Obsessive fear
Any obsessive fear is classified as an anxiety disorder. The person who has such a problem does not understand why the fear of certain things is caused. Phobias have a huge number of different types. As it turned out, a person can be afraid of anything: from mice to forks, and very real symptoms arise that affect the person’s physical condition.
A person who is simply afraid of something will try to find a solution to this problem, or will be ready to face his fears in order to overcome them. A person with a phobia will avoid the object of his fear in every possible way, even to the point of hysterical states.
People with phobias experience some degree of depersonalization, including depression. At the same time, depression in this case is not considered to be a sign of phobia, but rather a secondary reaction of the human psyche, when low self-esteem strengthens the awareness of one’s own powerlessness in overcoming fear.
Formation of phobias as a result of a traumatic event
It is also important to note that the level of anxiety can increase, either as a result of long-term adaptation to traumatic circumstances, as in the case of a child and his unbalanced father, as described above, or sharply. A person may become anxious as a result of a high-intensity traumatic event. And then a phobia may immediately arise if the event had a bright semantic connotation.
Let's look at another example. Let's say there was a holiday - a teenager's birthday. And for even more fun, the parents invited a clown to perform. Everything went well, everyone had fun. But suddenly one of the relatives became ill and as a result he died right during the holiday.
As a result of such circumstances, a teenager will develop an increased level of anxiety after understanding the situation. And also, as an addition to this, a phobia will appear associated with clowns or, even worse, with holidays.
Of course, much will depend on what the adults who are significant to the child, in this case the parents, say and what they do. With a competent approach, if you have a certain calming conversation with the child, which will teach him to have a more philosophical attitude towards life and failures, phobias can be avoided. But working with anxiety will take much longer.
Phobia and counterphobia
A phobia can masquerade as so-called counterphobia . With this form of mental disorder, patients, on the contrary, want to do exactly what fills them with horror. There are cases when famous musicians are very afraid of the auditorium and stage. Many climbers are not just afraid of heights, but experience real horror and panic about their own activity. The point is that when a person succeeds, albeit temporarily, in overcoming his phobia, self-esteem increases sharply and a feeling of real euphoria arises.
Relapse
Phobias are characterized by a recurrent component; their course can be long, for many years. These conditions extremely rarely go away on their own, especially when the main symptoms were observed within one year. If you suspect that you have a phobia, you should consult a doctor, because... only he can help you determine an accurate diagnosis.
Psychological symptoms of phobia
Include:
- feeling of expecting the worst (premonition),
- feeling of tension and anxiety;
- impaired concentration;
- sensitivity to noise;
- a feeling of memory deterioration (although in most cases this is a consequence of impaired concentration);
- observation and/or anticipation of physical signs;
- obsessive ideas about approaching unpleasant sensations;
- the feeling that the individual has already been in such a situation (déjà vu);
- feeling that “the head has become empty” and there are no thoughts.
Cognitive effect of anxiety
The cognitive effect lies in the way patients evaluate their physical manifestations of anxiety. Patients with anxiety-phobic disorder often exaggerate existing vegetative symptoms. For example, they fear that dizziness or shooting pain is the result of a tumor and will lead to death.
Behavioral Effects of Anxiety
Manifested by changes in sleep patterns, nervous habits and increased physical activity. In anxiety-phobic disorders, sleep disturbance has a characteristic scenario. When a person goes to bed, problems with falling asleep begin, and he tries to fall asleep for a long time, experiencing excitement and anxiety. When sleep comes, it is interrupted at certain intervals, and the patient again experiences agony to fall asleep. Often patients report clearly recorded “nightmare” dreams. Sometimes, those susceptible to anxiety disorders suddenly wake up while “watching a nightmare”, experiencing inexplicable intense fear, not remembering the content of the dream and not understanding what frightened him so much. The next morning the patient feels as if he had not slept. Unlike depressive disorders, people with phobias rarely wake up early and may fall back asleep when they wake up.
Some patients with anxiety disorders experience panic attacks. This term refers to a period of intense fear with a sudden onset and pronounced physical symptoms.
Learn the concept of phobia Check out the list of common phobias Read about the treatment of phobias.
Symptoms and signs of phobia
1. Cramps. 2. Trembling throughout the body, tremor. 3. Attacks of sudden nausea, indigestion. 4. Lack of air, throat spasms, shortness of breath. 5. Numbness of the limbs, unpleasant tingling. 6. Weakness, fainting. 7. Increased heart rate, chest tightness. 8. Fear of death or fear of losing reality. 9. A sharp increase in blood pressure. 10. The body stops listening. 11. Hot flashes or cold flashes, accompanied by increased sweating.
The symptoms are psychosomatic in nature, that is, they originate in the head. Mental processes directly affect a person’s physical condition. These symptoms can arise in a person just from one thought about the object of his fear. When the cause of fear is far from a person, he leads a normal life, works, rests. However, the symptoms immediately make themselves known as soon as he faces his fear.
Getting rid of phobias
In order to rid a person of a phobia, you need to reduce his anxiety. If you do not work with anxiety, but work only directly with the phobia, then with a certain degree of probability you will still be able to cure it, but after a while another phobia will appear in its place, since the anxiety that has not gone away will look for a way out.
