Encountering certain obstacles or situations may leave one frightened, such as being afraid of the dark, high heights, or animals. Most of us are able to remain calm, rationalize the situation, and find a way around it, but this doesn’t work for everyone. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, more than 10 million adults live with some kind of phobia.
What is a phobia?
Phobias are intense fears that result in distress and/or impair the individual's functioning. Individuals with this anxiety disorder have an irrational fear of certain things that is out of proportion to the actual threat entailed.
Here are a few examples of common phobias:
- Arachnophobia: fear of spiders
- Acrophobia: fear of heights
- Agoraphobia: fear of being in a situation the person can’t escape from
- Social phobia: fear of social situations in which a person is exposed to others' scrutiny
The American Psychiatric Association simplified the symptoms into two points:
- An out-of-proportion reaction, taking into account the individual's age
- The individual’s capability to behave normally is compromised
Treatment options
- Therapists help treat phobias by using psychotherapy, also known as talk therapy. CBT (cognitive behavior therapy) can be particularly helpful, where phobic clients can learn how to think, react, and behave to whatever it is that they fear. It is meant to reduce the feeling of overwhelming anxiety. This typically includes learning anxiety-management skills and guided exposure to the feared objects or situations.
- Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
- Hypnotherapy
- Medications, on the other hand, aren’t a cure but they help patients deal with symptoms.
While one of these methods may work for some, professionals may provide their patients with a combination of these treatments and remedies. Unfortunately, the cause of these anxiety disorders is unclear. It may be due to genetics, the environment, and/or developmental events. Even when the cause is uncertain, treatment can help individuals with phobias to overcome their fears.