BEC characteristics

• Phobias - an extreme or irrational fear of an object or situation. 10% of people will suffer a phobia at some point. Females are twice as likely as males to suffer from a phobia.
• DSM-V recognises 3 categories of phobias

  • simple (specific ) phobias - fear of a specific object / situation
  • social phobias - being over anxious in social situations, e.g. public speaking, going to an interview
  • agoraphobia - fear of being in open spaces and leaving home or a safe space
• Behavioural characteristics (the way people act)

  • avoidant response - when faced with the fared object /situation, the immediate response is to avoid it, e.g. avoid spiders
  • anxiety response - anxiety/panic can lead to a range of responses - crying, running away, e.g. running when you see a dog/bee
  • disruption of functioning - anxiety and avoidance responses can interfere significantly with normal everyday routine, e.g. difficult to interact with others at work
• Emotional characteristics ( way that people feel)

  • excessive fear - the extent of fear is out of proportion to any real danger presented by the phobic stimulus, e.g. extreme fear of a tiny spider
  • anxiety/panic - unpleasant state of high arousal, which prevents the sufferer from relaxing
• Cognitive characteristics (process of thinking)

  • irrational thinking - a person may hold irrational beliefs and be resistant to rational arguments such as flying being the safest form of transport
  • cognitive distortions - perception of the phobic stimulus may be distorted, e.g. people with acrophobia are terrified of heights
  • recognition of exaggerated anxiety - person recognises that their fear is exccessive and unreasonable (e.g. a phobia from a delusional disorder like schizophrenia where the individual is not aware of this)