Phobia is the intense and persistent presence of fear that many people have when they are conducting particular activities or find themselves in certain situations. A common symptom of phobia is the excessive desire to avoid any situation, person or activity that will expose them to their fears. A phobia is generally not diagnosed if the occurrence is minimal and tolerable. However, in cases where it affects the normal and daily activities of a person, then it will be treated accordingly.
There are literally hundreds of phobias that everyday people suffer from. The cause of which often relate to quite significant and strenuous situations that have occurred in the past. A phobic condition can be detrimental to the health of the person affected. The knowledge and fear of going out because you think something will happen can affect an individual in a big way.
Helpful tips in phobia treatment:
Behavioural home assignments - Discussions in therapy sessions can sometimes be quite stilted due to reluctance on the patient’s side. Home assignments can be provided by a professional therapist and will involve the patient in writing down their feelings and their responses to certain situations and therapeutic suggestion.
Journal – a therapist will often ask their patients to write down their fears and doubts and how it is affecting them. This is also a home assignment that is done in between sessions.
Conditioning - Conditioning is normally applied to children who have phobias. During the treatment, a prize is given to the child if they respond normally in situations provided by the therapist.
Systematic desensitisation - The therapist lets the patient discuss and describe their fear, at the same time the therapist empowers the patient with ways of relaxing when faced in these situations. A simple relaxation is a start. It goes deeper and is more intense as the session progresses, how intense, will depend upon the individual patient.
Flooding - Flooding exposes the person immediately to the feared object or situation until their surroundings slowly calm them down.
Medication - Medication can block the feeling of panic but its more advisable to accompany this with therapy. A person should not be dependent on medical treatment as tablets and capsules can’t work to diminish them all.
Lifestyle can also help in diminishing phobias such as:
Reducing stress - Stress can trigger extreme anxiety. Learn how to relax and free your mind and body from any situation that is detrimental to your phobias.
Eliminate caffeine - Coffee has been said to trigger anxiety and alertness causing the body to become agitated in the majority of cases.
Good diet - Proper and regular food intake keeps your body and mind healthy, keeping you alert and mindful of situations where you need to calm down and relax a bit.
Cutting alcohol intake - Alcohol intake combined with your phobias can cause great hallucinations and a restless lifestyle. Sleep deprived patients are more prone to stressful lifestyles causing their health and mind ability to go downhill.
A phobic condition is not a disease. It is caused by unfortunate situations and traumatic emotional stress. Proper therapy and guidance is needed. People under phobia treatment should be understood and not be feared.
Do you, or someone you know, have a phobia of spiders or anything at all? The Apex Practice are a London based company that can help you get over these phobias with their Phobia Treatment. Please visit the website at www.theapexpractice.org/
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