PHOBIA
what is phobia...???
phobia is also called as anxiety hysteria,it is an extreme,irritional fear of a specific object or situation.A phobia is traditionally classified as a type of psychoneurosis,a relatively mild psychiatric disorder.It is generally held that phobias occur when fear produced by an original threating situation is transferred to other similar situation,with the original fear often forgotten.An excessive unreasoning fear of water ,for example,may be used on a forgotten childhood experience of almost drowing.About six per thousand of the population suffer from a phobia disorder.Hundred of words have been coined to specify the nature of the fear by prefixing phobia with the greek word for the object feared.
three main division of phobic syndroms are....
1...Simple Phobia
many normal people develop unreasonable anxiety due to some specefic object or situation for example Acrophobia that means fear of height.
2..Agoraphobia
patients suffering from agoraphobia develop symptoms of anxiety when they travel away from home,mix with people or are in situation that they can not easily live e.g.trains,cinema hall etc.
3..social phobia
patients with social phobia develop symptoms of anxiety and hence avoid situation in which they are observed by other people.These include resturants ,cinema hall etc.
COMMON PHOBIAS
High place........Acrophobia
closed places.......claustrophobia
Dark.....Nyctophobia
crowd....Ochlophobia
strangers....Xenophobia
Animals....zoophobia
these are common phobias....some other phobias which are not common but interesting are....
washing and bathing....Ablutophobia ,Gravity ...Barophobia ,Ugliness...cacophobia ,justice...Dikephobia
Marriage...gamophobia ,words ....logophobia ,God...zeusophobia ,eating...phagophobia ,girls....parthenophobia ,Ideas...Ideophobia ,self....autophobia ,time....chrono phobia ,walking...basiphobia
symptoms of phobia
palpitation,dry mouth,dilatation of pupil,sweating,anxiety,difficulty with concentration,restlessness,avoidance behaviour.
Treatment
1...psychological approach
explanation and reassurance are essential in the management of all forms of anxiety.The nature of the symptoms should be explained and the patient reassured that they form part of a recognized illness.Ressurance is also needed to allay fear of physical illness of this can be given after appropriate examinationa and investigation.specific relaxation technique should be taught to those who do not respond to ressurance.
2...Drugs
Anxiolytic and antidepressant drugs have been used to treat phobia patient.
