Phobia, Causes, Signs and Symptoms, Diagnosis and Treatment.

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Chapters

0:00 Introduction
2:47 Causes of phobia
3:22 Symptoms of phobia
4:21 Diagnosis of phobia
4:45 Treatment of Phobia



A phobia is a type of anxiety disorder defined by a persistent and excessive fear of an object or situation. It can also refer to a simple aversion to said object or situation.[1] Phobias typically result in a rapid onset of fear and are present for more than six months.[1] Those affected will go to great lengths to avoid the situation or object, to a degree greater than the actual danger posed.[1] If the object or situation cannot be avoided, they experience significant distress.[1] Other symptoms can include fainting, which may occur in blood or injury phobia,[1] and panic attacks, which are often found in agoraphobia.[6] Around 75% of those with phobias have multiple phobias.[1]

Phobias can be divided into specific phobias, social phobia, and agoraphobia.[1][2] Specific phobias include those to certain animals, natural environment situations, blood or injury, and specific situations.[1] The most common are fear of spiders, fear of snakes, and fear of heights.[7] Specific phobias may be caused by a negative experience with the object or situation in early childhood.[1] Social phobia is when a person fears a situation due to worries about others judging them.[1] Agoraphobia is a fear of a situation due to a difficulty or inability to escape.[1]

It is recommended that specific phobias be treated with exposure therapy, in which the person is introduced to the situation or object in question until the fear resolves.[2] Medications are not useful for specific phobias.[2] Social phobia and agoraphobia are often treated with some combination of counselling and medication.[4][5] Medications used include antidepressants, benzodiazepines, or beta-blockers.[4]

Specific phobias affect about 6–8% of people in the Western world and 2–4% of people in Asia, Africa, and Latin America in a given year.[1] Social phobia affects about 7% of people in the United States and 0.5–2.5% of people in the rest of the world.[6] Agoraphobia affects about 1.7% of people.[6] Women are affected by phobias about twice as often as men.[1][6] Typically, the onset of a phobia is around the ages of 10–17, and rates are lower with increasing age.[1][6] Those with phobias are at a higher risk of suicide.[1]