Phobias are a type of diagnosable anxiety disorder that causes an intense, persistent, and generally unreasonable fear of a situation, living creature, place, or object. When someone has a phobia, they will often shape their lives to avoid it, which can significantly impact their daily life.
Specific phobias are defined as an extreme fear of objects or situations that pose little to no real danger. Unlike the brief anxiety you may feel before interviewing for a job or before making a speech, specific phobias cause high levels of long-lasting anxiety, can cause strong mental, physical, and emotional responses, and can affect how you act or perform at school, home, in social situations, and at your workplace.
When a specific phobia is not treated or addressed, it can become problematic. In this article, we cover ways to manage the symptoms of specific phobias to help you work through your fears and increase the quality of your daily life.
Examples of specific phobias
Specific phobias involve a lasting fear of an object or situation that is far greater than the actual risk. This might include:
- Situations such as airplanes, driving, going to school, or enclosed spaces.
- Animals or insects like dogs, snakes, bugs, or spiders.
- Natural events such as thunderstorms or the dark.
- Medical situations or remedies, like needles, blood, or medical procedures.
- Other things like choking or throwing up, loud noises, or clowns.
Symptoms of specific phobias
The symptoms of specific phobias vary from person to person; however, most will experience at least some of the following:
- Intense fear, anxiety, and panic when exposed to the phobia, or in some cases, simply thinking about it.
- Having an understanding that fear is not reasonable, but being unable to control it.
- Anxiety that worsens as the situation or objects get closer (physically or in time).
- Experience trouble with daily activities due to the phobia.
- Taking extreme stances to stay away from the object or situation.
- Physical reactions such as sweating, a rapid heartbeat, a tight chest, or trouble breathing.
- Nausea, faintness, or dizziness.
- Younger children may also have tantrums, become clingy, cry, or refuse to leave their parents’ side.
When to seek medical assistance?
Specific phobias do not always require medical assistance. When, however, they begin to disrupt your life negatively, like impacting your performance at work or school, or when they put strain on your relationship with others, it might be time to call in a professional. Start by visiting your doctor or other mental health care professionals who have completed the requisite accreditations, like an online mental health counseling master’s, and they will likely recommend some of the following treatments.
Managing specific phobias
Phobias are treatable, and people who have them are generally aware of their disorder, making diagnosis and management easier. There are two ways medical professionals will treat a phobia: with behavioural therapy or with medication. Sometimes it will be a combination of the two.
Behavioral therapy
There are two main therapeutic options for treating a phobia:
1. Exposure therapy
Exposure therapy, also known as desensitization, focuses on changing your response to the object or situation you fear. Your therapist will create a safe environment in which to help you confront your fear, thereby changing the thoughts, feelings, and sensations associated with it. If, for example, your fear is elevators, this may start with your therapist asking you to think about elevators, to then look at pictures of elevators, to getting close to an elevator, to stepping inside an elevator.
Gradual exposure to your fear helps demonstrate you are capable of confronting it and helps form new, more realistic beliefs about the thing you are afraid of.
Exposure therapy can help desensitize you to phobias like a fear of elevators.
2. Cognitive behavioral therapy
Cognitive behavioral therapy is a type of talk therapy that is goal-oriented. During CBT, your doctor, therapist, or counselor will help you review your thoughts and emotions associated with a fear and learn different ways of understanding and reacting to the source of the fear.
This methodology can make coping easier and allow a person experiencing a specific phobia to control their thoughts and feelings.
Medications
Behavioral therapy is very effective at treating symptoms of specific phobias, but occasionally, medication can help in the short term to reduce anxiety and panic symptoms. The most common medications to help with phobias include:
- Beta blockers: Beta blockers can be used to help treat the physical symptoms associated with phobias, including an increased heart rate and trembling. While they can help reduce the symptoms of anxiety, they do not cure a phobia and should be used in conjunction with other treatments.
- Antidepressants: Antidepressants affect serotonin levels in the brain, which, like beta blockers, can result in reduced anxiety. Just like beta blockers, they help reduce the physical symptoms of specific phobias but do not address the root cause.
Life with a phobia can be challenging. Regardless of the severity of an individual’s fear, it is hard to avoid circumstances where that fear may be challenged, and in the case of phobias, this can result in real difficulties and aftereffects. However, there are options for those looking to lessen the effects of their phobias. By talking to your healthcare provider and wider mental health support team, you can get the assistance you need to begin overcoming your phobia and continue to live your life free of fear.
