Many people experience specific phobias, intense,
irrational fears of certain things or
situations--dogs, closed-in places, heights,
escalators, tunnels, highway driving, water, flying,
and injuries involving blood are a few of the more
common ones. Phobias aren't just extreme fear; they
are irrational fear. You may be able to ski the
world's tallest mountains with ease but panic going
above the 10th floor of an office building. Adults
with phobias realize their fears are irrational, but
often facing, or even thinking about facing, the
feared object or situation brings on a panic attack
or severe anxiety.
Specific phobias strike more than 1 in 10 people. No
one knows just what causes them, though they seem to
run in families and are a little more prevalent in
women. Phobias usually first appear in adolescence
or adulthood. They start suddenly and tend to be
more persistent than childhood phobias; only about
20 percent of adult phobias vanish on their own.
When children have specific phobias--for example, a
fear of animals--those fears usually disappear over
time, though they may continue into adulthood. No
one knows why they hang on in some people and
disappear in others.
If the object of the fear is easy to avoid, people
with phobias may not feel the need to seek
treatment. Sometimes, though, they may make
important career or personal decisions to avoid a
phobic situation.
When phobias interfere with a person's life,
treatment can help. Successful treatment usually
involves a kind of cognitive-behavioral therapy
called desensitization or exposure therapy, in which
patients are gradually exposed to what frightens
them until the fear begins to fade. Three-fourths of
patients benefit significantly from this type of
treatment. Relaxation and breathing exercises also
help reduce anxiety symptoms.
There is currently no proven drug treatment for
specific phobias, but sometimes certain medications
may be prescribed to help reduce anxiety symptoms
before someone faces a phobic situation.
Social Phobia
-
"I couldn't go on dates or to parties. For a
while, I couldn't even go to class. My sophomore
year of college I had to come home for a semester."
-
"My fear would happen in any social situation. I
would be anxious before I even left the house, and
it would escalate as I got closer to class, a party,
or whatever. I would feel sick to my stomach--it
almost felt like I had the flu. My heart would
pound, my palms would get sweaty, and I would get
this feeling of being removed from myself and from
everybody else."
-
"When I would walk into a room full of people, I'd
turn red and it would feel like everybody's eyes
were on me. I was too embarrassed to stand off in a
corner by myself, but I couldn't think of anything
to say to anybody. I felt so clumsy, I couldn't wait
to get out."
Social phobia is an intense fear of becoming
humiliated in social situations, specifically of
embarrassing yourself in front of other people. It
often runs in families and may be accompanied by
depression or alcoholism. Social phobia often begins
around early adolescence or even younger."
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