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Phobias

Effects and Treatments

Kerima Amer

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Mr.Janosch

January 6
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Not being able to go to work or school is something normal for a person with a social

phobia. Or any phobia really, studies show that In the U.S., nearly 8.7% of people (aged 18 and

over) have at least one extreme specific fear. There are more than 300 phobias known today,

ranging from fears of dogs, Cynophobia, to fears of flying planes or helicopters, aerophobia. 25

million americans fear flying in the air, this is affects people who work and have to travel.

Phobias can be one of the most powerful and devastating human conditions, although there are

limited coping factors to help deal effectively with anxiety from social phobias.

Phobia can make your life difficult, if you're a worker or student. Usually, If you have a

social phobia, you are very worried about embarrassing yourself in front of other people. Your

fears may be so serious that you cannot do everyday things. You may have a very hard time

talking to people at work or school. Your fear may even keep you from going to work or school

on some days (Social Phobia a real illness). Not being able to affect your life, and your mental

wellness. If you're not going to school, you put yourself into jeopardy of having a future, and if

you dont work you're not making money for things you need for everyday life, rent, food etc.

Not having any social interaction from being home all the time could have a huge toll on your

life, specific phobia is a predictor for increased suicidal tendency and it is thought to be a risk

factor for the later development of other mental disorders such as major depression or anxiety

disorders. Additionally, specific phobia is highly comorbid with other mental disorders,

especially with anxiety disorders and mood disorders (Witthauer et al.) More and more people,

are feeling the need to commit suicide, because of their social phobia, it is this way because of

the anxiety and depression that comes with a phobia. It makes it harder for a person to feel
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confident about leaving their house or doing something out of their comfort box. Social phobias

or any kind of phobia is detected at a young age, usually It is rare for it to start after a person

reaches their mid-twenties. Anyone can have social phobia, but more women than men have the

illness. It sometimes runs in families. (social phobia) It is most likely rare to discover a phobia

at the age of twenty, because it is something you grow up with. It can be discovered when a

parent notices you're scared to do certain things.

Celebrities, even suffer from phobias such as Woody Allen. He is known for having so many

crazy phobias, such as stage fright, sunshine, children, hotel bathrooms, cancer and other

diseases, heights, crowds, and small rooms (Cellania et al.)

Woody Allen, has taken fear to an extreme. The 74-year-old actor and

screenwriter is afraid of practically everything. Although he has normal phobias

that cause him to fear heights, enclosed spaces and insects, he also has more

abnormal fears. Among his weirder terrors are fears of bright colors, animals,

elevators and peanut butter sticking to the roof of his mouth! In addition to his

countless phobias, he also admits to having very neurotic needs, such as requiring

his shower drain to be in a corner rather than the center and cutting his banana into

exactly seven pieces before putting them into his cereal every morning. His bounty

of fears made him a necessity on this list! (listverse)

Most people believe that phobias that woody allen has doesnt exist, but truth is anything can be

phobia. Of course there are different ranges of severity of phobias but some of the weirdest

known ones are Nomophobia, this is the constant fear of not having service and,

Somniphobia, Also known as hypnophobia, this is the abnormal fear of falling asleep.
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Oftentimes it can be the result of people feeling as though they are losing control and nightmares

have been known to cause it as well. Also Heliophobia, In a sort of modern day vampirism,

heliophobia is actually defined as fear of the sun. Although it sounds harmless, it can actually be

quite serious and lead to vitamin D deficiency as a result of staying indoors. ( The 25 Strangest

Phobias You Could Have) And the list goes on.

Another famous person with a phobia is,

Natalie Wood Hydrophobia (Fear of Water), This actress, famous for films such

as Miracle on 34th Street and West Side Story, suffered from a fear of water

specifically, being in water. Although it is unknown how this phobia started, it is

rumored to have begun when Natalies mother tricked her into standing on a bridge

for a movie. The bridge had been rigged for Natalie to fall into the water below. This

is said to have taken place when Natalie was young, so the fear stuck with her for life.

Ironically, she died from drowning one night after falling off of a yacht. (listverse)

Fear or water is actually a popular phobia, Two-thirds of Americans are afraid of deep, open

bodies of water and 46% are afraid of the deep-end of a pool. 37% of Americans are unable to

swim, and almost 4000 people a year in the United States die of drowning (Garber)

Employees with phobias can sometimes find protection under the Americans with Disabilities

Act. This is perhaps even more likely since 2008, when the Americans with Disabilities Act

Amendments Act made the definition of "disability" more inclusive.(Katie Loehrke ) A phobia

is a disability, deserving of protection from discrimination from anyone. As long as the phobia

limits the person's ability to work. The law will protect an employee whose employer does not

provide these necessary accommodations. For example, if the individual needs to attend
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psychotherapy, cognitive-behavioral, or desensitization therapy, an employer has an obligation to

accommodate the employee accordingly, unless doing so would unduly burden the employer. (

Los Angeles Disability Discrimination Lawyer Law Offices) So you do have rights, if you are

diagnosed with a phobia. And you can be offered help.

