phobias

phobias

DSM 5 categories of phobia
1. excessive fear triggered by an object, place or situation
  1. specific phobia
    1. phobia of an object
      1. flying, snakes
  2. social anxiety
    1. phobia of social situations
      1. public speaking/ toilet
  3. agoraphobia
    1. phobia of being outside/ public places
  4. out of proportion reaction to the phobic stimulus
behavioural characteristics
1. panic
  1. crying, screaming or running away
  2. in children = freezing, clinging or having a tantrum
2. avoidance
  1. great lengths to avoid the phobic stimulus
    1. hard to live a normal life
3. endurance
  1. opposite of avoidance
  2. remains in the presence of the phobic stimulus but very anxious
  3. phobic stimulus may be unavoidable
emotional characteristics
1. anxiety
  1. phobias classed as anxiety disorders
  2. unpleasant state of arousal
  3. prevents the sufferer from relaxing
  4. can be long term
2. example = arachnophobia
  1. anxiety levels increase when spider near
  2. anxiety is the general response
    1. actually experiences fear
3. emotional responses are unreasonable
  1. the fear is widely disproportionate to the danger posed by the phobic stimulus
cognitive characteristics
1. way people process info
  1. people with phobias process it differently to others
2. selective attention
  1. hard to look away from the phobic stimulus
  2. good to keep looking at something dangerous but not irrational
3. irrational beliefs
  1. towards the phobic stimulus
    1. increases the pressure on the sufferer to perform well in social situations
4. cognitive distortions
  1. phobic perceptions distorted
the DSM system
1. diagnostic and statistical manual
  1. published by the American Psychiatric Association
  2. classifies mental health issues
2. updated every so often - 5th issue = DMS5

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	Created by Daisy U over 8 years ago