Overcoming Phobias and Anxieties

Phobia or irrational fear of things can be classified as an anxiety disorder. There are more than 500 listed types of phobias and the list is ever growing. Out of these around 100 types are considered as common phobias. Phobia is quite a common mental disorder that affects a large number or people. Women are more prone to the disorder than men. The intensity of the condition can vary from mild to severe wherein it starts affecting the day to day life of the individual. Fear is an emotion that is both useful as well as harmful depending upon the situation. Faced with certain situations deemed dangerous, fear can be life-saving, but other times one may be become phobic and this can negatively affect on the quality of life one leads. There is no specific age or any other factors that impacts one being phobic about things.

What are Phobias?

Phobias can be described as fear of things such as flying, snakes, darkness, spiders, water, closed spaces and many other such petty things. Many a times the sufferer is himself aware that his fears are irrational, unfounded and exaggerated but still he is helpless. Some of the most common phobias found in people are Claustrophobia which is fear of small spaces like lift and closets. Agoraphobia which is reverse of claustrophobia, meaning fear of open spaces, Arcophobia meaning fear of heights. Aerophobia which is fear of flying, Cancerophobia meaning fear of cancer, Hemophobia meaning fear of blood or wounds, Emetophobia meaning fear of vomiting and Latrophobia which is fear of doctor and hospital visits.

Phobia Types and Causes

As stated above although there are more than 500 types of phobias but all these phobias are generally classified in to three primary types. The first being Social Phobia this type includes fear of public speaking, crowds, contact with strangers and other such socializing related phobias. The second type is specific or simple type of phobias which includes fear of animals, natural environment such as water, thunder, heights and more. The third and final type of phobia is Agoraphobia meaning fear of places and situations. There is no one cause or reason that causes phobia. Depending on the types of phobia, there may be traumatic, biological, genetic, psychological conditioning and many other reasons or a combination of reasons that can be the cause of phobias.

Phobia Symptoms

The most common symptoms of phobia are anxiety, palpitation, feeling of suffocation, shivering, cold sweat, feeling that something terrible will happen and more. Phobias can also cause behavioral changes. Other physical symptoms of phobia include rapid heartbeats, nausea and dizziness, tightness in chest, dry mouth, butterflies in the stomach sensation and others. Other than physical symptoms there are also physiological symptoms such as fear of dying or fainting or losing control. Phobias are many a time confused with panic attacks, although the symptoms may be identical to certain degree but the two are distinct disorders.

Phobia Treatment and overcoming Phobias

The simplest way to avoid phobia is to avoid the things or situations that trigger fear in an individual. Many specialists recommend that drug treatments should be avoided to treat phobias especially in case of simple phobias. But many a time constant recurring phobias can lead to mental exhaustion and depression which then requires medication. On the other hand, an agoraphobic disorder cannot be treated without medication, which is used to regulate the serotonergic system. Along with medication counseling and other types of psychological help such as hypnotherapy, emotional self-cleaning through TIPI technique may also be used to reach to the root of the problem and treat the same. One way to treat phobias is also by behavioral and cognitive therapy (CBT) meaning a progressive exposure to the said phobia under supervision of a qualified medical practitioner.