The reactions we give to external dangers are called fear. Phobias are also a type of fear. The fear felt against a phenomenon that harms daily life is called phobia. Phobias are actually types of anxiety that frequently appear in people. Every living creature instinctively avoids life-threatening events that it understands will be dangerous. Therefore, human consciousness perceives this form of avoidance as fear. Fear is another preliminary warning mechanism. Situations where that person cannot avoid events that he perceives as dangerous or threaten his life, or when he cannot relax emotionally even though he avoids them, turn into fear getting out of control. As a result of the person not being able to find peace, fear gradually increases and anxiety may also appear. This anxiety negatively affects that person's daily life and becomes a mechanism that operates outside of himself. When it comes to this kind of situation, the fears that we define as our self-protection mechanism turn into phobias. A person's fears or phobias may not always have an explanation or reason.
Phobias are not perceived as a disease in the community, but as a personality trait or temperament. For this reason, the number of people applying to health institutions for treatment is very low. Phobias are more common in women, especially compared to men.
Phobia Symptoms
Anxiety symptoms appear when the person encounters an event, situation or entity that he/she fears. Most of the symptoms seen during a panic attack can also be seen as a phobia. In advanced phobic cases, cardiac arrest and even death may occur. The symptoms of phobia are generally as follows.
- Palpitations, facial flushing, itching and burning sensation on the face
- Tremors
-Cold sweat
-Blurred vision
-Shortness of breath
-Dry mouth
-Difficulty in swallowing
-Nausea
-Loss of Consciousness
-Sudden Drop in Blood Pressure
-Fainting
-Depression
-Nervous Breakdown
-Shock etc. symptoms may be observed.
Treatment in Phobias
Phobia is considered as a disease. Although requests for treatment appear to be quite rare because they are not perceived, there are various treatment methods for phobias. Phobia treatments are generally done with both medication and psychotherapy. Since drug therapy is not sufficient on its own, these two types of treatment are generally used. Antidepressant drugs are used for drug treatment. Another frequently used method in phobia treatment is to make the person confront the thing he or she fears. In this type of treatment, the person is expected to overcome the situations that cause him or her fear or have become phobias and see how he or she experiences anxiety and how he or she can cope with this anxiety situation.
Some Types of Phobia
Anatideaphobia: The person with this phobia may be afraid of thinking that a duck is watching him. This phobia is usually found in people who were attacked by a duck or chased by a duck during childhood.
Geletophobia: It is the fear of being laughed at or made fun of.
Agirophobia: Crossing the street on a street. It is called fear. People with this phobia are very afraid of pedestrian crossings.
Ranidaphobia: Fear of frogs.
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