acute phase of a particular disorder.
16 signs of a nervous breakdown
Because the condition is not associated with any specific disease, a nervous or mental breakdown does not have any specific symptoms other than the inability to function “as usual.” And this normal mode of functioning varies markedly across cultures, regions, and even families. However, there are 16 common symptoms typical of this condition:
- feeling anxious, depressed, tearful, or irritable;
- feeling of helplessness, hopelessness;
- low self-esteem;
- avoidance of normal social situations;
- sleep problems – insomnia or excessive sleepiness;
- craving for unhealthy habits and problems with hygiene;
- difficulties with concentration and memory;
- emotional or physical exhaustion, often without external cause;
- lack of motivation and interest in life;
- inability to derive pleasure or satisfaction from things that previously brought joy or satisfaction;
- unexplained pain and general malaise;
- difficulties communicating with other people;
- suicidal thoughts or thoughts of self-harm;
- lack of interest in sex;
- slowness;
- frightening memories, nightmares, panic attacks.
In extreme cases, especially in mental conditions associated with psychosis, symptoms may also include hallucinations, paranoia, and delusions.
When to see a doctor
You should talk to your doctor as soon as physical or emotional stress begins to interfere with your daily life or normal activities. But, unfortunately, often people experiencing a so-called nervous breakdown cannot recognize its symptoms, nor understand that they need professional help.
Unfortunately, many people are reluctant to seek mental health help due to fear of being judged. They may also believe that everything that happens to them is their own fault and that they cannot be helped.
If your close friend or relative is showing one or more signs of a nervous breakdown, they should be encouraged to seek medical help.
Treatment and prevention
There are several ways that can help reduce symptoms of emotional and physical stress. Common treatment and prevention strategies for nerve disorder include:
- counseling, usually cognitive behavioral therapy;
- reducing or eliminating sources of stress such as conflicts at home or in the workplace;
- exercises to maintain mental and physical relaxation, such as deep breathing and meditation;
- 20 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise daily, or 10 minutes of vigorous-intensity exercise daily;
- hobbies that encourage getting outside;
- communication with friends, family, partners about your feelings and emotions;
- establishing and maintaining a strict daily routine, special attention to hygiene, sleep and nutrition;
- finding local or online support groups for people with similar symptoms;
- creating a zone of special calm without distractions to improve sleep quality
- avoidance of caffeine, alcohol and nicotine
The use of antidepressants or antipsychotic drugs may be effective, but should only be prescribed by a doctor.
Causes and risk factors
Anything that causes increased emotional and physical stress can lead to nervous breakdown or cause symptoms of a “nervous breakdown.” But there are certain situations, genetic factors and experiences that are more likely to be associated with a nervous or mental disorder than others.
Causes and risk factors for nervous disorders include:
- intense grief;
- traumatic experience;
- being in an abusive relationship;
- high stress at work;
- emotional burnout at work;
- family history of mental disorders;
- insulation;
- serious social conflict, especially if it affects work and home life;
- severe or chronic illness or injury.
Treatment of phobias
Seeing a mental health professional is the first step. A psychiatrist or psychologist may recommend cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), medications, or a combination of both. Some experts offer methods of self-hypnosis, acupuncture, breathing exercises, auto-training (all of them have no proven effectiveness).
Other popular methods are pumping, counteracting and modeling
- Intensification involves full exposure to the phobia until the anxiety goes away.
- Opposition gradually exposes a person to phobia.
- Modeling is a passive treatment that involves watching others confront the phobia without harming themselves.
"Intensive therapy" course
With the help of imagination, the severity of pathological fear is reduced and a habit of the real or theoretical presence of the object of phobia in life is developed.
Then “practice” begins - a person tries to encounter this very object. If this is metrophobia, you will have to gradually immerse yourself in the atmosphere of the subway: first go into the lobby, stand there for a while and get out, the next day try to ride the escalator. Once you’ve adapted, you can take your first train trip, but it’s better accompanied by a loved one.
Is a nervous breakdown considered a work-related injury?
whether an accident occurred at work with a person subject to compulsory social insurance against accidents at work and occupational diseases (Article 5 of the Federal Law of July 24, 1998 N 125-FZ);
whether the circumstances (time, place and others) accompanying the event correspond to the circumstances specified in part three of Article 227 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation;
In this regard, in order to correctly qualify an event that resulted in harm to the life or health of the victim, it is necessary in each case to examine the following legally significant circumstances:
whether the event that occurred is indicated in the list of events qualified as accidents (part three of Article 227 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation);
whether the victim is one of the persons participating in the employer’s production activities (part two of Article 227 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation);
