The phobia is an excessive, irrational, uncontrollable and excessive fear or terror regarding the damage that the feared object, person or situation can cause the individual who suffers it. Such unreasonable fear, which is also considered an anxiety disorder, causes the afflicted person to panic, despite knowing that their fear is illogical. However, whenever she is exposed to the fear-producing situation, she seems powerless to control her fear.
What is a phobia
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Etymologically, the word "phobia" is derived from the Greek "phobos", which means "horror", as it refers to the disproportionate fear of something, which makes the individual paralyze, often to something that represents little or no type the dangerous. When it is very marked, it can even interfere with your daily activities, such as work, studies, at home, in a social environment or in some other.
This disorder, which is considered anxiety, belongs to the field of study of psychopathology. Phobias had been included together with obsessions (disturbance in the mood, in which the individual manifests an insistent idea that he holds in his head tenaciously even against his will) and delusions (alteration of the mind produced by some type of disorder, which keeps the person restless, unbalanced and makes him hallucinate).
However, later they would be separated from the delusions, and later it would be considered a kind of neurosis, which is that disease that is distinguished by the presence of some imbalance in the individual that causes a certain lack of control in his mind, without evidence of any injury physics in your nervous system.
To finish understanding what a phobia is, it is necessary to mention, in addition to what is described above, that the term is also used to express rejection of something, without specifically referring to an irrational fear, such as the case of xenophobia and homophobia, which refers to to hatred of foreigners and homosexuals, respectively. Similarly, it can mean an inability to do something, as in the case of photophobia, which is the inability to tolerate light in the eyes due to some type of condition in them.
According to Sigmund Freud, famous Austrian neurologist and considered the father of psychoanalysis, the phobic neurosis is part of what he called transference neurosis, and it is externalized as a disproportionate fear of something, and that fear is the phobia as such, while phobic neurosis is the attitude of the individual in front of that fear.
The origin of phobias
In these, the state of the sufferer is of an emotional state of anguish, in which their fear cannot justify it, so it alters them and gives their phobia a symbolic interpretation. This led Freud to place phobias in his first classification of neuroses as "conversion hysteria" (mental disorder without physical damage) apart from obsessive neuroses.
Freud defined two phases in the neurotic process: the first, which is the repression of the libido, transforming itself into anxiety; and the second, when it develops the means of defense against the possibility of exposure to the object of said anguish, which it externalizes.
For the Spanish psychiatrist Juan José López Ibor, the anomaly of experiencing is a determining factor for the development of neuroses, and it is due to an alteration of the fundamental state of mind, in which anxiety is the predominant feeling, and is within reach of the subject, without giving him time to rationalize the basis of his fear.
In all phobic patients, the condition begins with a diffuse emotional fear that is not related to anything in particular, so it seems that it reaches everything, which psychiatrists call pantophobia, which in many cases remains in that stage, but in other patients they are derived in other phobias that take shape, or focus on something as a consequence of a specific event.
In childhood, fears arise that appear between 18 and 24 months of age, which may or may not result in phobias later on. In adolescence, phobias are mostly temporary, but in some cases they develop into a severe nature. Phobias begin to take shape in the individual in their adolescence, on average at 13 years of age and, contrary to phobias, women tend to suffer more phobias than men.
Differences between fear and phobia
Although a phobia is an irrational fear of some object, situation or another, the fear itself differs from this disorder. It is natural for man to have a collective fear of certain things, for example, a natural disaster, a murderer, death itself, since it is part of the survival instinct implicit in all living beings. It is also normal for children to develop fear of certain situations that make them feel in danger, such as a raging dog or a storm, without leading to a severe phobia.
A big difference between one and the other is that fears are adapted to the age and circumstances in which the subject is immersed; that is, the fears that are had as a child are different from those of the adolescent and the adult. On the other hand, phobias are constant panics towards something in particular, bordering on the irrational and uncontrollable.
1. Fear
- It does not affect the development of the individual in their daily activities.
- It is a natural reaction to something that represents a real danger or threat.
- There are normal fears that do not require treatment of any kind.
- Fears can disappear normally.
- It is an unfounded and natural fear.
- It may be rooted in some lived experience or observation in the face of said danger.
- Many times it is temporary.
- It can be understandable to other people.
- It can be confronted even if it is hard to do.
- They may not manifest physically.
2. Phobia
- It interferes in the normal life of the sufferer, paralyzing him on many occasions.
