Fears And Phobias A Brief Overview

by: Steve Hill

Psychiatry identifies three different categories of phobia:

Agoraphobia is a fear of open spaces. It is also a fear of having a panic attack in a public place, of losing control in an area from which escape may prove difficult or embarrassing.

Social Phobia is an irrational anxiety brought forth by exposure to certain social situations, leading to avoidance behaviour.

Specific Phobia is a persistent and irrational fear in response to some specific stimulus, which commonly results in avoidance of/withdrawal from that stimulus. It could be triggered by an insect or animal (zoophobia), by a situation like being trapped in an enclosed space (claustrophobia) or it could be a fear of disease (pathophobia).

Approximately 1 in 23 people suffer from phobias. That’s nearly 4.25% of the population. There are roughly 11.5 million sufferers in the US and 2.5 million in the UK .

Approximately 19.1 million American adults aged between 18 and 54 (13.3% of people in this age group) in a given year have an anxiety disorder.

5.2 million Americans (aged 18 to 54) or 3.7% of people in this age group have social phobia.

Approximately 3.2 million Americans have agoraphobia.

Almost 6.2 million US citizens have some sort of specific phobia.

All three types of phobia, social, agoraphobia and specific are likely to effect between 5 and 10 people in every 100.

Females are more prone to irrational fears than males. Roughly twice as many women as men suffer from panic disorder, post traumatic stress disorder, generalised anxiety disorder and specific phobia though about equal numbers of women and men have obsessive-compulsive disorder and social phobia.

In England in 2002-3, there were 310 hospital consultant episodes for phobic anxiety disorders. 94% required hospital admission. 40% were for men, 60% for women.

Only about 20% of specific phobias disappear on their own for an adult.

Source

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The post Fears And Phobias A Brief Overview appeared first on Robert JR Graham.

Social Anxiety – What Is It?

by: Pauline Smith

Social Anxiety is another crippling Anxiety Disorder which can bring on Panic attacks and is also known as Social Phobia. It’s a fear of social situations and being judged or embarrassed when meeting or talking to other people. Social Anxiety or Phobia can be likened to shyness but with a much more intense fear. Shyness becomes an Anxiety Disorder when being around people becomes very difficult and you may stop socializing altogether or at least avoid social situations.

You may also experience symptoms much like those of Anxiety, which include Trembling, Sweating, Palpitations. sinking feeling or an almost irresistible or to run away. You may also feel like your fears are irrational and blame yourself for feeling that way, rather than trying to understand that your fears are a disorder. This is completely normal and you shouldn’t feel ashamed or embarrassed.

The emotional symptoms you may feel can include being self conscious or having a feeling of failure, you may avoid social situations or isolate yourself from friends or family, and you might be more likely to abuse drugs or alcohol to give you more confidence to wonder out into a social situation.

Things You May Avoid Or Be Uncomfortable With, Include:

• Being the center of attention


• Being introduced to new people


• Being watched by people when you are doing something


• Meeting people in Authority


• Using the telephone

All these things are completely normal for a Social Anxiety sufferer…you are not crazy and there are steps you can take to overcome all the symptoms. Try to find someone close to you for support, they can help if you can’t avoid going out and don’t want to go alone. One really important thing is to try and avoid alcohol to give you dutch courage, alcohol is a depressant may help you at the time, but in the long time will only increase your anxiety. I know this for a fact as I used to self medicate.

One of the first steps of overcoming Social disorder is understanding your feelings and fears, reading about your disorder or joining a forum for Social Anxiety sufferers can also help you to

understand your disorder. The main thing for you do do is to realize you have a disorder and takes steps to treat it and recover, which can be done either by getting therapy or using self help as I did, and by that I don’t mean self medicate. There are self help methods that can help you and none of them recommend self medication.

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The post Social Anxiety – What Is It? appeared first on Robert JR Graham.

Anxiety Explained

by: Jason Rickard

Everyone goes through anxiety at one time or the other in their lives. Anxiety is usually a combination of negative emotions like apprehension, worry, and fear. Once a person is anxious about something, the person not only undergoes mental trauma, but also experiences many physical sensations.

It is quite normal for people to get anxious around examination time, during job interviews, on seeing horrid photos or when looking down from heights. Such situations are usually under control with people living normal lifestyles. However there are some people suffering from constant and nagging anxiety that forces them to live restrictedly. Such people usually have phobias, shyness, panic attacks, obsessive thoughts, and exhibit compulsive behavior known as anxiety disorders.

