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Education Phobia and anxiety

Phobia and anxiety

Fall semester topics

Phobia & anxiety – dealing with fear

Phobia is a condition triggered by fearful objects and situations. When you suffer from phobia, you feel intensely anxious and apprehensive. Usually a phobia develops as a result of an unfortunate incident in the past. It could however also be an outcome of imagination or you may also feel so when you watch a movie or read a magazine.

Phobia is one of the most common psychological ailments In most cases, phobia has some its root in childhood, when the immature mind is in a vulnerable state reacting to unusual/strange things and events. (Jan Heering)

What is the difference between anxiety and phobia?

A phobia is a type of anxiety. A phobia is a fear of a situation or object while anxiety is the sense of feeling worried, tired, irritable, and being unable to focus. A panic is however, a sudden and often unexpected rush of anxiety. As you can see fear and anxiety both produce similar responses to certain dangers. It’s an irrational, unreasonable fear of an object or situation. Common phobias may be fear of the heights, dark, fear of certain animals such as snakes or spiders, or fear of blood etc.

Muscle tension, increased heart rate, and shortness of breath are a few of the physiological symptoms associated with a response to danger. These bodily changes thought to occur due to an inborn fight-or-flight stress response that is believed to be necessary for our survival. Without this stress response, our mind would not receive the alerting danger signal, and our bodies would be unable to prepare to flee or stay and battle when faced with danger. The good news is that people with phobias do respond well to pychotherapy. Sorce info

Learn more about the topic using the links below:

  • Symptoms, Treatment, and Self-Help for Phobias and Fears
  • Anxiety disorders and effective treatment
  • What can I do on my own to deal with my anxiety?
  • Additional video resources

  • Phobia vidoe on brief exposure therapy (Highly recommended)
  • Overcoming Social Phobia & Shyness
  • Coping With Stress – Imaginative Solutions for Stress Relief