- Fear is irrational of something that does not represent a real danger.
- Phobias need treatments and, in many cases, medications to be controlled.
- Phobias do not disappear on their own and tend to accompany the individual during different stages of their life.
- It is a toxic and negative fear.
- Its root is more complex and symbolic.
- If it is not treated medically, it does not go away on its own.
- It only makes sense for those who suffer from this phobia.
- Trying to confront him without medical supervision could lead to panic attacks.
- They cause physical, emotional and psychological manifestations.
Causes of a phobia
The causes are diverse and varied, depending on the type and stage of the individual's life in which it was developed. The most important can be classified into the following:
Traumatic experiences
In life, the human being is prone to experiencing trauma, which may well be during childhood or adulthood. A trauma is an intense impression caused by some negative event, which will leave a deep mark on the person who suffers it, and which will hardly be overcome. This is a perfect formula so that, if they cannot overcome it, an individual develops an anxiety disorder, including a phobia.
In children, a trigger for a later phobia could be the separation of their parents and its process, the death or abandonment by one of them or moving from one place to another.
Also, infants who suffer abuse, teasing, rejection or humiliation, mistreatment, family situations, among others, could develop social anxiety disorder. For an adult, experiences such as being attacked by an animal, being trapped or a near death experience, could develop a specific phobia; or have some unfavorable physical trait, you can develop some type of insecurity that evolves into a social anxiety disorder.
Genetic principle
One of the theories about the causes of a phobia is that it could be hereditary. Some people tend to be more anxious than others, and on that level of propensity, some scientists consider that the genetic information of a subject may be related to a phobia, so probably the parent of a child with a social phobia, also the have.
Learned behavior
There is also the possibility that the child, when observing some behavior in the parents, as in the case of some social or specific phobia, for example, emulates the behavior, making it their own. In this matter, there is a fine and blurred line between acquired behavior and genetic inheritance.
Instinctive behavior
Another possible cause of a phobia is implicit in various behaviors of the individual. These can be introversion, shyness, withdrawal or a high degree of sensitivity, which increases the risk of developing it and suffering it later.
However, there are situations that lead a normal person to obtain an instinctive behavior of logical protection in the face of an alarming situation, such as the case of a traffic accident or some risky event such as a fire. Despite this, the subject may feel nervous or anxious about this event, even when they have not suffered directly, but this would fall within the field of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorders.
Symptoms of a phobia
Physical symptoms
- Tachycardia or a very racing heart.
- Shortness of breath or abnormal breathing
- Uncontrollable tremors in any limb or throughout the body.
- Excessive sweating
- Shaking chills.
- The person blushes or, conversely, pales.
- Nausea and an upset stomach, which can turn into diarrhea.
- Dry mouth
- Dizziness can even lead to fainting.
- Headache.
- Chest tightness.
- Lack of appetite.
- Muscle tension
Psychological symptoms
- The mind goes blank.
- Anxiety, panic and fear just thinking about what causes fear, or feeling close to it.
- Desires to flee the place or situation.
- Distortion and disproportion in thoughts before the object of panic.
- Feeling of helplessness in the face of not being able to control the situation.
- Anguish at possibly being embarrassed.
- Fear that others will notice your anxiety and judge you.
- Self devaluation.
- Depression.
Behavioral symptoms
- Avoidance or escape from the situation.
- Trembling voice.
- Facial grimaces
- Rigidity.
- Difficulty in the normal performance of activities.
- In some cases, crying triggered by stress or by the terrifying fear itself.
- Tantrums can occur in children.
- They may try to hold on to something that gives them security.
- Stop doing any activity or stop talking to someone for fear of facing fear.
- Avoid attracting attention in an environment with several people.
- Episodes of anxiety before facing the situation that causes fear.
- Retreat.
- Obsessions and compulsions.
Classification of phobias
According to the trigger or the object of the irrational fear, there are different types of phobias. But before classifying the main ones, it is vital to mention the common ones, which are those that could cause fear to any subject without representing a pathological case, such as the case of thanatophobia (fear of death), pathophobia (fear of diseases), algophobia (fear of pain) or cocoraphobia (fear of failure).
There are also those that are related to physical space, such as agoraphobia, which is very important due to its severity and clinical frequency, and is the fear of open spaces, this being a type of pathological phobia. It is considered the most disabling, since the fear of being alone is present, or being in places or situations where it would be impossible to ask for help in case of an inability to do something.
