Transcript Phobias - Teach English in China

What is a Phobia?
• A phobia, by definition, is an irrational fear
of an object or a situation.
• A phobia can range from something as
small as triskaidekaphobia, which is a fear
of the number 13, to something as big as
phengophobia, which is a fear of daylight
or sunshine.
What is a phobia?
• Also, phobias can range from something
very common, such as acrophobia, a fear
of heights, to something extremely rare,
such as porphyrophobia, a fear of the
color purple.
• Phobias affect both men and women form
all ethnicities and ages.
Symptomology
• The main symptoms and signs a perosn
exhibits include hot or cold feelings,
sweaty palms, nervousness, anxiety and
in severe cases, strong panic attacks.
• A person with a phobia to an object would
show the symptoms while in presence with
the feared object, while a person with fear
of a situation would fear thinking of it.
Etiology from the learning
perspective
• Behaviorists believe that a phobia is
created because the person has been
conditioned to fear the object. A good
example of that would be the Little Albert
experiment. Little Albert was conditioned
to fear rabbits at first, then the fear
generalized to become doraphobia, a fear
of fur.
Treatments from the Learning
Perspective
• The Behaviorists have 3 ways of curing a
phobia:
– Systematic Desensitization
– Flooding
– Token Economy
Systematic Desensitization
• This technique is one of the most
successful ways of curing a phobia. It
involves having a person first think of the
object or situation. Once the subject has
gotten used to doing that, they're
presented with a picture of the object or
situation, then slowly put with the object or
in the situation.
Flooding
• This method, being one of the least
commonly used, isn't all that effective. It
involves flooding the person with emotion
until they are forced to overcome the fear
on their own. For example, a
arachnophobic would be put in a room full
of spiders.
Token Economy
• This method works particularly good for
patients with fears of places or situations.
It involves reinforcing the person positively
the closer they get to the situation.
Etiology for the Cognitive
Perspective
• The cognitive perspective views phobias as
being part of a line of faulty thinking. They
believe that this anxiety was caused from
previous experiences in life, which can include
their own personal experiences or viewing
others experiencing it. Cognitive scientists
believe that once the fear is established, it is
maintained because it has a direct influence with
the persons current and future cognitive
functioning.
Treatment for the Cognitive
Perspective
• The main treatment Cognitive Scientists
use to cure phobias, specifically social
phobias, is cognitive therapy. This type of
therapy involves a cognitive therapist
addressing and “fixing” the faulty thinking
involving the fear.
Etiology
There has been evidence that phobias are sometimes common in families
and that genetics may be involved in all of this. When a person is exposed to their
fear or feared situation, biological changes in the body occur.
When a person is exposed to a phobia there is a change in the brain activity and
certain hormones are released such as cortisol, insulin, and growth hormone. There
is also an increase in physical arousal symptoms, for example increased heart rate
and blood pressure.
Damage to the hypothalamus may also be the cause of phobias. This can be seen in
phobic children, for example, as they are born with a decrease in the neuron activity
in the amygdala and hypothalamus.
Genetics play an important role when
it comes to the formation of phobias. There has been some investigation regarding
hereditary phobias but more recently there has been evidence that phobias may be
related to a mutation in chromosome 15. People with this mutation are born with it
but it doesn’t show up until later in life.
Treatments
There has not been much research done regarding biological treatments for phobias and
many psyhologists belive that there are better ways of treating phobias, but recently this has
changed.
Scientists are now giving their patients with phobias selective serotonin reuptake
inhibitors like paroxetine or antianxiety medications such as diazepam.
Some drugs such as Xanax and Valium are used in short-term situations. Beta-blockers
are also sometimes given lessen the fear response.
Antidepressants are also prescribed sometimes because is has been proven to be
helpful in preventing panic attacks that take part in phobias such as agoraphobia. This way, the
patients can deal with the problem itself without having to deal with the panic attacks that come from
it.
All the drug treatments cause a decreased blood flow in the amygdala and hippocampus,
just as some other forms of phobia treatments do.
The biological treatments are sometimes not recommended for long-term use because it
is said to cause little benefit with long term use, unlike with some of the other perspectives.
• According to the National Institute of Mental Health,
approximately 8.7% of people, or about 19.2 million
American adults, suffer from one or more specific
phobias. Although researchers have not yet determined
exactly what causes a phobia to develop, we know that
phobias are rooted in the normal fear response.
• The full list of phobias is almost limitless, consisting of
anything that someone could fear. However, some
phobias are much more common than others. Here are
ten of the most common specific phobias.
Acrophobia - Fear of Heights
• Acrophobia is a generalized fear of all heights.
This distinguishes it from aerophobia (fear of
flying) and other more specified phobias.
• Acrophobia is sometimes confused with vertigo.
Vertigo is a physical condition that causes
dizziness or disorientation when looking down
from a great height. A fear of developing vertigo
symptoms at height is not acrophobia.
Claustrophobia - Fear of
Enclosed Spaces
• Claustrophobia can range from mild to severe.
In severe cases, the sufferer may develop
anxiety from simply closing a bedroom door.
• Many sufferers find that their claustrophobia is
specifically triggered by certain common
situations such as entering an elevator or riding
in an airplane. Some people discover
undiagnosed claustrophobia when undergoing
an MRI.
