The origin of the word phobia is based on Phobos, the god of fear in Greek mythology . Phobia, which is a fear problem as it can be understood from its origin , or specific phobia as it is called in clinical psychology, is a disproportionate level of persistent fear of an object (e.g. animal) or situation (e.g. high places) even though it does not pose a real serious danger. 1 When people with a specific phobia encounter the thing they fear, they immediately overreact. Therefore, they are worried about encountering the things they fear and avoid various situations in order not to encounter them. This anxiety and avoidance causes disruptions in their lives. People can be afraid of a wide variety of situations. specific phobia from normal fearand other anxiety disorders requires careful consideration of situations that trigger fear and the feared consequences of encountering these situations.
Specific Types of Phobias
Theoretically, phobia can develop towards anything. That’s why more than a hundred phobias have been described, given Greek or Latin names. Most of them describe very interesting fears, for example podophobia = fear of feet, philophobia = fear of falling in love, globophobia = fear of balloons. A more limited number of phobias are generally seen in clinical settings. These are grouped into five categories:
- Animal phobias : Animals such as cats, dogs, mice, birds, insects, insects, spiders, snakes.
- Natural environmental phobias : Natural situations such as high places, darkness, water, storm, thunder.
- Situational phobias : Driving; traveling by bus, train or plane; being in closed areas such as elevators, windowless rooms, tunnels, crowded places.
- Blood-Injection-Wound phobias : Conditions such as seeing blood, watching surgery, seeing wounds, donating blood or getting an injection.
- Other types of phobias : All phobias that do not fall into the above categories: vomiting, choking, new foods, certain types of music, clowns, balloons, snow.
What is the difference between fear and phobia?
For fear of an object or situation to be considered a specific phobia, it must have certain characteristics and consequences. First of all, if the object or situation that a person fears poses a realistic threat, it is not called a phobia. For example, fear of poisonous insects or snakes in the tropics is not considered a phobia. Similarly, the fear of being snatched in a dark secluded street in a big city cannot be called a phobia. On the other hand, the fear of falling from the glass-enclosed elevator of a shopping mall or the fear of a snake seen in a television documentary are considered phobias.
On the other hand, in order for an extreme fear of an object or situation to be called a specific phobia, this fear must somehow interfere with the person’s work, school, family or social life.must. If the person’s fear does not disturb him or cause disruptions in his daily life, it is not considered a phobia, it is considered a fear. For example, the fear of snakes may not be considered as a phobia by a person who lives in a big city and is not likely to encounter a snake. However, if this person avoids opening some channels and programs due to the anxiety of seeing snakes on television, then a diagnosis of phobia can be considered. Similarly, if a person who is afraid of taking an elevator or an airplane can take them, it may not be considered a phobia. However, if the person does not take the elevator even if he has to go up 10 floors, he wants to visit his child living in another city, but cannot make this visit because he avoids getting on the plane, this is called a specific phobia. In summary,
Physical, Mental and Behavioral Characteristics of Phobias
Like all anxiety disorders, clinical features of specific phobias include physical, mental (cognitive) and behavioral responses.
- Physical Characteristics : When faced with the feared thing, the person with specific phobia gives strong physiological reactions such as acceleration in heart rate, increase in blood pressure, rapid breathing and sweating. In fact, people who are faced with the thing they fear can sometimes have a panic attack. These physiological symptoms occur because of the sympathetic nervous system , which is activated when the person is faced with a danger . Unlike other phobias, in blood-injection-wound phobias, when these situations are encountered, there is an increase in heart rate and blood pressure, and then a sudden decrease in heart rate and blood pressure occurs. 2This fall can cause the person to faint. Fainting is only a specific reaction to blood-injection-wound phobias, not seen in other phobias. Because of this feature, blood-injection-wound phobias are treated differently.
- Mental (cognitive) features : Individuals with specific phobia perceive and evaluate their environment as more dangerous than it is. 3,4 In their environment, things related to their fears attract their attention more and faster. 5 They think that the things they fear will directly harm them (eg dog bites, being stuck in an elevator, falling on a high balcony, etc.). Others fear the consequences of their emotions and physical symptoms when confronted with what they fear (e.g. suffocating in an elevator, having a heart attack due to an accelerated heart rate at a high altitude, losing control due to fear on an airplane, going crazy, etc.).
- Behavioral characteristics : The person with a specific phobia avoids situations where they are likely to encounter the thing they fear, or behaves in a way that makes them feel safe (eg, they do not enter a street with stray animals, or when they enter such a street, they pick up an object to chase animals, a person with a fear of heights He never goes out to the balcony or stays away from the balcony rails when he goes out, a person who is afraid of elevators never takes the elevator or takes his mobile phone while getting on, a person with blood phobia does not have blood tests, etc.). The more situations a person avoids, the more his fear begins to interfere with his life.
In summary, the thoughts that he will be harmed automatically triggered when he encounters the thing he fears, causing the person to perceive threat and be extremely afraid. Fear leads to physiological arousal, and strong physiological responses increase the misconception that there is danger. The person runs away to protect himself. Over time, the person begins to ‘ fear from fear ‘ as he encounters the object and situation he fears. So it avoids these objects and situations. Although escape and avoidance reduce the fear for the moment, it causes the fear to continue in the long run and restricts his life.
Specific Phobia Treatment
International clinical practice guidelines, prepared in the light of scientific data, recommend the use of cognitive and behavioral therapies in the treatment of specific phobia, as in all anxiety disorders . Research shows that a behavioral treatment that focuses on the method of confronting (exposure) the object or situation that causes fear in the person leads to the strongest and most sustainable recovery. 6 The aim of this behavioral approach is to show that the person who avoids the feared object or situation can withstand the fear even when he does not avoid it, that his fear decreases over time and that the negative consequences he fears do not happen to him.is to see it. Research shows that this method alone is effective in treatment and that the effect of treatment does not increase when cognitive therapy methods that try to change thinking are applied . 6 People with specific phobias generally seek treatment less often than people with other anxiety problems. However, phobias respond easily to treatment and people who receive treatment show a high rate of recovery. Often people with a phobia of airplanes, closed places, or heights seek further treatment. 7 Today, specific phobia can be effectively treated with a single session of behavioral therapy lasting 2 or 3 hours. 8Studies show that treatments given in larger numbers make little difference compared to a single-session treatment.
