Phobia-Phobic Disorders
A phobia is a type of anxiety disorder defined by a persistent and excessive fear of an object or situation. Phobias typically result in a rapid onset of fear and are present for more than six months.
Cluster Number:
Wiki Number: PW166
Diagnosis: Phobia-Phobic Disorders
US Patients: 8.7%-18.1% suffer-may not be patients;
World Patients: Specific-6-8% in Western world; 2-4% Asia, Africa & Latin America; Social-7% US; 0.5-2.5% elsewhere; agoraphobia-1.7%
Sex Ratio: M;W2, Phobias are the most common mental illness-challenge among women.
Age Onset: Ages 10-17; During or after the event lasting 6-months to permanently; 75% of those with phobias have multiple phobias.
Brain Area: Insula involved with the autonomic functions; anterior cingulate cortex, ventromedial prefrontal & medial prefrontal cortexes
Symptoms: an anxiety disorder with persistent and excessive fear of an object or situation. Phobias can be specific, social or agoraphobia-places
Progression: Range from mild concern to panic attacks-lose control over themselves physically.
Causes: Fear conditioning; traumatizing event; observing others who fear; the basolateral amygdala keeps a memory with the hippocampus
Medications: Social phobias-antidepressants, benzodiazepines or beta blockers//EMDR-Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing
Therapies: Specific phobias (such as, spiders, snakes, heights)use-exposure therapy; social phobias-systematic desensitization, relaxation
Youtube Video: Phobias? Why Do We Have Them?
Amazon or Library Book: The Anxiety and Phobia Workbook
Click the book to link or order from Amazon.
Support Group: Facebook-phobiassupportgroup; 609-713-2963 (Phobia Anxiety Support Group)
4 CURRENT ARTICLES
FROM PUBMED
The world-wide medical research
reports chosen for each diagnosis
Clicking each title opens the
PubMed article’s summary-abstract.
- Tokophobia and Domestic Violence: The Pathological Fear of Pregnancy and Childbirthby Nader Aghakhani on May 6, 2024
No abstract
- Development and initial validation of an open-access online Behavioral Avoidance Test (BAT) for spider fearby Markus Grill on May 2, 2024
The behavioral avoidance test (BAT) is a well-known diagnostic tool assessing fear by directly measuring avoidance behavior. For instance, in spider phobia, participants or patients gradually approach a live spider until they feel too uncomfortable to continue. However, the use of different BAT protocols in various studies hampers the comparability of results. Moreover, conducting the test requires considerable preparation by researchers and clinicians. Thus, we have developed an open-access...
- Experiences of dental behaviour support techniques: A qualitative systematic reviewby Andrew Geddis-Regan on April 29, 2024
CONCLUSION: Qualitative research has been under-utilized in research on DBS techniques. Care experiences of most DBS techniques outside of paediatric DGA are poorly understood. Building trust with patients and enabling autonomy appear to support positive patient-reported experiences of care.
- The Prevalence of Nomophobia in Medical Undergraduate Students of Central Indiaby Mahek R Mohani on April 29, 2024
Introduction Nomophobia is an emerging phobia resulting from people's excessive interaction with mobile phones. This phobia is rapidly increasing due to significant technological innovations and widespread acceptance and usage of mobile phones worldwide. Nomophobia is often associated with complications such as panic attacks, irritability, and anxiety. Smartphone usage is particularly high among the younger population, raising concerns as it generates distress and leads to various problems. This...