Phobias
goodtoknow says: When you have a phobia, and many people do, it's not just that you don't like something, you really, really fear and dread it. It could be a fear of flying, spiders, speaking in public or of confined spaces. Just thinking about it can make you anxious and upset. Many phobics experience heart palpitations, breathlessness, feel sick, shake, get a dry mouth and sweat when they come to face to face with what they fear. Therapies like cognitive behaviour therapy, CBT, are highly effective in changing the way you think.
For a full medical explanation of the causes, symptoms and treatments of phobias from patient.co.uk, read on.
A phobia is strong fear or dread of a thing or event which is out of proportion to the reality of the situation. The most effective treatment is cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT). Antidepressant medication also helps in many cases.
What are the symptoms of phobia?
If you come near to, or in contact with, the feared situation you become anxious or distressed. In addition you may also have one or more unpleasant physical symptoms. For example: a fast heart rate, palpitations, feeling sick, shaking (tremor), sweating, dry mouth, chest pain, a 'knot in the stomach', fast breathing.
The physical symptoms are partly caused by the brain which sends lots of messages down nerves to various parts of the body when you are anxious. In addition, you release 'stress' hormones (such as adrenaline) into the bloodstream when you are anxious. These can also act on the heart, muscles and other parts of the body to cause symptoms.
You may even become anxious by just thinking of the feared situation. You end up avoiding the feared situation as much as possible, which can restrict your life and cause suffering.
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