Phobia is an excessive fear of something that is usually not dangerous. This fear can arise when facing certain situations, being in a certain place, or when seeing certain animals and objects. Phobia is included in the anxiety disorder condition. Phobia sufferers will usually try to avoid situations and objects that can trigger fear, or try to face it while holding back fear and anxiety.
Causes of Phobias
Phobias can be caused by various things. Based on the type of fear that arises, phobias can be divided into two types, namely:
Specific phobias
A specific phobia is a fear of a specific object, animal, situation, or activity. These phobias usually appear in childhood or adolescence.
Examples of specific phobias are:
- Fear of heights (acrophobia).
- Fear of vomiting (emetophobia).
- Fear of going to the dentist.
- Fear of strangers (xenophobia).
- Fear of death.
- Fear of disease (nosophobia).
- Phobia of large objects or megalophobia.
- Spider phobia (arachnophobia).
- Ailurophobia or cat phobia.
- Genophobia or sex phobia.
- Trypanophobia or fear of needles.
- Trypophobia.
- Fear of clowns (coulrophobia).
- Fear of water or aquaphobia.
- Fear of lightning and thunder (astraphobia).
- Fear of blood.
- Fear of darkness (nyctophobia).
- Phobia of falling in love (philophobia).
- Phobia of traveling by plane (aerophobia).
- Phobia of insects (entomophobia).
- Phobia of dolls or human imitations (pediophobia).
- Phobia of germs (mysophobia).
Complex phobias
Complex phobias usually develop in adulthood. This type of phobia is often associated with fear and anxiety about certain situations or conditions.
Complex phobias are divided into two types, namely:
- Agoraphobia
Agoraphobia is the fear of being in a place or situation that makes it difficult for the sufferer to escape, or in certain situations that will make it difficult for them to get help. - Social phobia
Social phobia is a fear that arises in certain social situations. For example, sufferers can be afraid of speaking in front of a crowd so they don’t dare to speak in public.
Risk factors for phobia
There are several factors that are thought to trigger the risk of developing phobias, namely:
- Having experienced a certain incident or trauma, such as being afraid of flying because of having experienced turbulence on a plane.
- Having a family member who has a certain phobia, such as a phobia of spiders.
- Having a mental disorder, such as schizophrenia, depression, OCD, panic disorder, PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder), or generalized anxiety disorder.
- Having overprotective parents or having a less close relationship with their parents.
- Experiencing long-term stress that reduces the ability to overcome fear that arises in certain situations or conditions.
- Suffering from other conditions, such as alcohol addiction, brain damage due to head injury, or if you have ever abused drugs.
Symptoms of Phobia
Phobias can cause physical and mental symptoms due to excessive fear when seeing or holding the feared object. Symptoms can also appear when the sufferer is in a situation that triggers the phobia.
Physical symptoms that may appear include:
- Dizziness or headache.
- Neck feels like it’s being choked.
- Heart palpitations.
- Chest pain or tightness.
- Trembling.
- Excessive sweating.
- Shortness of breath.
- Nausea and vomiting.
- Numbness.
- Difficulty speaking clearly.
- Ringing in the ears.
- Dry mouth.
- Frequent urination.
Meanwhile, mental symptoms that may appear are:
- Excessive fear and anxiety.
- Confusion.
- Crying.
- Fear of being left alone, especially in children.
- Loss of control to distinguish reality (dissociation).
See a doctor if you have a phobia, especially when the phobia interferes with your productivity and daily activities, whether at school, work, or in social circles. See a doctor if the phobia you experience makes you avoid certain situations or places, feel very afraid, anxious, panicked, or if the phobia has been going on continuously for 6 months or more. If you experience a traumatic event, consult a doctor for direction and treatment. That way, the traumatic event does not cause further mental disorders.
Phobia Treatment
To diagnose a phobia, the doctor will ask questions about the patient’s complaints, the patient’s and family’s medical history, and the patient’s history of traumatic events. After that, the doctor will perform a physical examination to find out if the patient’s symptoms are caused by a certain disease.
To establish a diagnosis of phobia, the doctor will use the criteria of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). A person can be said to have a phobia of something if they have the following criteria:
- Having an excessive and persistent fear of a particular object or situation.
- Feeling anxious and fearful when confronted with a particular object or situation.
- Going to great lengths to avoid the object or situation that triggers the fear.
- Experiencing significant impairment in social relationships due to fear of a particular object or situation.
- Experiencing symptoms of the phobia that have lasted for 6 months or more.
Phobia treatment aims to improve quality of life while helping patients to control their thoughts, feelings, and reactions to situations and conditions that can trigger phobias.
Some treatment methods that can be used to overcome phobias are:
Psychotherapy
Counseling with a psychologist and psychiatrist is an effective way to overcome phobias.
Some types of psychotherapy that can be done are:
- Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)
This therapy can help patients change their perspective and attitude towards feared situations or objects. This therapy aims to make patients more confident and think more positively. - Desensitization therapy
This therapy is done by exposing the patient to the feared situation or object slowly. The goal is to reduce the fear experienced by the patient slowly.
Mediciness
Medications are used to quickly treat symptoms that arise when experiencing phobias.
The medicines used are:
- Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), to relieve anxiety disorders and improve mood.
- Beta blockers, to treat symptoms of panic, such as irregular heartbeat.
- Benzodiapines, to treat severe anxiety disorders.
Self-help program
This program aims to help patients overcome their own phobia symptoms.
This program consists of:
- Lifestyle changes, such as getting enough sleep, eating nutritious foods, and reducing or avoiding the consumption of foods and drinks that contain caffeine.
- Relaxation, such as doing breathing techniques, to help patients relax more when faced with phobia triggers.
- Visualization, to help patients overcome their phobias by imagining positive things when facing situations and objects that trigger phobias.
- Joining a phobia sufferer group, to share ways to overcome their phobias.
Complications of Phobia
Untreated phobias can affect the sufferer’s life. As a result, sufferers can experience complications such as:
- Social isolation, which is when the sufferer avoids places or things that trigger the phobia so that their social relationships are disrupted.
- Mood disorders, panic disorders, generalized anxiety disorders, or depression.
- Medicine abuse or alcohol addiction, because they want to escape from reality and avoid the phobia.
- Suicide because they can’t stand experiencing the phobia.
Prevention of Phobias
There is no surefire way to prevent phobias. However, here are some things you can do if you experience a traumatic event, or see or feel something that causes anxiety:
- Share stories with family, friends, or psychologists about things that cause anxiety or trauma.
- Change your mindset to be more positive and see something you have been afraid of more objectively.
