Phobias
Wes Tellis, Will Rettenmeier
Definition
People who have phobias tend to fear specific things, such as, bugs, places, or being in public places. These phobias tend to be caused from things that happened in their pasts that caused them to fear that certain object.
Fear vs. Phobia
Normal fear: Slightly anxiety, increased heart rate, maintain the ability to function.
Phobias: Heavy anxiety, inability to function properly, very strong avoidance behavior.
Fear vs. Phobia
Common types of Phobias
Animal Phobias: A phobia related to animals (i.e. snakes, spiders)
Natural Environmental Phobia: A phobia related to ones physical environment (i.e. heights, water)
Situational Phobias: A phobia triggered by a specific situation (i.e. closed spaces, flying)
Blood-Injection-Injury Phobias: Any phobia related to bodily harm and/or bodily fluids (i.e. blood, bones)
Treatments
The "One step at a time"or Disassociation treatment has proven most effective against phobias. This entails a person looking at a picture of their fear then moving on to watching a video, then looking at it in person and so on until the individual feels comfortable around their phobia.