Editorial Team
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Genetic make-up, exposure to traumatic life events and environmental factors are the main culprits behind phobia.
"Where there is fear, there is task," wrote celebrated Swedish psychologist and psycho analyst Carl Jung in one of his letters. Well, all of us live with some fear or the other, which, in some cases, culminates into phobia. It is imperative to spot our fears and phobias, face them take and take necessary actions. This is what Jung meant when he wrote that line.
Phobia is a type of anxiety disorder that leads to uncontrollable and unrealistic fear of an object, situation, animal or a person. This fear is usually persistent and exaggerated. Phobia can trigger panic attacks and impact your functional life massively. This is because, when you are irrationally scared of something, your perceived peril from a trigger is way greater than the actual danger it poses. So, a person suffering from any sort of phobia either avoids the trigger or experiences insufferable trauma while confronted with it.
Some of the common phobias include Acrophobia (fear of heights), arachnophobia (fear of spiders), claustrophobia (fear of tight/closed spaces), monophobia (fear of being alone), aquaphobia (fear of water), agoraphobia (fear of having situations that could cause a panic attack), mysophobia (fear of germs), social phobia (fear of public humiliation), so on and so forth. However, there are the not-so-common forms of phobia too. They include venustraphobia (fear of beautiful women), aurophobia (fear of finding gold), papaphobia (fear of the pope), and phobophobia (fear of phobias) among others.
The most common symptoms that a person may experience during an episode of phobia attack are sweating, abnormal breathing, increased heartbeat, trembling, hot flushes or chills. You may also undergo chest pain, a choking sensation, nausea, dizziness and headache.
Scientific studies have associated our phobias with amygdala, the part of the brain located behind pituitary gland. This part of the brain is responsible for the release of fight or flight hormones. These chemicals take you to a state of abnormal stress and alertness.
In a nutshell, this is how it works: Some areas of our brain restore the dangerous events that we have faced. They inappropriately retrieve those potentially traumatic incidents when we are faced with similar situations and lead to phobia.
Genetic make-up, exposure to traumatic life events and environmental factors are the main culprits behind phobia. Kids with a first degree relative suffering from anxiety disorder have a higher risk of developing this condition. Sometimes, people suffering from serious health conditions and severe brain injuries are also susceptible to this mental health condition.
Any mental health challenge is best tackled with by a psychologist, or psychiatrist. Talk to one if you have identified your phobia. Also, reading up a bit on your condition may be helpful. There is no single treatment that is effective for everyone suffering from this condition. Your psychiatrist may recommend oral medications (anti-depressants or anti-anxiety medications) or behavioural therapy. It can also be a combination of both, depending on the severity of your condition.