Do You Have a Phobia Disorder?

"I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain."--- Frank Herbert, Dune - Bene Gesserit Litany Against Fear (source 1). Fear is a very strong emotion everyone has experienced at some point in their life. Fear has the ability of producing many different reactions from a person. It can enhance someone to protect themselves better or it leaves them crippled and not able to think clearly. Fear is a natural reaction and most cases an unavoidable emotion, but what do you do when fear is all you know? What do you do when your fear grows so strong and sometimes it's over something completely harmless? What happens when your fear interferes with your daily life? In this article I am going to discuss the many aspects of phobia disorders.

Let's begin by defining what a phobia is. A phobia is an unreasonable, unrealistic, and intense fear caused by a situation, event, or object. Phobia's can interfere with a person's ability to work, socialize, and everyday life. In most situations the person realizes that there fear is over something unreasonable, but they are unable to control their fear and the fear ends up controlling them. Fear induces feeling overwhelmed, anxiety, and panic. When a person realizes they have a fear they often try every means possible to avoid it because it is an unpleasant feeling. There are many different things that a person can develop as a fear. Most of them fall into three categories: specific phobia, social phobia, and agoraphobia (source 2).

Specific Phobia is exactly as its name claims. It is the fear of a particular or specific object or situation. It can happen at any age and it can include many things. Specific phobia is very common and it is found in one out of ten Americans. These fears are easily controlled if you are not surrounded by them every day. If you find yourself confronted by them every day it can cause stress and interferences with your daily life. Specific phobia's include things like sharks, flying, spiders, snakes, dogs, the dark, etc (source 2).

Social Phobia should not be confused with being shy. Having this phobia creates an anxiety rather than feeling uncomfortable. Those who experience social phobia often have intense fears of being embarrassed, judged, or watched in public. Many people with this phobia are excessively self conscious of themselves. In some cases people who have this phobia may be afraid to do things in front of others such as going to the bathroom, public speaking, going on an interview, going on a date, or eating in front of others. (Source 2)

Agoraphobia is a severe fear of having a panic attack or being trapped in public. This fear is usually triggered by a panic attack and from there the person fears having another panic attack and so begins the cycle. They begin to avoid everything that could lead to a panic attack which can lead to not leaving their houses or avoiding public places (source 2).

Fear itself is not a harmful or unhealthy in fact it is something natural your body does. Fear creates the "flight or fight" feeling. It is a response your body induces to protect itself. Fear becomes a problem when you start letting the emotion run your life and it interferes with the functioning of your daily life. How do you know if you have just a common fear or something more serious as a phobia disorder? Well many of the signs are anxiety related generally they only occur of get worse as you are closed to the thing that is causing the fear. The closer you are or the more difficult it is to get away the greater your fear will be. The following are some symptoms/feelings you may experience if you have a phobia disorder.

1. Feeling of being smothered or shortness of breath.

2. Increased heart rate or pounding heart.

3. Discomfort or pain in your chest.

4. Sweating.

5. Feeling faint, dizzy, lightheaded, or unsteady.

6. Shaking or trembling.

7. Nausea

8. Fear of dying.

9. Feeling like you are detached from yourself

10. Feeling like you are losing control of yourself or going crazy.

11. Cold or hot flashes.

12. Tingling or numbness.

13. Fear of fainting.

(Source 3).

Remember that having fears/phobias is very common and generally does not need help from professionals. Most people are able to carry on everyday life by avoiding or choosing different lifestyles to keep them away from their fears such as taking the bus instead of flying. If you feel like your fear keeps you from doing things you used to enjoy or keeps you from having a normal functioning like than it is probably wise that you seek help from a professional (source 3).

Phobia disorders are diagnosis off of the person's experiences with their phobias. As of today there is no diagnostic laboratory test for phobias. The tricky thing is sorting phobias out from other mental disorders such as obsessive compulsive disorder, paranoia, or schizophrenia where fear is also associated with objects or situations. To help to properly diagnosis there is certain criteria that the American Psychiatric Association provides for diagnosing specific phobia, agoraphobia, and social phobia. This criteria includes:

" Diagnostic Criteria for Agoraphobia

-The person experiences anxiety about being trapped in places or situations that might be difficult or embarrassing or that might trigger a panic attack.

-Situations are avoided or endured with great distress or anxiety about having a panic attack.

-Avoidance is not caused by another disorder such as social phobia, specific phobia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder, or separation anxiety.

Diagnostic Criteria for Social Phobia

-The person fears or is anxious about experiencing public embarrassment or humiliation in social or performance situations.

-Being in such situations creates intense anxiety and possibly a panic attack.

-The person knows that the fear is excessive and irrational.

-Social or performance situations are avoided or endured with great distress.

-The condition disrupts their ability to function at work or school and causes them to withdraw from social activities and/or relationships, or the fact that they have the phobia causes them distress.

-The condition persists for at least 6 months in people over the age of 18.

-Fear and avoidance are not caused by other mental disorders, a medical condition, or the effects of a drug.

Diagnostic Criteria for Specific Phobia

-The person experiences excessive or irrational fear of a specific object or situation.

-Exposure to the object or situation causes an immediate anxiety response or a panic attack.

-The person knows that the fear is excessive and irrational.

-The object or situation is endured with distress or avoided.

-Avoidance, anticipatory anxiety, or distress during exposure to the feared object or situation interferes with the person's ability to function in normal daily activities. The person may have distress about having the phobia." (Source 4).

Depending on what your phobia is will determine the type of treatment you may receive. The most common type of treatment is exposure therapy where you are exposed to your fear in a controlled and safe way. As your treatment persists so does the level of exposure starting with imagination than to reality. The purpose behind this is as you are constantly exposed to your fear one can come to realize that your fear is not harmful just possibly unpleasant. You begin to realize that you have an increasing awareness of control over your fear and when confronted by your fear you no longer have a feeling of uncontrolled panic. The number of sessions depends on how severe your fear is. Hypnosis, group exposure therapy, virtual reality exposure therapy, or medications are also other types of treatment for phobia disorders (source 3).

The most important thing is to not let your fear control your life. If you give any type of emotion power or meaning you give it a chance to control your life. If you think this is happening to you no matter what the emotion is seek help of someone who can help you. Life is meant to be enjoyed and if something is preventing you from doing that than why not seek help so you can go back to enjoying your life? Thanks for reading and I hoped you learn some more about phobia's. For more information seek out my sources or do your own internet search there is tons of information on this subject available.

Sources:

1. Famous and not so famous fear quotes. http://www.phobialist.com/fears.html. 1996-2007 Fredd Culbertson.

2. Phobias. http://www.answers.com/topic/phobia. Answers.com.

3. Phobias and Fears Types, Symptoms, and Treatments. http://www.helpguide.org/mental/phobia_symptoms_types_treatment.htm. Melinda Smith created this article with contributions from Jeanne Segal, Ph.D. Last modified on: 8/2/06.

4. Phobias overview, risk factors. http://www.mentalhealthchannel.net/phobias/index.shtml. Physician developed and monitored. Original Date of Publication: 01 Feb 2001. Reviewed by: Stanley J. Swierzewski, III, M.D. Last Reviewed: 04 Dec 2007