characteristics of phobias

• What is a phobia?

  an irrational fear of an object or situation
• what are the DSM-5 categories for phobias?

  All phobias are characterised by excessive fear and anxiety, triggered by an object, place or situation

  the extent of the fear is out of proportion to any danger presented by the phobic stimulus

  -specific phobia= phobia of an object eg/ animal or body part, or a situation eg/ flying or having an injection

  -social anxiety= phobia of a social situation eg/ public speaking or using public toilets

  -Agoraphobia= phobia of being outside or in a public place
• what are the 3 behavioural characteristics of phobias?

  Panic, Avoidance, Endurance
• What is panic as a behavioural characteristic of phobias?

  A person with a phobia may have a panic response to the presence of the phobic stimulus

  panic includes behaviours such as:

  -screaming

  -crying

  -running away

  children may react differently by:

  -freezing

  -clinging

  -having a tantrum
• What is avoidance as a behavioural characteristic of phobias?

  People tend to go to a lot of effort to prevent coming into contact with the phobic stimulus.

  (this can make it hard to go about everyday life)

  eg/ someone with a fear of public toilets may have to limit the time they spend outside the home in relation to how long they can last without the toilet

  this can interfere with work, education and social life
• What is Endurance as a behavioural characteristic of phobias?

  when the person chooses to remain in the presence of the phobic stimulus

  eg/ someone with arachnophobia might choose to remain in the room with a spider on the ceiling keeping an eye on it rather than leaving
• what are the 3 emotional characteristics of phobias?

  Anxiety

  Fear

  Unreasonable emotional response
• what is anxiety as an emotional characteristic of phobias?

  phobias are classed as high anxiety disorders

  they involve an emotional response of anxiety, an unpleasant state of high arousal

  this makes it very difficult to experience any positive emotion, and anxiety can be long term
• what is fear as an emotional characteristic of phobias?

  fear is the immediate and extremely unpleasant response we experience when we encounter or think about a phobic stimulus

  its usually more intense but experienced for shorter periods than anxiety
• what is an unreasonable emotional response as an emotional characteristic of phobias?

  the anxiety or fear is much greater than is 'normal' and disproportionate to any threat posed

  eg/ a person with arachnophobia will have a strong emotional response to a tiny spider, most people would find that unreasonable
• what are the three cognitive characteristics of phobias?

  selective attention

  irrational beliefs

  cognitive distortions
• what is selective attention as a cognitive characteristic of phobias?

  if a person can see the phobic stimulus its hard to look away from it

  this is not useful when the fear is irrational, not being able to keep your attention away
• what is irrational beliefs as a cognitive characteristic of phobias?

  A person with a phobia may hold unfounded thoughts in relation to the phobic stimulus

  eg/ someone with social phobias can involve beliefs like 'if I blush people will think I'm weak' this can increase the pressure on the person to perform well in social situations
• what is cognitive distortions as a cognitive characteristic of phobias?

  the perceptions of a person with a phobia may be unrealistic or inaccurate

  eg/ someone with mycophobia sees mushrooms as disgusting and an ophidiophic may see snakes as alien and aggressive-looking