Specific phobia is one of the most common disorders among all mental illnesses. Since phobia can develop against almost anything
(see; what you are curious about => phobia), we encounter a wide variety of phobic situations
. Phobias may be related to a situation, an activity or an object: Animal (spider, insect,
dog), natural environment (height, wind, water), blood/injection/wound (syringe, invasive procedure), situational
(airplane, elevator, closed space).
Being "afraid" of these situations or objects is not the same as being "phobic" towards them. There is a degree of difference
between them. Someone with elevator phobia may not be able to take the elevator, even if he/she has to climb nine flights of stairs every day. In other words, phobia is a much more severe condition than fear and can significantly impair a person's quality of life and
functionality.
Specific phobia is the most common mental disorder, its lifetime prevalence is approximately 13%. It is the most
in women. /> is a common psychiatric disorder. The female-male ratio is approximately 2/1. Animal and natural environment types are most common.
It is the anxiety disorder with the highest familial accumulation. If one family member has it, the probability of having it in another is 23% on average (for panic disorder, this rate is 10%). Many patients say that they have had these fears since childhood, while some say that they started after adolescence. Specific phobia is the anxiety disorder with the lowest average age of onset. (for blood/wound/injection type=7 years, for animal/environment type=12-15 years,
for situational type=20 years). It is rare for specific phobia to begin at an older age.
In specific phobia, feared objects are perceived as more dangerous than they actually are (“A dog is a very dangerous
animal”). The probability of encountering feared objects is overestimated (“Every time I go out on the street, there will definitely be a dog”). When the feared object is encountered, it is thought that this will be a
disaster (“if I encounter a dog, it will definitely attack and bite me”). Encountering the object is avoided so that the feared outcome
does not occur. Avoidances occur in every patient. If it is excessive, it disrupts functionality and affects life greatly. For example, a person with dog phobia may not even be able to leave the house. lir.
Psychotherapy (cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy) is more effective in its treatment than medications. Behavioral methods are particularly useful in eliminating the problem (comparing the individual with the feared situation or object step by step, so that the individual becomes desensitized to this object or situation and no longer creates an anxiety reaction). In most cases, 2-3 sessions will be sufficient for treatment. In addition to the treatment
antidepressant medications can be used.
Rare phobic conditions are listed below:
anemophobia: fear of storm
antlophobia: fear of flood
apiphobia: fear of bees
arachibutyrophobia: fear of peanut butter sticking to the palate while eating
dentophobia: fear of the dentist
dekatriaparaskeviphobia: fear of Friday the 13th
eisoptrophobia: fear of mirrors
electrophobia: fear of electricity
emetophobia: fear of vomiting
hypnophobia: fear of sleeping
hypophobia: fear of horses
homiclophobia: fear of fog
keymaphobia: fear of winter and cold
chymophobia: fear of waves
mechanophobia: fear of machines
melanophobia: fear of the color black
microbiophobia: fear of germs
monophobia: fear of loneliness
necrophobia: fear of corpses
br /> nelophobia: fear of glass
nyctophobia: fear of the night
nosocomephobia: fear of hospitals
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