Phobias - Symptoms, Causes and Medications
Pradeep Chauhan
March 29, 2008
Phobia (FO-bee-ah): a persistent irrational fear of an object, situation, or activity that the person feels compelled to avoid. (Wood 689) And that is only the start of it. Phobias can interfere with your ability to work, socialize, and go about a daily routine (American). People who have phobias are often so overwhelmed by their anxiety that they avoid the feared objects or situations (NIMH). For most people, the simple pleasures of life are striped from them.
Symptoms of a phobia include the following:
Feelings of panic, dread, horror, or terror .
Recognition that the fear goes beyond normal boundaries and the actual threat of danger.
Rapid heartbeat, shortness of breath, trembling, and an overwhelming desire to flee the situation—all the physical reactions associated with extreme fear
Causes:
There are several different theories about why phobias develop. They do seem to run in families. But how much this is to do with picking up phobias from your parents and how much is inherited through your genes is uncertain.
Young babies seem to be naturally afraid of animals such as snakes and of heights for instance, even though they need to learn to be afraid of man-made objects such as guns. So there is probably a natural fear response that gave our ancestors a survival advantage. It's possible that when phobias develop this natural fear response has gone wrong.
Psychosocial treatments
Psychological therapies (often referred to as therapy or psychotherapy) involve a trained professional who uses clinically researched techniques, usually talking therapies, to assess and help people make positive changes in their lives.
Behavioral therapy focuses on changing specific actions and uses several techniques to decreases or stop unwanted behavior. For example, one technique trains patients in diaphragmatic breathing, a special breathing exercise involving slow, deep breaths to reduce anxiety. This is necessary because people who are anxious often hyperventilate, taking rapid shallow breaths that can trigger rapid heartbeat, lightheadedness, and other symptoms.
Medication:
Beta blockers. These medications work by blocking the stimulating effect of epinephrine (adrenaline). They block some of the peripheral signs of adrenaline's stimulation and anxiety, including increased heart rate, elevated blood pressure, pounding of the heart, and shaking voice and limbs. These can be very effective for people who have stage fright, but must give a presentation before other people. However, not all beta blockers are effective for this purpose, and they're only available by prescription, so check with your doctor.
Benzodiazepines may also help control social phobia. They are used frequently to treat many anxiety disorders, including generalized anxiety disorder.
In addition to the anti-anxiety drugs, medications may include the monamine oxidase (MAO) inhibitor antidepressants Nardil (phenelzine) and Parnate (tranylcypromine), and serotonin specific reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) such as Prozac (fluoxetine), Paxil (paroxetine), Zoloft (sertraline), and Luvox (fluvoxamine) (Hall). Because there are fewer side effects associated with these drugs and a very low addiction potential, practitioners are more comfortable prescribing them (Hall). Plus, the antidepressant action of these drugs is helpful is treating patients who suffer from depression in addition to social phobia (Hall).
Read about Breast Enlargement. Also read about Makeup Tips and How to give a hickey
Symptoms of a phobia include the following:
Feelings of panic, dread, horror, or terror .
Recognition that the fear goes beyond normal boundaries and the actual threat of danger.
Rapid heartbeat, shortness of breath, trembling, and an overwhelming desire to flee the situation—all the physical reactions associated with extreme fear
Causes:
There are several different theories about why phobias develop. They do seem to run in families. But how much this is to do with picking up phobias from your parents and how much is inherited through your genes is uncertain.
Young babies seem to be naturally afraid of animals such as snakes and of heights for instance, even though they need to learn to be afraid of man-made objects such as guns. So there is probably a natural fear response that gave our ancestors a survival advantage. It's possible that when phobias develop this natural fear response has gone wrong.
Psychosocial treatments
Psychological therapies (often referred to as therapy or psychotherapy) involve a trained professional who uses clinically researched techniques, usually talking therapies, to assess and help people make positive changes in their lives.
Behavioral therapy focuses on changing specific actions and uses several techniques to decreases or stop unwanted behavior. For example, one technique trains patients in diaphragmatic breathing, a special breathing exercise involving slow, deep breaths to reduce anxiety. This is necessary because people who are anxious often hyperventilate, taking rapid shallow breaths that can trigger rapid heartbeat, lightheadedness, and other symptoms.
Medication:
Beta blockers. These medications work by blocking the stimulating effect of epinephrine (adrenaline). They block some of the peripheral signs of adrenaline's stimulation and anxiety, including increased heart rate, elevated blood pressure, pounding of the heart, and shaking voice and limbs. These can be very effective for people who have stage fright, but must give a presentation before other people. However, not all beta blockers are effective for this purpose, and they're only available by prescription, so check with your doctor.
Benzodiazepines may also help control social phobia. They are used frequently to treat many anxiety disorders, including generalized anxiety disorder.
In addition to the anti-anxiety drugs, medications may include the monamine oxidase (MAO) inhibitor antidepressants Nardil (phenelzine) and Parnate (tranylcypromine), and serotonin specific reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) such as Prozac (fluoxetine), Paxil (paroxetine), Zoloft (sertraline), and Luvox (fluvoxamine) (Hall). Because there are fewer side effects associated with these drugs and a very low addiction potential, practitioners are more comfortable prescribing them (Hall). Plus, the antidepressant action of these drugs is helpful is treating patients who suffer from depression in addition to social phobia (Hall).
Read about Breast Enlargement. Also read about Makeup Tips and How to give a hickey
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