phobias

• DSM-5 categories of phobias:

  • specific phobia (phobia of an object)
  • social anxiety/social phobia (phobia of a social situation)
  • agoraphobia (phobia of being outside in a public place)
• Behavioural characteristics of phobias:

  • panic (e.g freezing, running away, tantrum)
  • avoidance (tend to go to a lot of effort to avoid phobic stimulus)
  • endurance (when the person chooses to remain in the presence of the phobic stimulus)
• Emotional characteristics of phobias:

  • anxiety (phobias are classed as anxiety disorders- therefore they involve an emotional response of anxiety)
  • fear (fear is the immediate and extremely unpleasant response when we encounter a phobic stimulus but it is usually more intense and shorter than anxiety)
  • emotional response is unreasonable (the anxiety/fear is much greater than normal and disproportionate to any threat posed)
• Cognitive characteristics of phobias:

  • selective attention to the phobic stimulus (e.g. can’t look away from it, this can be useful when there is a threat but not when the fear is irrational)
  • irrational beliefs (may hold beliefs that cannot be explained and don’t have any basis in reality)
  • cognitive distortions (their perceptions may be inaccurate or unrealistic)