First of all, you need to direct all efforts to reduce anxiety. In order for this to happen, a person must first come to terms with the fact that he will never be able to control all aspects of his life. There will always be an element of unpredictability in life. And this fact should be viewed not from the point of view of doom, but from the point of view of infinity of possibilities. The world is beautiful precisely because of its unpredictability.
The following also have a beneficial effect on the emotional sphere: sports, yoga, regular and moderate physical activity, walks in the fresh air, proper nutrition, and breathing exercises.
Factors that aggravate phobic disorders include: smoking, alcohol, constant stress, poor nutrition, and sleep disturbances.
If you pay close attention to factors that favor getting rid of anxiety and minimize the influence of aggravating factors, then the likelihood of getting rid of phobias on your own becomes quite high.
Each person is capable, within certain limits, of independently stabilizing his emotional state. But if your own efforts are not enough, you should contact a specialist knowledgeable in these matters.
In psychotherapy, there are many methods that help, coming from different angles, to rid a person of the phobias that torment him.
Signs of a phobia that distinguishes it from simple fear
1. Fear is too strong and turns into a panic attack. 2. Normal life undergoes significant changes only because of the presence of a certain fear. 3. Such conditions last longer than six months. 4. You don’t understand why the object of fear causes such a strong reaction in you; there are no apparent reasons for this. 5. You try to avoid interaction and intersection with the object of fear.
Phobias have a destructive effect on both the life of the person himself and his environment. It is important to recognize that there is a problem; phobias are treatable. It is worth immediately contacting a psychotherapist who will help the patient find a way out of this situation, since treatment can take place even without the use of medications. It is important to remember that it is much easier to get rid of phobias at the beginning of their onset; the passage of time only leads to a worsening of fears.
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Formation of phobias based on increased levels of anxiety
When a person is constantly tense and anxious, he subconsciously wants to somehow realize his anxiety. And if a convenient moment comes up, anxiety, being, as we found out, pointless, becomes objectified, choosing as an object, for example, trips on the subway or flights on an airplane. The person immediately finds many pseudological justifications for why it is dangerous to ride the subway or fly on an airplane and will sincerely believe in them.
It is worth noting that a phobia can form either as a result of some incident or almost out of the blue. But one thing will be unconditional - the level of anxiety of the owner of the phobia will be high.
Modeling
A phobia develops when you see someone close to you being very scared (of a specific situation or a certain animal/insect). This is called “modelling”. When you see someone else “modeling” the fear response to certain things, you are able to learn to be afraid of those same things. Situations where parents often tell their children that (for example) dogs are dangerous, you shouldn’t approach them, you need to be careful of dogs, and so on, teaches the child that ALL dogs are ALWAYS dangerous. Such stories from adults can contribute to the development of a real phobia at an early age.
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Agoraphobia - fear of open space
Fear as the basis of a phobia
Definition 3
Fear is an emotion that arises as a result of a threat to a person’s existence and is directed towards the source of danger.
The main distinguishing feature of fear is that it occurs as if in anticipation of events that threaten a person. The real action has not yet occurred and perhaps will not happen, but fear is already paralyzing a person and turning off his ability to think adequately and constructively.
Depending on the nature of the threat, fear can intensify and grow. It could be apprehension, fear, fear or horror.
Functionally, fear serves as a warning about impending danger and allows a person to focus his attention on its source and encourages him to look for ways to eliminate it.
Causes of phobias
The doctor begins treatment of phobias by determining the causes of their occurrence. In official medicine, these reasons are divided into three main categories :
- Explicit – factors associated with mental disorders, diseases and brain injuries.
- Hidden - in most cases associated with childhood psychological trauma (errors in upbringing, unresolved conflict, moral shock).
- Cognitively constructed – a common cause is loneliness, self-doubt, an inferiority complex, and dissatisfaction with one’s appearance.
It is possible to cure the disease and learn not to be afraid only if the person can eliminate the factor that provoked the development of the phobia.
We recommend reading: Where does the fear of being buried alive come from?
General concept of phobias
Definition 1
Phobias are irrational, uncontrollable, spontaneously occurring persistent manifestations of fears of various natures.
An example of a phobia could be:
- Aichmophobia, in which a person tries with all his might to avoid sharp objects;
- aquaphobia, fear of water and immersion in water;
- claustrophobia, fear of closed spaces.
Traditionally, phobias have been viewed as part of an obsessive state associated with thought disorders.
Definition 2
An obsessive state is an experience during which a person, against his will, has fears and doubts, obsessive thoughts and actions. Despite the fact that a person is able to track these conditions, he cannot get rid of them.
Finished works on a similar topic
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How do phobias develop?
Specific phobias are very common, especially among children and adolescents. Research shows that approximately 10% of children will experience some type of specific phobia, making this type of anxiety one of the most common anxiety disorders in the world. According to the American Psychiatric Association (APA), phobias are the most common mental illness among women and the second most common among men. In Russian megacities, approximately every tenth person suffers from one or another phobia. Many phobias arise in childhood or adolescence, but can haunt a person into adulthood. Researchers identify three main scenarios that can influence the development of a phobia.
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