characteristic of phobias

• behavioural - how people act
• emotional - related to person's feelings
• cognitive - process of irrational thinking, reasoning, believing
• behavioural - avoidance, sufferers tend to go to great lengths to avoid phobic item or situation. this can interfere with daily life in terms of occupation, relationships and routine
• behavioural - panic behaviour in response to presence of the phobic stimulus e.g. freezing and crying
• cognitive - irrational thinking, fear regarding phobic stimulus is excessive and is resistant to rational arguments. the person is able to recognise their fear is unreasonable but recognition may be absent in children
• cognitive - cognitive distortion, illogical ways of interpretating situations e.g. agoraphobic 'spider is going to kill me'
• emotional - anxiety, that is persistent and excessive. it is triggered by presence or anticipation of phobic stimulus. anxiety is the unpleasant state of arousal that prevents relaxation which can be accompanied by a panic attack.
• emotional - fear, immediate and extremely unpleasant response encountered when thinking about phobic situations. it is more intense but is experienced in shorter periods than anxiety.