#MentalAwareness #MentalHealth
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Everyone suffers from the fear of one thing or the other but phobia goes beyond the limit of normal fear. It can be irrational and debilitation for the person suffering from it. It usually causes an unrealistic sense of danger towards a situation or an object, which might lead to a disruption of daily routine or life. It can be very distressing for the person.
Phobia is an overwhelming, persistent, excessive, unrealistic fear of an object/ person/ animal/ activity or situation. It’s a type of Anxiety Disorder. It’s more common in females than in males.
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What are the Types of Phobias?
Simple Phobia
It is specific phobia towards something. It’s more common type of phobia.
Social Phobia
in this type a person feels that people would judge him which would lead to embarrassment/ humiliation so they avoid such situations like social gathering/ functions/ get-together etc.
Agoraphobia
It’s fear of a situation where they think escape would be impossible so they avoid such situations like being in supermarket, public transport etc. they might even confine themselves to their homes.
How do I know I have Phobia?
- Dizziness/ Unsteadiness/ Light-headedness
- Palpitations
- Nausea/ Vomiting
- Sweating
- Raised Heart Rate
- Breathlessness
- Trembling
Why does Phobia occur?
- Associated with particular incident/ trauma
- Learned response from parents/ siblings/ person who have phobia
- Genetic: few people who have anxiety are more prone to develop phobia or inherit traits.
[Tweet “Phobia is Most Common type of Anxiety Disorder.”]
Is Phobia Treatable?
Yes, with proper treatment and therapy phobia could be cured.
How do I Get Well?
The aim is to reduce the response of a person when encountered with a situation a person fears. The therapy includes gradual & steady exposure to the sense of phobia:
- Self-exposure therapy
- Self-help program organized with the help of health professionals
- Counseling
- Psychotherapy
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
- Medication: Antidepressant/ Tranquillizers.
Common Phobias seen in People:
- Agoraphobia: fear of open spaces
- Aichmophobia: fear of needles/ sharp object
- Acrophobia: fear of heights
- Aerophobia: fear of flights
- Arachnophobia: fear of spiders
- Astraphobia: fear of lightning/ thunder
- Claustrophobia: fear of confined/ crowded spaces
- Coulrophobia: fear of clowns
- Cynophobia: fear of dogs
- Dentophobia: fear of dentists
- Gamophobia: fear of marriage
- Glossophobia: fear of speaking in public
- Homophobia: fear of blood
- Herpetophobia: fear of reptiles
- Mysophobia: fear of contamination/ dirt
- Ophidiophobia: fear of snakes
- Social phobia: fear of being in social event/ situations
- Thanatophobia: fear of losing loved ones
- Trypanophobia: fear of injection/ needles/ medical procedure
- Zoophobia: fear of animals
With this post i’m spreading mental awareness in the public to reduce the stigma associated with mental illness. I hope my post has answered some of your queries for the rest feel free to reach out.
More in mental awareness: Depression, Mental Health & chronic illness
Be Healthy & Be Happy.
I would hate to have a real phobia! There are some things that I don’t like such as injections (duh who enjoys those), heights (no bungee jumping or sky diving for me) and I am not fond of small spaces like having to wiggle through small tunnels while caving… but I think those are all uncomfortable things that are normal to not enjoy. Oh and clowns creep me out – but I blame that on IT.
Each one of us does grapple with one or the other phobia, but most are not of the serious kind and are not debilitating.But a phobia can transform into something more serious resulting in other complications. Self awareness is of course the key here.
I know I have acrophobia – an acute fear of heights. My head just spins when I look down even from the second floor! I think many people tend to brush off phobias thinking they’re not serious but obviously they must be attended to and treated if the symptoms are severe. Informative post, Rina!
This is such an informative and interesting post, Richa. I could place a few of my family and friends against few of these phobias. I have thanatophobia… I need to work on it… try to divert my mind, think positive thoughts and do breathing exercises. It helps for a while but this phobia comes back again and again 😐
Thank you for sharing
stay wealthy healthy safe and happy