Understanding Phobias, Drops of Fear that Spread (An A to Z List Included).

A phobia is an overwhelming fear of something that does not pose any real danger to you in any way. Even if this thing poses any form of danger, the victims response to it is usually exaggerated or out of this world. People who have these phobias have no idea that the fear they have is irrational. What this does to them is trigger severe anxiety when they are finally exposed to these fears.

So a phobia is not just about you being scared of “a thing”. It’s simply an exaggerated fear response. This then makes the victims re-arrange their lives, living conditions and relationships to avoid the situation or things that cause them anxiety.

Specific phobias

These are phobias that relate to specific objects or situations hence the name specific. These phobias are developed when a subject is younger and the older they get, the less severe it becomes in most situations. However there are victims who never outgrow their phobias. Below are some of the phobias that fall under this category;

• Animal type: Examples include dogs, snakes, and spiders.
• Natural environment type: Examples include storms, water, and heights.
• Blood, injection, and injury (BII) type: Examples include needles, invasive medical procedures, and blood.
• Situational type: Examples include a fear of flying and a fear of enclosed spaces.
• Other type: This type is characterized by any phobia that does not fit into the above categories.

Social phobias

When you find yourself extremely scared of being in social situations, situations that could cause you a measure of humiliation or get pie on your face. This could be the fear of presenting something to your classmates, speaking in a boardroom meeting or simply speaking to people in public.

Agoraphobia

Crowded areas and public spaces where you cannot leave are the real test environments that bring out true cases of Agoraphobia. This fear is so profound in its impact on victims that it could trigger a full lifestyle change. I have seen cases where the client became homebound for at least 96 hours weekly because they were afraid of coming outside their house which had become their safe space.   This is usually the worst types of phobias because it’s situations or things which cause it are very tough to avoid. For instance we cannot avoid interacting with other people in our everyday life.

Treatment for Phobias

Phobias are treatable conditions and i have listed some of the ways you could treat these disorders.

Exposure Therapy

When we talk about phobias, the first type of therapy that really comes to mind are “Exposure-based treatments”. This is our best approach at TCMA in handling phobia-related situations because the best way to handle fear is to gradually expose yourself to it. This is why this mode of treatment tops our list. You might start by just thinking about your phobia trigger and then move slowly toward looking at images of the object and finally being near the object in real life.

Types of exposure-based treatments that may be used include:

• In vivo exposure: This involves being exposed to the source of your fear in real life.
• Virtual exposure: This involves the use of virtual reality to practice gradual exposure.
• Systematic desensitization: This involves being gradually exposed until you become desensitized to the source of your fear.

During this process, you’ll also practice relaxation techniques to help calm your body when your fear response kicks in.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

CBT involves learning to identify the underlying negative thoughts that contribute to feelings of fear. Once you develop a keen eye for noticing these thoughts, you then begin to replace them with more positive, vibrant and beneficial thoughts.

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing 

Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy utilizes rhythmic eye movements to help people process and recover from traumatic experiences. It is frequently used in the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), but can also be effective in the treatment of a variety of other mental health conditions including phobias. We will discuss this type of therapy in details as some of our in-house therapists have taken a fascination to this mode of therapy.

Medications

This is usually our last resort in treating phobias. Medications may be prescribed in some cases to help manage some of the symptoms triggered by phobia. Medications your doctor might prescribe include selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), beta-blockers, and anti-anxiety drugs.