Share on: Facebook Twitter. Show references Anxiety disorders. Arlington, Va. Accessed Sept. Specific phobias fact sheet. National Institute of Mental Illness. Gabbard GO, ed. Specific phobia. In: Gabbard's Treatments of Psychiatric Disorders. Specific phobic disorders. Merck Manual Professional Version.
What are anxiety disorders? American Psychiatric Association. Augustyn M. Overview of fears and specific phobias in children and adolescents. Initial side effects can include sleepiness, blurred vision, constipation , urination difficulties, irregular heartbeat, dry mouth, and tremors.
Benzodiazepines are an example of a tranquilizer that might be prescribed for a phobia. These may help reduce anxiety symptoms. People with a history of alcohol dependence should not be given sedatives.
Using these drugs can lead to physical dependence, and withdrawal can be life threatening. Combining them with alcohol, opioids, and other substances can result in death. This can help people with a phobia alter their response to the source of fear. They are gradually exposed to the cause of their phobia over a series of escalating steps.
For example, a person with aerophobia, or a fear of flying on a plane, may take the following steps under guidance:.
The doctor, therapist, or counselor helps the person with a phobia learn different ways of understanding and reacting to the source of their phobia. This can make coping easier. Most importantly, CBT can teach a person experiencing phobia to control their own feelings and thoughts. Phobias can be a source of genuine and ongoing distress for an individual. However, they are treatable in most cases, and very often the source of fear is avoidable.
If you have a phobia, the one thing you should never be afraid of is seeking help. They also offer a range of talks on how to overcome specific phobias. Agoraphobia is an anxiety disorder. It can cause intense fear in situations where escape may be difficult or help hard to access. Learn about…. A phobia is a type of anxiety disorder. It causes a person to experience an overwhelming or debilitating fear of a situation or thing.
Learn more here. Anxiety is a normal emotion that causes increased alertness, fear, and physical signs, such as a rapid heart rate. However, when anxiety reactions…. Many people have difficulty finding effective ways to relax. Read this article to learn about different relaxation techniques and how they can benefit…. A look at different types of meditation and the benefits of each.
Included are tips for better meditation and information on how long it takes to work. Everything you need to know about phobias. Medically reviewed by Timothy J. Legg, Ph. What is a phobia? Symptoms Types Causes Treatment Takeaway A phobia is a type of anxiety disorder that causes an individual to experience extreme, irrational fear about a situation, living creature, place, or object.
Latest news Could 'cupping' technique boost vaccine delivery? Scientists identify new cause of vascular injury in type 2 diabetes. Adolescent depression: Could school screening help? Related Coverage. For instance, watching a devastating airplane crash on the news may trigger a fear of flying. That said, discerning the origin of the disorder can be difficult because people tend to do a poor job of identifying the source of their fears.
Our understanding of how and why phobias crop up remains limited, but we have made great strides in abating them. Exposure therapy, a form of cognitive-behavior therapy, is widely accepted as the most effective treatment for anxieties and phobias, and the vast majority of patients complete treatment within 10 sessions. During exposure therapy, a person engages with the particular fear to help diminish and ultimately overcome it over time.
An individual might, for example, look at a photograph of the dreaded object or become immersed in the situation he or she loathes. Fortunately for those plagued by irrational fears, we can treat a phobia rapidly and successfully without necessarily knowing its origin. Already a subscriber? Sign in. Thanks for reading Scientific American. Create your free account or Sign in to continue.
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