...Course assignment Topic: Phobias Prepared by: Accepted by F1-10 ------------------------------------------------- Table of Contents What is a phobia? pg 3 Types of phobias pg 3 Symptoms of phobias pg 5 Coping with phobias pg 5 Bibliography pg 7 What is a phobia? The word “Phobia” comes from the Greek “phobos” meaning fear. But it is not an ordinary type of fear. A phobia is a type of anxiety disorder. It is a strong, irrational, fear of something that possess little or no actual danger. In many cases it is usually limited to one particular thing such as the fear of heights or lifts, of enclosed or open spaces, of travelling by plane, of certain animals and, in the worst of cases, of people. A phobia that has recently become very common is the fear of being “unclean” or contaminated by dirt or germs, and this leads to frequent and obsessive washing. Although the hands of a person with this phobia will get sore from repeated use of soap, he will not stop washing them. Some people have purely personal phobias. One woman was frightened that while she was driving a car, a bird would fly in front of a widescreen. Another man would never stand on a balcony fearing that at any moment it might collapse...
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...then people would be loaded with sufferings; killed, injured, maimed, and would become homeless. The country’s economy will also reduce. Sufferings people injury and they might also become orphans, women would become widow and the humanity would suffer. 2. What were the symptoms of fear displayed by RBM? The Symptoms of fear displayed by RBM are as follows: a. He looked pale and worried. b. He was less talkative, not lively and his interaction with others persons decreased. c. He had developed constipation and used to eat very little. d. He felt tired after walking even a few hundred yards. 3. How did the RMO come to know of the war phobia of RBM? The Regimental Medical Officer (RMO) interviewed RBM. In his inspection RMO found nothing medically wrong with RBM but got trace of scares of the prospects of war. The phobia of war in RBM through his discourse to the RMO on the bad effects of a war on environment, economy, costs, etc. He stated that people would be loaded with sufferings; killed, injured, maimed, and would become homeless. The children would become orphans, women widowed, and the humanity would suffer. He vehemently advised the RMO to make all attempts to stop the war and if he could, at least oppose it. After a brief conversation, the RMO was convinced that all the symptoms pointed to a fear psychosis of war. 4. What actions should be taken to avoid building up of fear among the troops? Which of these steps were taken by the officer? The Action...
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...Phobias and Addictions PSY/300 July 29, 2013 Abstract Week Two of PSY/300, which is the General Psychology class, has an assignment of writing a paper regarding phobias and addictions. It includes the meanings and the differences between classical conditioning and operant conditioning. The paper explains what phobias are as compared to addictions and how each of them affects behavior in individuals. It also explains what classical conditioning means to phobias as well as what operant conditioning means to addictions. Phobias and Addictions Every person is in one way or another, conditioned by either operant or classical conditioning. Phobias develop through classical conditioning, whereas addictions develop through operant conditioning. The classical conditioning theory involves learning a new behavior via the process of association, (McLeod, 2012). Operant conditioning is the other type of conditioning whereas an individual learns through a reward system. It is more or less association made between behavior and consequence of that behavior. Phobias and addictions develop through these two types of conditioning. Phobias develop through classical conditioning and addictions through operant conditioning. Through the past decades, psychologists studied these two relationships to develop a more understanding of these emotional disorders. Phobias and addictions are negative behaviors and usually come from classical conditioning or operant conditioning. Phobias happen...
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...Claustrophobia is defined by Psychology Wiki, as an anxiety disorder that involves the fear of enclosed or confined spaces. Claustrophobe’s may suffer from panic attacks, or fear of having a panic attack, in situations such as being in elevators, trains or aircrafts. Well, how about Hyperbaric Chambers, MRI machines and many other medical necessities that are a critical part of the ability to adequately diagnose and treat patients. I am a Licensed Practical Nurse with my certificate in hyperbaric medicine and I currently work in a Hyperbaric Medicine Clinic and am faced with this fear from patients almost daily. Most of our patients can “get through” the treatments fairly well by thinking about other things or by distractions such as watching a movie of their choice from our movie library. Then there’s that special case, the ones who can‘t or won‘t and flat-out refuse almost to the point of panic when doing so. Imagine being faced with a life threatening injury, infections, such as gas Gangrene or another flesh-eating bacterial skin infections. Also, carbon monoxide poisoning so sever that if you don‘t get treatment for it, it can put strain on your heart damaging the cardiac muscles and CO poisoning can also leave you with a lifetime of lingering sequelae of headaches and nerve damage and can lead to early death if not treated. Or as a diabetic, a grade three diabetic ulcer that is getting to the point were your wound is infected and the infection is...
