As defined by the American Psychiatric Association, anxiety phobia disorder is when there is an excessive and irrational fear of objects or situations. Most often, the phobia disorder fills the individual with feelings of being in danger or a fear of being harmed. For instance, agoraphobia is a fear of being trapped in a place or situation where escape seems impossible.
Symptoms of Phobia Disorder
Symptoms of anxiety phobia disorder can happen when an individual is exposed to the feared object or situation, or can triggered simply by thinking about the feared situation or object. The most often reported symptoms related to phobia disorder are:
Nausea
Fear of dying
A sense of unreality
Dizziness
Loss of breath or tightness in chest
Sometimes these symptoms can evolve into a full-blow anxiety attack. The effect of these symptoms on individuals suffering from anxiety disorder phobia can cause them to isolate themselves, leading to severe difficulties in their daily lives and routines. Some individuals may seek out medical care from the constant state of fear of various imagined illnesses or fear they may die.
Different Types of Anxiety Disorder Phobia
Basically, there are three types of phobia disorder:
Social Phobias – Fear over social interactions or social situations.
Agoraphobia– Fear of being trapped in a place or situation where escape feels impossible.
Specific Phobias – fear of a specific thing or object, such as snakes, flying, spiders, etc...
In addition, there are four main types of specific anxiety disorder phobia:
Animals – fear of snakes, spiders, rodents, birds, etc..
Situational – fear of bridges, driving, leaving the house, shopping malls, etc...
The natural environment – such as fear of water, lightening, storms, etc...
How common is Phobia Disorder:
Phobia disorder is rather common, affecting approximately 10% of the U.S. Population. In fact, anxiety disorder phobia is by far the most prevalent mental disorder in the United States, affecting many more women than men. In most cases, most people are able to acknowledge their fears are irrational and then take actions to overcome their phobia. About 10% of phobias become life-ling conditions.
Treatments for Phobia Disorder
There are several treatments commonly used to treat anxiety disorder phobia. The outcome of phobia disorder treatments depend on the individual and the type of phobia disorder they are struggling with. Below are a few commonly used treatments for anxiety disorder phobias:
Exposure Treatments: this treatment exposes the patient to the feared object to assist them in overcoming their fear of the object. Flooding is a type of exposure treatment where the patient is confronted by the object or situation that is feared for a long period of time with no ability to escape from the feared object. The aim of this type of treatment is to help the person face their feared object or situation and begin to understand they will not be harmed by it.
Counter-conditioning: In this treatment, the individual is taught new ways to respond or think about the feared object or situation. The phobic individual learns relaxation techniques to replace their anxiety and fear. The new behavior replaces the previous panic response, so the anxiety slowly fades away.
Some natural treatments to address phobias are also being used with success. Herbs and homeopathic remedies can often have a calming and soothing effect on nerves, lessening anxiety and assisting people with phobias to be able to get the most out of their phobia treatment. Several studies have been published on the effectiveness of herbs and homeopathic treatments on reducing the symptoms of anxiety and nervous tension. They are certainly worth checking out if you want to provide support in reducing symptoms of anxiety.