Fear & Phobia
- Home
- Services
- Fear & Phobia
FEAR
i) an Intense, Uncontrollable, Unpleasant emotion.
ii) an Involuntary response to perceived threat/danger, that is usually Rational, Possible, Appropriate.
iii)triggered by a stimulus that leads to an Anticipated Crisis like situation for self.
iv) surfaces as troubling symptoms on the physiological level like:
v) Surface as troubling symptoms on the physiological level like:
– Palpitations
– Sweating
– Clamy hands
– Momentary Paralysis
– Upsurge/ Plummeting of body Blood Pressure,etc.
The above are Natural, Automatic, Uncontrollable reflexes of our sympathetic nervous system to situations that seem challenging/ threatening to our safety and security.
These acute stress responses can be understood as the body’s defence mechanism to protect the self from any kind of threat / danger and can be attributed to our ancestors’ reflexes while encountering endangering situationslike facing a wild animal or nature’s fury, that may have left their imprint on our nervous system.
Symptoms can be categorised under four classifications namely
FIGHT
facing the situation head-on, face to face and with aggression and courage
FLIGHT
fleeing, running away, escaping from the challenging situation
FREEZE
stuck, fixated, unable to either run away or face the situation
FAWN
putting up a conscious act of appeasing behaviour to dilute the threat to avoid any kind of conflict.
PHOBIA
i) an Irrational Fear or Fear of the Unknown or Uncertainty of objects/ situations/ people
ii) common phobias include those of cockroaches, lizards, rodents/rats/mice, demons, ghosts, heights, water, public places, closed spaces,darkness and many such Unrealistic fears.
iii) usually stems from anxiety or a sense of Dread and Worry w.r.t.the Unknown Future
iv) unknown future brings worry because of the person’s own anticipation of what could go wrong or a sense of the Subjective Perception of the future – which could be the next few moments, tomorrow or maybe after 10 years.
v) The state of being ‘Scared’ about the unknown times that lie ahead, engages the individual to start planning- analysing- evaluating – generalising about elements that do not even exist or maynot even happen in the future ever.
vi) There are hundreds of various kinds of phobias, that are enlisted and can keep on increasing.
vii) can be caused by both genetic and environmental factors
Symptoms can be categorised under four classifications namely
SPECIFIC PHOBIA
a) FLYING (what if the plane crashes?)
b) HEIGHTS ( what if I fall from this height just by looking down?)
c) CLOSED SPACES ( what if this space closes on me?)
d) WATER ( what if I get sucked into it just by looking at it?)
SOCIAL PHOBIA
a) anxious/ uncomfortable/restless/ worried before-during-after an outing/meeting/ gathering
b) public speaking
c) dealing with figures of authority
d) using washrooms outside
e) eating outside
AGORAPHOBIA
a)Deals with the fear of getting stuck, trapped, helpless in any situation having no escape route.
b) getting stranded alone on a street,in a crowded space, vehicle, elevator,etc
Role of Therapy in overcoming Fears 'n' Phobias
Psychotherapy in particular has been said to have a profound impact on the treatment of fears and phobias. The therapist’s act of reaching out to a system of beliefs, pre conceived notions, etc harboured by the client, that are the triggers for troubling thoughts and emotions, are addressed and new coping strategies are discussed and devised to understand and bring about a change in responses though thought re structuring and belief change processes.
