A phobia is a persistent fear that is excessive or unreasonable which must meet a set of criteria given in the DSM. A clinical diagnosis is made if there is no other possible physiological cause and if the symptoms cannot be better accounted for by another disorder. The individual also recognises their behaviour is unreasonable and the severity of the fear interferes with an individual’s normal functioning.…
Agoraphobia is an intense fear of being in public places where escape or help is not readily available (Sue, Sue, Sue & Sue, 2013, p.132). Paula feared leaving her home desperately. Her biggest fear was having a panic attack while she was out as many do who suffer from agoraphobia. She would always…
Abnormality is deviating from what is considered the normal or usual behaviour as a society, normal is a statistical standard defined by what society are managing and what society considers socially acceptable or deviant or what the standard of adequate functioning meaning are they capable to cope with everyday life? There is a concept of ideal mental health this is a state of contentment we all strive to achieve. Abnormal behaviour can be understood by the biological and psychological models of abnormality these consider explanations to why people suffer with mental illness; mental illness is defined by a condition which causes serious disorder in a person’s behaviour or thinking, the…
Phobias- are anxiety disorders where an irrational fear that causes the person to fear and object, situation, or activity. It disrupts the lives of the people affected.…
There is the fight or flight that every living being uses, animal and human. Humans often have other bodily reactions to fear, such as fast heart rate, sweaty palms and many others. Often times, the same person can have different reactions to different situations. For example, when I take a big test or write an essay, my hands begin to sweat. Not only does this help me calm down, I am able to focus on the task at hand. I have had a lasting fear of “The back room” in my house, it is a room that is unfinished and is used for storage purposes. I fear the room because it has a decent amount of old stuff, the room is dusty, and it is a dwelling for many arthropods and arachnids. I do not hate the room itself, because it holds the water heater and all the tools to make my house work smoothly, but I fear what lies behind the boxes, the old board games, and the unknown inside it all. Every time I have to go back in the room, I shiver and shudder and pray that there is not any sudden movement that passes my feet. While I shiver at the thought of bugs and the unknown I also have a terrible fear of heights. My fear is so bad I can barely go on the final step of a six foot ladder. I refuse to go into the attic and I scoff at the idea of helping my sister put Christmas lights on the roof. When I do come to a situation when I am on a rooftop or on a mountain overlooking a valley, not only am I…
Millions of Americans suffer from phobias and addictions. Classical conditioning and Operant conditioning are psychological processes in which a person learns. Webster defines a phobia is an irrational fear towards a situation, object or thing, which in turn becomes a strong desire to prevent or avoid it. Common phobias include claustrophobia a fear of tight and closed in spaces, necrophobia is a fear of dead things in general however it is used to describe the fear of corpses. People who suffer from these and other phobias go to extensive lengths to avoid these things in question, when a sufferer cannot avoid the situation they will become overwhelmed with anxiety during the encounter or said activity. Many people have phobias from traumatic experiences that have taken place at different points in their lives. Phobias can also be caused by life experiences. If someone experiences a traumatic house fire they can develop the unreasonable fear of fire. This occurs when similar conditions are displayed or fire is present in certain situations.…
Agoraphobia is the fear of experiencing anxiety or having a panic attack. Originally it was thought to be about the fear of open spaces and the public. It is caused by fearing no escape or help if an anxiety attack was to happen. The difference between agoraphobia and other specific phobias is that agoraphobia usually is developed after the person has already experienced a panic attack, and fears another one. People with agoraphobia may far being in a crowd, using public transport, being in open or closed spaces or leaving their home.…
A phobia is a fear that is so irrational that the amount of fear is not warranted by cause and it interferes with the daily functioning of the sufferer (Antczak, 2011). Classical conditioning leads to phobias by way of learning. An example of a phobia is seeing a needle and fainting. You may have had a bad experience with getting a shot so once you see the needle it may cause you to have a reaction to just the sight of it (Kowalski & Weston, 2011). You know as an adult that it is painless, but the phobia kicks in and may even cause you to faint. Another example of a phobia could be to sound. If you hear a car horn honk or tires screech, followed by a crash, you then may associate every honk or screech to a car accident and you will probably stay away from that part of the road in the future to avoid these…