Anxiety in another form is panic disorder, where people experience sudden panic attacks with symptoms like trembling, chest pain, palpitations, and sweaty palms. Some people tend to get lightheaded when anxious and experience fears of dying, losing control on life and going crazy. These attacks usually last a few minutes and are followed with feelings of depression and helplessness. In fact, some people tend to fear experiencing a panic attack again, more than anything else!

Social anxiety is the fear of being around people. Such people are usually self-conscious when with others as they always feel people are watching them. This is why they avoid social activities and meeting people. Though these people may know that what they are thinking is irrational, their feelings win over their thoughts. Sometimes memories of past traumatic experiences are sufficient to trigger anxiety!

People who live in anxiety usually live a life pondering on the consequences of all their activities. They generally have a pessimistic approach to life; this is why there never seems to be an exit from the cycle of anxiety. In addition to all the signs of anxiety, these people also experience terrible headaches, lack of concentration, irritability and sleep disturbances.

Anxiety is curable, as long as the proper treatment is taken. However, there is no standard approach to treat anxiety as each person’s cause for anxiety will be different from another’s. Some people feel better with a few weeks of month of treatment while some may need a year or more. Treatment takes longer if the patient has other disorders like alcoholism and depression, along with anxiety.

English: An anxious person (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The best form of therapy is having the client find out what causes the negative thoughts and to learn to separate realistic thoughts from unrealistic thoughts. Those suffering from anxiety due to unwanted behaviors are treated by gradually exposing them to anxiety-producing stimuli. This builds tolerance to situations that cause anxiety to them. Of course, relaxation provides great relief for anxiety disorders, and is a part of psychotherapy.

Sometimes, medications have to be taken to restore the chemical imbalances that trigger anxiety. Such medications are anti-depressants and anti-anxiety medications and are usually administered along with psychotherapy. The amount of treatment required for anxiety depends on the severity and length of the problem. However, the patient’s cooperation for treatment in itself is an important factor for the success of the treatment. If the patient undergoes treatment against his or her will, recovery will be rather slow.

Source

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The post Anxiety Explained appeared first on Robert JR Graham.

Fears And Phobias A Brief Overview

by: Steve Hill

Psychiatry identifies three different categories of phobia:

Agoraphobia is a fear of open spaces. It is also a fear of having a panic attack in a public place, of losing control in an area from which escape may prove difficult or embarrassing.

Social Phobia is an irrational anxiety brought forth by exposure to certain social situations, leading to avoidance behaviour.

Specific Phobia is a persistent and irrational fear in response to some specific stimulus, which commonly results in avoidance of/withdrawal from that stimulus. It could be triggered by an insect or animal (zoophobia), by a situation like being trapped in an enclosed space (claustrophobia) or it could be a fear of disease (pathophobia).

Approximately 1 in 23 people suffer from phobias. That’s nearly 4.25% of the population. There are roughly 11.5 million sufferers in the US and 2.5 million in the UK .

Approximately 19.1 million American adults aged between 18 and 54 (13.3% of people in this age group) in a given year have an anxiety disorder.

5.2 million Americans (aged 18 to 54) or 3.7% of people in this age group have social phobia.

Approximately 3.2 million Americans have agoraphobia.

Almost 6.2 million US citizens have some sort of specific phobia.

All three types of phobia, social, agoraphobia and specific are likely to effect between 5 and 10 people in every 100.

Females are more prone to irrational fears than males. Roughly twice as many women as men suffer from panic disorder, post traumatic stress disorder, generalised anxiety disorder and specific phobia though about equal numbers of women and men have obsessive-compulsive disorder and social phobia.

In England in 2002-3, there were 310 hospital consultant episodes for phobic anxiety disorders. 94% required hospital admission. 40% were for men, 60% for women.

Only about 20% of specific phobias disappear on their own for an adult.

Source

Related articles

• Ohio teacher sues school district over child-phobia ‘disability’


• The Fundamentals of Phobias


• Trauma and Anxiety Disorders


• Schoolteacher with rare phobia of young children sues school district for making her work with them


• Social Anxiety Disorder:More Than Mere Shyness


• Fear of Life


• Agoraphobia:When Fear Of A Panic Attack Takes Over


• Schoolteacher with rare phobia of young children sues school district for making her work with them


• Social Phobia


• Ohio teacher sues, claims firing over her phobia: fear of young children

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• To Fear The Darkness


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• History of Gold and Currency


• Face Your Fears


• Overcoming Fear to Reach Your Potential

The post Fears And Phobias A Brief Overview appeared first on Robert JR Graham.