clinical characteristics

• The DSM diagnoses a phobic disorder as:

  -> significant prolonged fear

  -> people experience an anxiety response if they are exposed to the phobic stimulus

  -> sufferers realise that their phobia is embarrassment, this causes further anxiety

  -> go out of their way to avoid it

  -> disrupts their lives

  -> generally impacts women more than men

  -> 10 % of population impacted by each type of phobia
• types of phobias

  specific [simple] phobias:

  -> animal

  -> environmental

  -> blood - injection - injury

  -> situational [e.g. height]
• types of phobias

  social phobias:

  fear of being in social situations. usually based on the fear of being embarrassed of judged.
• types of phobias


  performance phobias:

  being anxious about performing in public
• types of phobias

  generalised phobias:

  being anxious in situations where other people are present
• types of phobias


  agoraphobia:

  fear of open spaces. linked to fear of having a panic attack
• what are the cognitive symptoms of phobias?

  -> the sufferer may hold irrational beliefs about the stimulus that causes fear. people often find it hard to concentrate because they're pre-occupied by anxious thoughts

  -> the phobics perceptions of the stimulus may be distorted

  -> if the sufferer can see the phobic stimulusm it is often hard for them to look away from it. whilst this is useful to help with survival, its not useful if the threat is irrational.
• what are the behavioural symptoms of a phobia?

  -> altering behaviour to avoid the feared object or situation, and trying to escpae if its encountered. people are often restless and easily startled

  -> a phobic may panic in response to the phobic stimulus - this may involve crying, screaming or running away

  -> they may also display avoidance behaviours - going out of their way to avoid contact with the feared object or situation

  -> or, they might endure the situation, but experience high levels of anxiety as a result
• what are the emotional symptoms of phobias?

  -> the sufferer wwill experience high levels of anxiety and a feeling of dread, high anxiety levels will mean they cannot relax and they will have difficulty experiencing any positive emotion

  -> emotional responses will be disproportionate to the danger posed by the fear object
• what are the physical symptoms of a phobia?

  -> activation of the fight or flight response when the feared object or situation is encountered or thought about. this involves release of adrenaline, increased heart rate and breathing and muscle tension