phobias

Question 1

what is a phobia

Answer 1

an irrational fear of an object or situation

Question 2

what are the three different responses to phobias

Answer 2

behavioral - the way people act

emotional - the way people feel

cognitive - refer to the process of thinking, perceiving, believing

Question 3

what are the different ways that phobias are characterised

Answer 3

all phobias are characterised by excessive fear and anxiety triggered by an object, place, or situation

the extent of the fear is out of proportion to any real danger presented by the phobic stimulus

Question 4

what are the categories that the latest version of the DSM recognises

Answer 4

the latest version DSM recognises the following categories of phobia and related anxiety disorder:

1. specific phobia
2. social anxiety
3. agoraphobia

Question 5

what is agoraphobia

Answer 5

3. agoraphobia: phobia of being outside or in a public place

Question 6

what is social anxiety

Answer 6

2. social anxiety (social phobia): phobia of a social situation such as public speaking or using a public toilet

Question 7

what is a specific phobia

Answer 7

1. specific phobia: phobia of an object, such as an animal or body part or a situation such as flying or having an injection

Question 8

how do we respond to situations we fear and is it the same for every phobic stimulus

Answer 8

we respond to things or situations we fear by behaving in particular ways
We respond by feeling high levels of anxiety and trying to escape

The fear responses in phobias are the same as we experience for any other fear even if the level of fear is irrational - out of all proportion to the phobic stimulus

Question 9

what are the behavioural characteristics of phobias

Answer 9

Panic

avoidance

endurance

Question 10

what is panic

Answer 10

a phobic person may panic in response to the presence of phobic stimulus

Panic may involve a range of behaviours including crying, screaming or running away - children may react slightly differently e.g. freezing, clinging or having tantrum

Question 11

what is avoidance

Answer 11

unless the sufferer is making a conscious effort to avoid coming into contact with the phobic stimulus

This make it hard to go about daily life

e.g. someone with a fear of public toilets may have to limit the time they spend outside the home in relation to how long they can last without a toilet

This in turn can interfere with work, education and social life

Question 12

what is endurance

Answer 12

the alternative to avoidance is endurance, in which a sufferer remains in the presence of the phobic stimulus but continues to experience high levels of anxiety

This may be unavailable in some situation, e.g. for a person who has an extreme fear of flying

Question 13

what are the emotional characteristics of phobias

Answer 13

phobias are classed as anxiety disorders

by definition then they involve an emotional response of anxiety and fear

Anxiety is an unpleasant state of high arousal. This prevents the sufferer relaxing and makes it very difficult to experience any positive emotion

Anxiety can belong term. Fear is the immediate and extremely unpleasant response we experience when we encounter or think about the phobic

Question 14

what is an example of an anxious response to a phobia

Answer 14

Matt has a phobia of spiders (arachnophobia)
His anxiety levels will increase whenever he enters place associated with spiders - this may bee the spidery of a zoo/his own garden shape

this anxiety is a general response to the situation
When he actually sees a spider he experiences fear - very strong emotional response directed particularly towards the spider itself

Question 15

is the emotional responses reasonable

Answer 15

the emotional responses we experiences in relation to phobic stimuli go beyond what is reasonable

So, e.g., Matt’s fear of spiders involves a very emotional response to a tiny and harmless spider
This is wildly disproportionate to the danger posed by any spider Matt happens to meet

Question 16

what are the cognitive characteristics of phobias

Answer 16

the cognitive element is concerned with the ways in which people with phobias process info about phobic stimuli differently from other objects or situations

these are

1. Selective attention to the phobic stimulus
2. irrational beliefs
3. cognitive distortions

Question 17

selective attention to the phobic stimulus

Answer 17

if a sufferer can see the phobic stimulus it is hard to look away from it.
Keeping our attention on something really dangerous is a good thing as it gives us the best chance of reacting quickly to a threat, but this is not so useful when the fear us irrational

Pogonophobic will struggke to concentrate on what they are ability if their is someone with a beard in he room

Question 18

what does it mean when we say that someone has irrational beliefs

Answer 18

a phobic may held irrational beliefs in relation to phobic stimuli

e.g. social phobias can involve beliefs “like” I must always sound intelligent” or “if I blush people will think I’m weak”

This kind of belief increases the pressure on the sufferer to perform well in social situation

Question 19

what does it mean when someone has cognitive distortion

Answer 19

the phobics perception of the stimulus may be distorted

so, e.g. an omphaluphobic is likely to see belly buttons as ugly and/or disgusting, and an ophidophobic may see snakes as alien and aggressive looking