What are Phobia's?

Question 1

What is a phobia?

Answer 1

A phobia is a type of anxiety disorder. It is a strong, irrational fear of something that poses little or no actual danger.

Question 2

What are the cognitive characteristics of phobia’s?

Answer 2

Resistance to rational arguments –
when engaged in the fear a phobic loses the ability to think rationally . No matter how logical and reasonable an argument is made, a phobic is simply incapable of accepting that their fear is wrong. Temporarily, their fear fantasy takes over their life completely and they become incapable of even considering arguments against their fear fantasy.

Acceptance of rational arguments – the phobic does not always experience their fear, and at such times,
is able to acknowledge that the extent of their fear is unwarranted and has a damaging effect upon the
quality of their life.
This means that the disorder is not psychotic

Question 3

What are the emotional characteristics?

Answer 3

-Fear (emotion) – clear, persistent, excessive and unreasonable.
-Anxiety - likely to accompany the fear
-Panic - likely to accompany the fear.

Question 4

What are the behavioural characteristics?

Answer 4

• Avoidance =
  the presence or anticipation of an object or situation that creates the fear stimulates the need to avoid it
  -For example, a person who experiences fear
  due to open spaces might confine themselves to their own house in order to avoid the situation.

Freezing/fainting – The behaviour is adaptive, in that a predator would think they’re dead and move away from the situation.