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...Discuss the relationship between stress, anxiety, habits and phobias and describe how you would treat these issues with hypnotherapy. All of the above disorders in varying degrees form part of the human experience of life. They are all related to one another and they are all caused by fear of change or fear and change. A habit can cause stress and lead to a panic attack and a phobia may cause both stress and anxiety. These disorders are all linked by how our minds are capable of coping with situations. Often these disorders may be inherent or they may be influenced by the environment. In order to understand the relationship between stress, anxiety, habits and phobias, it is necessary to first define what each one is and how it affects us. I will also explain methods of treatment and the ethical issues that I believe would need to be considered. Stress Any situation which causes a person to feel frustrated, angry or anxious will cause feelings of stress. Stress is our body's natural reaction to fear or change. Stress can manifest in several ways, a trigger can cause a reaction, eg a dental appointment etc or there may not be a trigger as the symptoms are always evident, a lack of self esteem, feelings of inadequacy or failure. Stress can also be a learned behaviour from our parents or environment. Stress can be negative causing illness and inhibiting people from moving forward and enjoying their lives. Stress can also be a positive thing, when a person pushes...
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...A lesson well learnt (Childhood memories) Childhood is the age that leaves the most impact on one’s mind. It is said that fears and phobias also often come from incidents that took place in the past or childhood. While many of these might become the cause of fears some of these childhood happenings also give us lessons that last a lifetime. At the age of almost 10 I travelled to Lahore with my family by train. When kids are given instructions such as not going anywhere they don't bother to take them seriously. I was no different when it came to doing the exact opposite of what my parents told me to do. As a 10 year old I soon got over my excitement of travelling by a train and started getting bored. All I wanted then was a cold drink. With that in mind I started pursuing my mother to somehow get me something to drink in the hit weather while she told me to wait to avoid sickening in the train. Feeling like I had to show my mother I could get away with almost anything I got off the train as soon as it stopped on a station. I made my way to the stands where the drinks were being sold. Feeling extremely excited at being alone I started to look around and found myself going to all the shops and watching people going and coming. Little did I realize that I had lost track of time By the time I got to know that I had lost my way to my carriage, the train had started moving away. In panic I started to cry and looked around but I could feel my chest tightening with fear and anxiety...
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...is afraid of is not harmful, her mom, as a precaution has taught her that spiders are bad. Additionally, I believe that others like my daughter have been taught by someone close to them at a young age to be fearful of spiders because they are poisonous, and unattractive. There is evidence that offspring of a phobic individual are at greater risk for developing the same specific phobia subtype because children tend to mirror their parents’ tendencies and fears King, Muris (2004). According to the DSM-IV-TR American Psychiatric Association DBM-IV-TR, (2000), a specific phobia is characterized by clinically significant anxiety provoked by exposure to a specific feared object or situation. Exposure to the feared stimulus invariably provokes an immediate anxiety response that may take the form of a panic attack. Because of the fear of the specific object or situation, people with specific phobias tend to exhibit avoidance behavior or endure situations with relative distress. Unfortunately, based on my observations of my daughter’s reaction to spiders and reading the DSM –IV I believe that she has this phobia. It is well known that facing what we fear most is the only way of overcoming one’s fears. Exposure therapy works much the same way the difference being that it is...
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...Speech phobia goes far beyond the normal fear of public speaking that most people have. It is a crippling fear that is so severe that the phobic individual often goes to great lengths to avoid giving a speech. In schools that require a public speaking course for graduation, some phobics will take every other course they need and then drop out of school rather than take the dreaded class. Some will forego jobs or promotions if public speaking is a requirement—even though they know they are hurting themselves financially. When there is no escape, and phobics are forced to give a speech, they suffer tremendous agony. In addition to the symptoms displayed by the average speaker, phobics may experience dizziness, faintness, nausea, loss of memory, breathing problems (such as hyperventilation), and overwhelming feelings of terror and panic. It is estimated that one out of 100 Americans suffers from this kind of phobia. If you are among the unlucky one percent, there is hope for you. You don't have to go through life with this crippling disability. By using some or all of the methods outlined below, you can bring down your anxiety to manageable levels. Thousands of speech phobics, either working alone or with a therapist, have conquered their problem. The first step is not to run away: if you are in a speech class, don't drop out; if you are scheduled to give a talk to your fellow employees next month, don't quit your job. Get help. If the information below helps you, fine; if...
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...There is a dungeon we are in – a dark prison with no physical walls to keep us in, no guard to watch us day and night. And yet, we are serving our time in solitary confinement in there this prison… Each one of us has particular aims, and as we move forward in life, our ambitions change, and we set ourselves certain goals. But more often than we realize, we restrict the goals we set for ourselves. We suffer from self-doubt, and our insecurities of which we are not even aware instill inhibitions that spread roots and branches in our minds. The result? Self-imposed internal limits – on ourselves, our goals, ambitions, potential, imagination. We lose faith in ourselves, and at times, we don’t even realize it. At times, our inability to take risks and go beyond the defined boundary becomes so internalized that we do not even realize how we clip our own wings. Like a reflex action, our instantaneous response to any challenge is to evade the situation altogether, because it is too risky. It is almost as if in our own little world, the word ‘risky’ is synonymous to ‘bad’. Our inability to do something new and tough becomes an absolute truth for us. We even lose the capability to think it through, measure the pros and cons, and then arrive upon a decision like an intelligent being with a fully functioning cognition. As a result of living in fear for too long, we manage to condition ourselves to play safe, without evaluating the reason behind reaching this negative conclusion. And...
