Characteristics of Phobias

• DSM-5 : phobias are characterised by excessive fear and anxiety, triggered by a place, object or situation.

  • specific phobia - phobia of an object or situation
  • social phobia - phobia of social situations
  • agoraphobia - phobia or being outside or in a public space
• BEHAVIOURAL CHARACTERISTICS - ACT

  • Panic: involves a range of behaviours such as crying, screaming or running away. Children react differently: freezing, clinging or having a tantrum
  • Avoidance: prevent coming in contact with the phobic stimulus. This can make it hard to go about daily life
  • Endurance: when a person chooses to stay in the presence of the phobic stimulus
• EMOTIONAL CHARACTERISTICS - FEEL

  • Anxiety: involves an unpleasant state of high arousal which prevents the person from relaxing and makes it difficult to experience any positive emotion- can be long-term.
  • Fear: immediate and unpleasant response that occurs when we encounter or think about the phobic stimulus. It’s more intense than anxiety but lasts less.
  • Emotional response is unreasonable: the anxiety or fear is much greater than is normal and disproportionate to any threat posed
• COGNITIVE CHARACTERISTICS - THINK

  • Selective attention: if a person can see the phobic stimulus, it’s hard to look away. Keeping our attention on something really dangerous is a good thing and gives us the best chance of reacting quickly to a threat but it’s not so useful if the fear is irrational.
  • Irrational beliefs: unfounded thoughts in relation to the phobic stimulus. These can’t be easily explained and have no basis in reality.
  • Cognitive distortions: the perceptions of a person with a phobia may be inaccurate and unrealistic.