Nyctophobia - Fear of the Dark
• This fear is common and generally
transient in children. If it persists for longer
than six months and causes extreme
anxiety, however, it may be diagnosed as
a phobia. It is less common in adults.
Ophidiophobia - Fear of Snakes
• Ophidiophobia refers specifically to snakes.
If other reptiles are also feared, then the
more general herpetophobia (fear of
reptiles) is used.
• People who suffer from this phobia are not
only afraid of touching snakes. They also
show fear when viewing pictures of snakes
or even talking about them.
Arachnophobia - Fear of Spiders
• This is an extremely common animal
phobia. Sufferers generally fear spider
webs and other signs that a spider may be
in the vicinity. They also fear pictures of
spiders.
Trypanophobia - Fear of Injection
or Medical Needles
• Trypanophobia is a medical phobia. A
more general fear of non-medical needles
is known as aichmophobia.
• Trypanophobia may result in serious
physiological responses including very low
blood pressure and fainting. In some
cases, severe trypanophobia may lead the
sufferer to avoid all medical care.
Astraphobia - Fear of Thunder
and Lightning
• This is a common fear among children. If it
is severe and continues for longer than six
months, however, then a phobia may be
diagnosed.
• Both adults and children tend to deal with
the fear by seeking “shelter,” securing
themselves in windowless areas where the
storm cannot be seen.
Nosophobia - Fear of Having a
Disease
• Nosophobia is the irrational fear of developing a specific
disease. Hypochondriasis is a related disorder marked
by the persistent fear of having an unspecified disease.
Sufferers of either disorder may become frequent visitors
of the doctor’s office, or may instead develop an
avoidance of doctors for fear of hearing bad news.
• “Medical student’s disease” and “cyberchondria” are
forms of nosophobia. These conditions develop when
the sufferer researches a disease and then starts to
believe that he or she has the symptoms of that disease.
Triskaidekaphobia - Fear of the
Number 13
• There is some controversy regarding triskaidekaphobia,
as many experts see it as a superstition rather than a
legitimate phobia. Nonetheless, triskaidekaphobia is so
pervasive in Western culture that it has actually
influenced the modern world.
• For example, it is rare to see a 13th floor in a hotel or
office building. Many people refuse to live in homes with
a 13 in the address. Even public transportation is
affected, with airplanes skipping over the 13th row.
• Triskaidekaphobia may be related to
hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia, or fear of the number
666.
The most uncommon
• If you knew Australian Aaron Buckingham two years ago
you might not recognize him today. That’s because
Aaron has lost more than half of his body weight. Was it
an eating disorder? Well, yes, but not one you might
imagine. It isn’t that Aaron wants to lose weight or that
he hates food. The truth is he wants to eat in the worst
possible way, but according to ninemsn.com.au, “He
nearly choked on an Indian curry in April last year,
sparking his fear of choking to death.”
• Since that time Aaron has survived on protein shakes –
and nothing else. A video provided by nine news (and
linked below) shows Aaron attempting to eat sausage
(something he really likes). He phobia kicks in and he
spits out the food. In fact he works to remove every bit of
food from his mouth. This fear has led him to believe that
attempting to swallow this food will result in his death.
• A schoolgirl wasted away and died after developing such
a fear of dentists that she would not even open her
mouth to eat.
• Eight-year-old Sophie Waller's phobia was so bad that
she had to go to hospital just to have a tooth removed.
• Doctors decided to remove all her milk teeth in one go,
to avoid a repeat of the procedure, but afterwards she
still would not open her mouth and had to be fed through
a tube.
• When she left the Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro
doctors were satisfied Sophie was recovering, but her
mother says she would not eat anything at home except
watermelon.
• Her weight plummeted and health worsened until she
was found dead in her bed by her mother a month later.
Ablutophobia
• Ablutophobia is mostly a phobia of infants and young
children. Mothers know of this phobia more than anyone
else as they fight with their several pound little ball of
fear and fury as they try to shove them into the bathtub.
However, since almost all children have this phobia at
one point in time, it is not diagnosed by professionals
unless it lasts for longer than six months. Children and
women are more likely to suffer from this phobia than
men. Very emotional people in particular are generally
the ones to develop this phobia. Since most cultures
place importance on cleanliness, this phobia can
become a viscous cycle as the sufferer’s uncleanliness
is mocked and teased, causing feelings of shame and
worsening
somniphobia
• While somniphobia can be seen in every Freddy
Kruger movie (for good reason), it is an actual
phobia as well. Sufferers are constantly faced
with the negative health effects of lack of sleep
as they have anxiety and even panic attacks
while laying in bed, awaiting sleep. Some
doctors consider somniphobia as merely a
symptom of generalized anxiety disorder, but
sufferers contradict that idea by claiming to
feeling perfectly fine throughout the day.
• Ephebiphobia – fear or dislike of youth or
adolescents.
• Homophobia – fear or dislike of homosexuals or
homosexuality.
• Islamophobia - fear or dislike of Muslims.
• Judeophobia - fear or dislike of Jews.
• Xenophobia – fear or dislike of strangers or the
unknown, sometimes used to describe
nationalistic political beliefs and movements. It is
also used in fictional work to describe the fear or
dislike of space aliens.