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...phobia is a type of anxiety disorder, usually defined as a persistent fear of an object or situation in which the sufferer commits to great lengths in avoiding, typically disproportional to the actual danger posed, often being recognized as irrational. In the event the phobia cannot be avoided entirely, the sufferer will endure the situation or object with marked distress and significant interference in social or occupational activities. Symptoms involve an irrational, persistent fear of a specific object or situation that's out of proportion to the actual risk. This includes a fear of situations (such as airplanes or enclosed spaces); nature (such as thunderstorms or heights); animals or insects (such as dogs or spiders); blood, injection or injury (such as knives or medical procedures); or other phobias (such as loud noises or clowns). There are many other types of specific phobias. It's not unusual to experience phobias about more than one object or situation. It’s only natural to want to avoid the thing or situation you fear. But when it comes to conquering phobias, facing your fears is the key. While avoidance may make you feel better in the short-term, it prevents you from learning that your phobia may not be as frightening or overwhelming as you think. You never get the chance to learn how to cope with your fears and experience control over the situation. As a result, the phobia becomes increasingly scarier and more daunting in your mind. Exposure: Gradually and...
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...encounters with heights. Our home was located directly across the street from Liseberg theme park, which contained many towering roller coasters. Every time my mother would strap me in the chair beside her, all I could think about was the peak of our drop. With a click and a clack, we climbed to the top and with every inch my heart would beat faster. Finally at the top, I opened my eyes to feel nothing but sheer terror. These trips to the theme park never did dull my acrophobia. A question commonly brought to light is: why would someone be scared of heights in the first place? Well, the farther off of the ground you are, the farther the fall. Without doubt, my fear of heights is tied in directly with the fear of falling, which only adds another phobia to my never ending list. It seems that failure tends to always be more public than success. We fret it and try to avoid it, but in the end failure is something that cannot be escaped. Of all fears, failure is the most terrifying because there is no possible way to succeed without having some form of it. For example,Thomas Edison failed over 10,000 times when creating the lightbulb, and Dyson had 5,126 attempts at making a bagless vacuum. Clearly perseverance is the key to overcoming failure. I define my life by the amount of success I am able to achieve, but the one thing that continuously holds me back is the idea of failing. Although it is natural, I still cannot accept when I fail. Because I hold myself to such a high standard, I continuously...
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...Each and every person is unique and has their own experiences, but if there’s anything that we all have in common is having fear. Fear is a feeling that everyone has felt at one point in their life; whether it’s fear of spiders, public speaking or heights everyone has felt it and has possibly tried to overcome it. In my case my fear was roller coasters back in eighth grade and just like many people I was determined to overcome my fear. There are three things to look forward to in eighth grade; being the oldest and feeling a sense or leadership, being the last year of your middle school experience, and the end of year field trip to Six Flags. Of course I was excited for all these things except for one, the Six Flags field trip. However, fourteen...
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...Nosocomephobia is defined as the fear of Hospitals. “They feel an irrational fear towards the medical center.” (Mental Bluff) There are a lot of symptoms to any phobia like “fainting, crying, screaming, paralyzing fear, or running away.” (Fear Of) But some of the other symptoms are “Rapid Breathing , Shortness of breath,...
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...P2 Case Study 1 – Jane has recently been diagnosed with agoraphobia after she was mugged whilst on her way to town. She has been referred to the community mental health team and following an assessment has been referred to the behavioural therapist within the team. She is undergoing systematic desensitisation as a form of treatment for her phobia. The behaviourism approach is applied to this case study. According to the behaviourism approach, Jane would receive systematic desensitization by using a hierarchy of fear that is created according to her phobia. This is a method that is used to help reduce an individual’s phobia, making them feel relieved and calm. It involves ranking their fear in the hierarchy from least fearful to most fearful. According to Jane’s phobia, her least fearful behaviour would be thinking about a dark room and her most fearful behaviour would be walking inside a dark room. Throughout this hierarchy, it may take Jane a long time for her fear to go away, depending on how strong her phobia is. It would also take...
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...into thoughts about last summer. You see the water cover your brother’s head as your mom pulls you away saying “baby he’s gone we have to save you!” You fight your mom trying to reach for your brother but you get pulled away instead. You begin to hear what seems like your alarm clock. You wake up and realize that you just had a terrible nightmare but what happened seemed so real. It scared you so much and you can’t even begin to think about going near water again. The story you just read is not true, but it does describe the experience of phobias. A phobia is the sensation of extreme fear when it’s not justified by the presence of any real danger or threat, or by any rational cause, and when it is accompanied by a systematic avoidance of the situations that leads to it."(White,2002). I chose this subject because it’s something that really struck my interest. The human brain is always a puzzle and plenty of people try to figure it out. Phobias are one of the things that I noticed many people don’t know much about. We know that people have them, but the cause we are still unsure of. I have arachnophobia, the fear of spiders, and when doing research about phobia’s...
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