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
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
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)
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.