Fear is defined as the feeling of powerlessness that a person feels towards any object and over which he has no control. Today, fears developed not only against a particular object but also against situations and functions are mentioned. Fear was classified into two groups in Ancient Greece, the fears of necessity, called Deos, and the pathological fears, called Phobos. Although the existence of phobias has been known since the Hippocratic period, it has not gained a sufficient place in mental disorders. As it began to be seen that phobias are a treatable psychological disorder in the course of time, it has gained its current clinical appearance since the 19th century.
Normal fears act as an alarm system for the person and his/her body, while it is a mechanism to defend the body against dangers. They can remain at the level of excitement, restrained and controlled. Although human life is shaped around these fears, being constantly exposed to fear can gradually reduce the level of fear. In phobias that are uncontrollable and create a sense of panic, fear is developed against situations that do not contain danger. As the person organizes his life according to his fears, the quality of life decreases. Since facing the fear object is not effective in reducing the fear, it may be necessary to seek professional support for the treatment of phobias.
Specific phobias, which are characterized by unusual anxiety and fear responses to certain objects or situations, are one of the most common types of anxiety disorders. The person believes that he will be harmed when he is exposed to the object and situation that triggers his fear, he thinks that he will lose control when he is exposed to the object or situation that he develops phobia, and that he will face unforeseen dangers due to the anxiety he experiences. People who develop specific phobias are aware that their fear of objects or situations is exaggerated. With this awareness, they develop avoidance behaviors in order not to be exposed to the stimuli they fear. Specific phobias are evaluated by the level of anxiety about the fear object or situation and the extent to which it affects daily life functionality. Phobias towards small insects, cats and dogs are the most common phobias faced by clinicians. person request If it is stable and the object or situation for which the phobia is developed can be clearly identified, treatment with the exposure method can be performed. It is aimed to gradually and systematically render the person insensitive to the object of which he has developed phobia. However, specific phobias are a chronic psychological disorder in which exacerbations can occur when confronted with the object or situation that arouses fear.
Symptoms of Specific Phobia
The most common symptoms are the heart palpitations, tremors, muscle tension, shortness of breath, accelerated breathing and the urge to flee. Anticipatory anxiety is usually not observed after the fear subsides when the stimulant object disappears.
People who develop specific phobia take precautions to avoid facing fear-inducing stimuli. These measures taken continuously indicate the development of avoidance behavior. The person may refrain from doing various activities in order not to encounter fear-inducing situations, may not be able to go to work, may not leave his room, and may postpone his activities in social environments. Comorbid disorders for specific phobias include anxiety disorders, panic attacks, depression and obsessive compulsive disorder.
Some people may be born with a temperament that is more inclined to develop phobias. However, traumatic experiences, the death of caregivers in the early stages of life, the existence of a history of abuse experienced or witnessed, the story of being separated from family members can be predisposing factors for people to develop phobia.
Of all anxiety disorders, heredity is the most common. It is thought to be related to blood-injury phobia. It is thought that the fear of drowning, fear of space-height, animals and blood are related to hereditary factors. Objects or situations to which a connection or similarity is established during a traumatic experience can also open a preparatory space for the development of phobia. The probability of being repeated with generalizations after the phobias learned most frequently with the modeling method is a average Witnessing the fear and anxiety experienced by another person can also cause the development of specific phobia. The family is the source from which the child can obtain information about objects and situations, and family approaches and reactions are thought to be very effective in the process of developing phobia.
The brain region responsible for conditioning fear is the amygdala. The fear-related nuclei of the amygdala, which consists of 13 nuclei and located in the middle temporal lobe, are the basal, lateral and central nuclei. The lateral nucleus plays an active role in the fear conditioning process. As a result of lesions in the lateral and central nuclei, deterioration in long-term fear memory can be observed. As a result of fear-inducing events, the amygdala, hippocampus and prefrontal cortex cycles are affected. Defensive responses developed in the face of fear are associated with the striatum, hippocampus and brain stem.
When the genders are compared, the incidence of specific phobias in women is twice that of men. It is thought that this difference arises by attributing culturally accepted emotional, fragile and delicate features to women and assuming that women raised in this way are more sensitive than men.
Subtypes of Specific Phobia
p>Situational Type:
Situations such as being in environments such as elevators, airplanes, tunnels, bridges, being in public transport and driving a car arouse fear. It usually begins in childhood or in the mid-20s.
Natural Environment Type:
Common in childhood, such as storm, being in high places and water. There is fear when exposed to natural conditions.
Blood-Injection-Wound Type:
Seeing blood and wounds, injection attempts cause fear and anxiety. Anxiety, which can progress to loss of consciousness, is characterized by a general feeling of discomfort and weakness, along with dizziness and nausea. 75 out of 100 patients exposed to these conditions faint. Physical health may deteriorate due to avoidance of medical intervention due to phobia.
Animal Type:
Animal phobias commonly begin in childhood. Burning sources are animals or insects.
Other Type:
Fear of high-frequency sounds, fear of heroes in fairy tales, fear of gasping, choking, vomiting, and situations that may cause discomfort. specific phobia subtype. A severe fear of suffocation may be observed, which may lead to malnutrition.
I wish you healthy days when fear does not take over your life.
Clinical Psychologist Çağla Aras
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