Mental disorders - Phobias Flashcards

1
Q

What is a phobia?

A
  • an anxiety disorder
  • it is an overwhelming fear of an object,place, situation or feeling
  • this is in response to stimulus or stimuli
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2
Q

What are some emotional characteristics of phobias?

A
  • the primary characteristic is fear that is constant,excessive and unreasonable
  • as well as anxiety and panic
  • these emotions are triggered by the presence of a particular object/situation
  • these emotions are usually excessive in relation to the actual danger posed
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3
Q

What are the behavioural characteristics of phobias

A
  • avoidance and panic
  • some people may not be able to avoid their fear which results in panic causing high levels of stress and anxiety
  • sometimes the panic response is so intense it triggers their ‘flight or fight mode’ so people may freeze (an adaptive response predator may think prey is dead)
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4
Q

What are the cognitive characteristics of phobias?

A
  • irrational beliefs i.e thinking all spiders are deadly (no deadly spiders in the UK)
  • selective attention, a person becomes fixated on the object they fear because of irrational beliefs
  • recognising that their fear is excessive or unreasonable which helps to distinguish between a mental illness and a phobia.
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