Agoraphobia is an anxiety disorder where you fear situations or places that may cause you to feel trapped or embarrassed. Those with agoraphobia actually avoid places where they may be in enclosed spaces or out in public. Their anxiety stems from having one or more panic attacks. Because of these attacks they avoid the place or…
Phobias: Is an unreasonable yet strong fear of a certain objects, class of objects or situation. Nearly half of all people report having phobia. Common phobias include fear of crowds, darkness, heights and animals such a snakes or spides. Phobia sufferers experience fear and a strong desire to escape whatever they encounter the phobic object or situation. Most people are able to aviod the object of their phobia cause personal distress or when aviodance of it interferes with a person’s ability to carry out normal activities, mental health professionals classify it as ‘ Anxiety Disorders “. These sufferes may need specialized treatment to overcome their phobias.Many phobias have a special names.The fear of heights is ‘‘Acrophobia”. Agoraphobia is the dread of open…
People with agoraphobia fear an actual or anticipated situation, such as using public transportation, being in open or enclosed spaces, or being in a crowd. The anxiety is caused by fear that there's no easy way to escape or seek help if intense anxiety develops.…
Embarrassed, threatened, fearful, apprehension are all just a few words to describe the diagnosis of agoraphobia. The diagnosis of agoraphobia falls underneath the umbrella of anxiety disorders. Individuals with agoraphobia all experience the thoughts and feelings of extreme fear when it comes to going to places that might cause them to be/get embarrassed or feel threatened and helpless; causing them to avoid those places or situations. People who have agoraphobia are afraid of common daily activities, such as being in an open space outside (riding a public bus) and others with severe agoraphobia are afraid to even go outside their home. These individuals have these thoughts that they cannot leave because they are afraid that they might be…
Agoraphobia is the fear of being in any place or situation without being able to escape or flee easily (Spiegel,2015). There are many definitions or ideas of agoraphobia is, but the real definition is the fear of the marketplace. Some might think that the phobia means that people are just afraid of going outside, but really they are afraid of all and any public places, or crowds of people (Spiegel,2015). People with the fear typically create mental safe zones where they can go to quickly to try and lose or calm down their anxiety or stress. A few of the most common risk factors of obtaining agoraphobia are stressful childhood events, panic disorder type symptoms or the tendency towards anxiety (Spiegel,2015). Women are more than three times more likely to achieve agoraphobia, and it mostly results in isolation, depression, and sometimes even substance abuse (Spiegel,2015). According to Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research (2014), “Psychotherapy, also known as talk therapy or psychological counseling, psychotherapy involves working with a therapist to reduce your anxiety symptoms. Cognitive behavioral therapy therapy is one of the most effective forms of psychotherapy for anxiety disorders including agoraphobia. You can learn that your fears are unlikely to come true, that your anxiety gradually decreases if you remain in public and you can manage those symptoms until they…
Simple phobias are from a single stimulus, for example fear of heights or enclosed spaces. Complex phobias are where there can be a number factors. For example, a person may have a fear of flying but within this are fears of a plane crash, enclosed places and a fear of losing control. Social phobias are those associated with what may happen when one is in the company of others (Module 5 Class Notes). There are primarily three categories: Agoraphobia, Social phobia and Specific phobia, which can then be subdivided into subtypes and finally conditions DSM-IV, 1994. Phobias may be the consequence of a number of factors. Stress and anxiety could result in the development of a phobia, directly linked to a specific stimulus. However, stress can also result in what is termed, ‘displaced phobias’. This is when an individual is experiencing stress in one aspect of their life but the phobia manifests in another. An example of this could be a person who is stressed in a work situation, developing a phobia of a bridge they pass everyday on their way to work. In this instance ‘displacing’ the stress from work, to the bridge. A phobia can also be caused by a cumulative impact of a series of negative experiences. For example, being held underwater as a child by a playful brother of sister. Later experiencing difficult or uncomfortable episodes with water, over time developing into a fear of being in water. Similar to anxieties, phobias can be learned or even…
Phobias are the most common mental disorder. A phobia is a strong fear of something that usually isn’t dangerous.…