Explaining Phobia

Explaining Phobia Paper

There are many different types of phobias that an individual can suffer from. Phobias have baffled the experts for a long time. While many people over time have tried to come up with their own thoughts on what causes phobias, doctors today still cannot explain what causes them. Doctors have discovered that in certain instances it reverts back to an individual's childhood as the case with Sally, but that still does not explain them. While phobias can start early in one's life they can also show up later too.

Having a phobia of dogs is pretty common and is known as Cynophobia. People with a phobia of dogs live their lives with anxiety that they will come into contact with a dog. They also live their lives with the fear that something bad might happen to them because of a dog. In Sally's case, she needs to understand what a phobia is and that it is common and then she will be able to overcome it.

Meaning of Phobia

What is a phobia? According to Edwards (2012), "A phobia is defined as the unrelenting fear of a situation, activity, or thing that causes one to want to avoid it. The three types of phobias are social phobia (fear of public speaking, meeting new people, or other social situations), agoraphobia (fear of being outside), and specific phobias (fear of particular items or situations)." The fear can become out of the control in a person which is why is consumes a person daily habits. This would explain Sally going out of her way to avoid dogs. One example of a phobia is dogs. Phobias are just one form of anxiety disorders.

Signs and symptoms of phobias

There are many different symptoms and according to Edwards (2012) they include but are not limited to,

Symptoms of phobias often involve having a panic attack -- in that they include feelings of panic, dread, or terror, despite recognition that those feelings are excessive in relationship to any real danger -- as well as physical symptoms like shaking, sweating, trouble thinking clearly, nausea, rapid heartbeat, trouble breathing, and an overwhelming desire to escape the situation that is causing the phobic reaction. Also, extreme measures are sometimes taken to avoid or escape the situation.

There are some emotional signs that go along with phobia also. Some of those signs are: Feeling of overpowering panic, and powerful want to get away, fear of losing control or going crazy, feeling like you're going to die or pass out. This is why Sally goes out of her way to avoid dogs at all cost. She will even avoid family and friends if they have a dog in their home. According to Cervone & Pervin (2010), "To protect against anxiety and threat, an individual employs protective devices" (p.407). This is what Sally is doing when she is avoiding dogs at all cost.

Causes

Phobias are really known as an emotional response that has been learned due to a life experience, which in Sally's case happened when she was younger having a bad experience with a dog. After that Sally has attempted to avoid dogs at all cost, because when a dog comes around the anxiety kicks in. Some individuals can avoid dogs which then disable the symptoms. There is no main cause of a phobia developing. Mainly what the cause can be is an individual having an event or trauma that causes the fear to start; this is what has happened in Sally's case.

Treatment

There are varies methods that claim to treat an individual that has a phobia. This can vary from individual to individual. There is cognitive behavioral therapy that can help an individual with a phobia. This therapy helps the patient understand the cycle of their negative thought patterns, and ways to change them to better themselves when dogs are around him or her. Another type of therapy is Hypnotherapy with Neuro-linguistic programming is used to remove the fear that triggers the phobic reaction. The downside is that there is not enough research and testing to really tell if this therapy is effective. Anti-depressant medications can help in some cases. An individual needs to receive treatment if the phobia has caused intense fear, anxiety, and panic. Also if the individual goes out of the way to avoid interferes with his or her daily routine to stay away from dogs.

In Sally's case, I would tell her to start the following steps to help her get over the phobia of dogs. I would say to start