Phobias

• define the term phobia

  ->it is characterised by excessive fear and anxiety, triggered by an object, place or situation

  ->the extent of the fear is out of proportion to any real danger presented by the phobic stimulus
• what are the categories of phobia and related anxiety disorder according to the DSM?

  -> specific phobia

  ->social anxiety (social phobia)

  ->agoraphobia
• define specific phobia according to the DSM

  ->phobia of an object, such as an animal or body part, or a situation such as flying (aerophobia) or having an injection
• define social anxiety (social phobia)

  ->phobia of a social situation such as public speaking (performance phobia), going on a date (interaction phobia) or using public toilets (generalised phobia)
• define the term agoraphobia

  ->phobia of being outside, leaving home or in a public space

  ->often occurs in panic attacks and can be brought by a simple phobia such as the fear of contamination or social embarrassment
• what are the clinical characteristics of phobias?

  ->behavioural, emotional, cognitive
• what are the behavioural responses to a phobic stimulus?

  ->panic

  ->avoidance

  ->endurance
• describe how a sufferer of a phobia may display panic in response to a phobic stimulus

  ->panic is a response to the presence of the phobic stimulus

  ->it involves a range of behaviours including; crying, screaming, or running away.
• explain how the sufferer of a phobia may display avoidance in response to a phobic stimulus 


  ->unless the sufferer is actively trying to make an effort to face their fear, they tend to avoid coming in contact with the phobic stimulus
• explain how a sufferer of a phobia would display endurance, in the presence of the phobic stimulus

  ->endurance is the alternative of avoidance as the sufferer remains in the presence of the phobic stimulus

  ->however, they continue to experience high level of anxiety

  ->sometimes, it's unavoidable, e.g, for someone who has the fear of the flying
• what are the emotional responses to a phobic stimulus?

  ->anxiety

  ->fear

  ->unreasonable emotional response
• define anxiety


  ->it's an unpleasant state of high arousal, it prevents relaxation and difficulty to experience positive emotions
• what are the cognitive responses to a phobic stimulus?

  ->selective attention

  ->irrational beliefs

  ->cognitive distortions
• explain how the sufferer of a phobia displays selective attention

  ->if the sufferer can see the phobic stimulus, it's hard to look away from it

  ->keeping our attention on something really dangerous is a good thing as it gives us the best chance of reacting to it quickly as a threat
• explain how a sufferer of a phobia tends to have irrational beliefs

  ->a phobic stimulus may hold irrational beliefs in relation to phobic stimuli

  e.g, someone with social phobia may say: ' I must always sound intelligent
• explain how phobias cause an individual to have phobic distortions

  ->the phobic's perceptions of the stimulus may be distorted

  ->so for example, an ophidiophobic person may see snakes as aliens and aggressive looking