From its early Freudian roots, it has taken the form of 50- to 60-minute sessions repeated weekly (or more often) over a period of months or even years. For modern cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), 10 to 20 weekly sessions is typical.
Almost all phobias can be successfully treated and cured. Treating simple phobias involves gradually becoming exposed to the animal, object, place or situation that causes fear. This is known as desensitisation or self-exposure therapy.
Unlike many other subtypes of specific phobia, emetophobia is fairly difficult to treat. In fact, there are only a few published cases in the literature.
Most phobias can be treated successfully. Simple phobias can be treated through gradual exposure to the object, animal, place or situation that causes fear and anxiety.
1. Acrophobia. Acrophobia is the fear of heights and it affects more than 6% of people. People who have acrophobia can have anxiety attacks, which causes them to avoid high places, such as bridges, towers, or tall buildings.
As we age, we produce much less adrenaline, which can cause racing hearts and dizziness. This means the intense fears we may have experienced in youth no longer trouble us as much. However, older people often experience a greater sense of vulnerability, so things like heights or big crowds become more of an issue.
If your child was left-handed, you'd basically have to adopt them out to survive. Bibliophobia: a fear of books. The saddest phobia of them all.
Genetic factors.
Some people avoid the object or situation that triggers their phobia. But this can make your fear worse over time. Being in a scenario involving your phobia can be very difficult though. You may need professional help to enable you to do this.
Many phobias start because of a bad experience or panic attack related to a specific object or situation. Sometimes even seeing or hearing about a bad experience can be enough to trigger a phobia. Genetics or learned behavior. There may be a link between your specific phobia and the phobia or anxiety of your parents.
Tachophobia is the irrational fear of speed. People with tachophobia are afraid of moving at a quick pace.
An estimated 12.5% of U.S. adults experience specific phobia at some time in their lives.
Phobias are among the most common of all mental illnesses, and they are usually the most successfully treated. Phobias are divided into categories according to the cause of the reaction and avoidance.
For the majority of people with undiagnosed or untreated anxiety disorder, there are many negative consequences, for both the individual and society. These include disability, reduced ability to work leading to loss of productivity, and a high risk of suicide.
What is nyctophobia? Nyctophobia is an extreme fear of the dark. The name comes from the Greek word for night. Children and adults with nyctophobia may fear being alone in the dark.
“People can overcome phobias.” Some phobias, such as the fear of snakes (ophiophobia), won't usually affect everyday life, but others, such as agoraphobia (the fear of open spaces), can make it very hard to lead a normal life.
Women develop specific phobias roughly twice as frequently as men. In addition, women tend to predominate in certain phobia categories.
Most simple phobias develop during childhood and eventually disappear. Those that persist into adulthood rarely go away without treatment. Any phobia that interferes with daily living and creates extreme disability should be treated.
More than 60 per cent of Australians fear public spaces or large crowds.
If fear of heights is left untreated it can become worse and even chronic. For many people getting regular treatment is difficult due to its high costs or time constraints. For this reason we have developed ZeroPhobia – Fear of Heights.
In fact, any event that triggers a strong fear (phobic) response can lead to PTSD. Children have even developed PTSD symptoms from watching horror films on TV.
Phobias may be irrational but they are real medical conditions that can be treated.
It's important to know that phobias are common. (Having a phobia doesn't mean you're crazy!) It also helps to know that phobias are highly treatable. No matter how out of control it feels right now, you can overcome your anxiety and fear and start living the life you want.