This fear can occur in public places, in crowds, public transportation, even being away from home.
The others that are considered pathological can be classified into the following:
Specific phobias
They are those in which the person may experience extreme anxiety to something that represents minimal danger or no danger at all. This fear is focused on an object, an animal or a certain place. It is distinguished from an anxiety that is felt before taking an exam or speaking in public (social), since this type is long-lasting, its reactions are more intense and its effects can paralyze the individual in their performance.
As an example of them, we have those in which living beings are the object of fear, such as musophobia (phobia of mice or rats), blatophobia (phobia of cockroaches) or coulrophobia (phobia of clowns); fears related to physical spaces such as acrophobia (phobia of heights); fear of certain objects such as trypophobia (phobia of holes in the skin or other objects, phobia of holes or phobia of points or any other consecutive geometric figure and in patterns), hemophobia (phobia of blood), or Hypopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia (a term that ironically means a phobia of long words or having to pronounce them).
Social phobias
These refer to those that appear when feeling an unusual fear before a possible negative evaluation that others have towards the individual who suffers them. It is a fear of being judged while doing some activity that involves others, or where you are exposed to a number of people.
It is natural to feel anxiety about a certain social situation, for example, giving a speech or going out on a date, but when anxiety occurs before any daily social situation, in which the individual feels fear of being judged by others, then it can be said who suffers from social phobia. Fear is directed to making a fool of yourself or not knowing how to react to some social situation. This can trigger the person to avoid such situations, affecting their life in family, work, or other environments.
You may fear a common situation, such as a conversation, interact with a stranger, go to school or work, maintain eye contact, attend social gatherings, eat in front of others, enter somewhere where everyone is already located, make a claim, among others.
Treatment for phobias
There are therapeutic options when facing them, which will help the patient to know the root of his problem, and will be provided with techniques to control anxiety before the triggers.
The most important are specialized drugs and therapies to control or alleviate symptoms, but there are other methods such as relaxation techniques or physical activity and exercise, which could help control anxiety and reduce stress levels.
Therapies against phobia
According to what classification of phobia it is, the best known therapies are the following:
1. Exposure technique.
This consists of the patient's confrontation with the situation they fear so much, but it is carried out gradually so that they can control their fears. With this therapy, the aim is for the subject to change their attitude towards what triggers their fear and thus take control of the situation.
2. Systematic desensitization.
In this type of therapy, the patient's imagination is used to project into his mind what causes fear. If you cannot control the anxiety caused, therapy is paused and when the patient calms down, it is resumed. The idea is that you resist this for as long as possible, until you lose your fear.
3. Cognitive therapy.
Also known as cognitive behavioral therapy, it is a type of psychotherapy, in which the patient is provided with information related to the object of their fear. In this way, he feels confident, since he sees it from another point of view, with which he manages to control his thoughts and feelings and not feel overwhelmed by them. This therapy can be carried out individually or in a group and is equally positive.
In the case of social phobias, in this therapy, the patient is trained in social skills, and personification games are played to practice them and overcome their social phobias and give them the confidence to interact with others.
4. Shock methods.
It is a type of therapy in which the patient is directly and forcibly exposed to what he fears, until the anxiety that triggers him is controlled.
5. Neurolinguistic Programming (NLP).
It consists of the identification of the three aspects that make up the memory of fear (visual, emotional and auditory), so that the person disconnects from these aspects and the phobia does not manifest itself. It is a pseudo therapy, as its effects have not been scientifically proven.
Medicines against phobias
There are patients who are suspicious of taking these medications, as they fear that they will be marked as mentally ill.
Some of the most commonly used medications are the following:
a) Beta-blockers.
They block heart rate and high blood pressure, palpitations, and other effects of adrenaline produced by fear. Its use is recommended only in specific situations to control symptoms.
b) Sedatives.
They help to relax the patient by reducing the level of anxiety. However, their use should not be indiscriminate, as they can cause addiction.
c) Antidepressants.
Also called "inhibitors", these are usually prescribed as the first option for symptoms of social anxiety and agoraphobia, although they would initially be used in a small dose until the appropriate dose for the patient is reached.
d) Anxiolytics.
They reduce the level of anxiety quickly, although they can create sedative effects, so they are prescribed for use for a short time. They can cause addiction, so their use is not recommended for people with alcohol or drug problems.