The treatments that come in mind when a person hears phobia is therapy. Which is true, but

medicine is usually prespecified, to help treat anxiety specifically Three types, are

recommended for treating anxiety from phobias. These are: antidepressants tranquilizers

beta-blockers Tranquilizers , Benzodiazepines are a group of medicines that are categorised as

minor tranquilizers. They include medicines such as diazepam (Valium) and are sometimes used

on a short-term basis at the lowest possible dose to treat severe anxiety (Phobias - Treatment)

What a lot of people misinterpreted is that the medicine is prescribed for the phobia, but that's

not the case. Medicine is prescribed to help with the side effects of a phobia such as the anxiety

and depression that comes with it.Medication isn't usually recommended for treating phobias,

because talking therapies are usually effective and don't have any side effects.(Phobias -

Treatment) Most of the time a doctor will try not to prescribe a medicine because a you can get

help through therapy rather than medication. Because therapy does not have side effects but

medication does. Having phobias, are bad enough but with phobias comes anxiety, and with

anxiety comes with significant impairment and distress with a loss of workdays (National

Collaborating Centre for Mental Health (UK))

Although there are treatments, some people prefer to fix there problem on their own. Some

coping factors include, Work with one fear at a time, Learn to calm down quickly using your

senses, Learn and practice a variety of relaxation techniques, Challenge negative thinking.
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Some suggest that you build your fear ladder. Arrange the items on your list from the least scary

to the most scary. The first step should make you slightly anxious, but not so frightened that

youre too intimidated to try it. When creating the ladder, it can be helpful to think about your

end goal. and then break down the steps needed to reach that goal. Work your way up the ladder.

Start with the first step and dont move on until you start to feel more comfortable doing it. (

Phobias and Irrational Fears) If you continue to give yourself that exposure to your phobia you

should feel less and less anxious each time, because youve gotten used to it. If it first it is too

difficult at the time, you should break it down into smaller pieces that way you can add little by

little and progress, rather than going backwards from being to scared to work forward.

You also need practice, its important to practice regularly the more often you practice, the

quicker your progress will be. However dont rush, go at a speed that you can manage without

feeling overwhelmed. It is a big step to take, to cope with your phobia and at first it will feel

uncomforta and anxious for most but the feelings only last so long. Eventually you will get over

it. If you stick with it, the anxiety will fade. Your fears wont hurt you. (phobias and irrational

fears)

There are so many unknown things about phobias, a lot of people suggest many people dont

have any or that phobias are extremely easy to get over. But more than 19.2 millions people have

phobias. (google) 3% of the worlds population is affected by some or the other phobia. Also

nearly

8.7% of people in the U.S. aged 18 or over have at least one specific phobia. Phobias usually

appear in childhood or adolescence and tend to persist into adulthood. Social phobia is the third

largest mental health care problem in the world. The #1 phobia in the world is Arachnophobia or
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fear of spiders, followed by Ophidiophobia, fear of snakes. Nearly 25 million people in the U.S.

have fear of flying Over 6 million people in the U.S. have a phobia. Stress hormone helps in

extinction of fear. There are over 400 distinct phobias. A Lot of people also don't know that

Women are twice as likely to develop a phobia compared to men. ( Phobia Statistics and

Surprising Facts )

Not being able to go to work or school is something normal for a person with a social phobia.

There are more than 300 phobias known today, ranging from fears of dogs, Cynophobia, to fears

of flying planes or helicopters, aerophobia. 25 million americans fear flying in the air, this is

affects people who work and have to travel. Phobias can be one of the most powerful and

devastating human conditions, although there are limited coping factors to help deal effectively

with anxiety from social phobias. Every single day there are people, scared to come out of there

house because of their phobia. There is not enough awareness for phobias, and the anxiety and

depression that comes with it. Know what you are talking about before you judge a person.
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Web Citations

"10 Well Known People and their Phobias." Listverse. N.p., 2014. Web. 22 Dec. 2016.

"Phobias - Treatment." NHS Choices. Department of Health, n.d. Web. 02 Jan. 2017.

"Phobias and Irrational Fears." Phobias and Irrational Fears: Symptoms, Treatment, and
Self-Help for Overcoming Your Anxiety and Fear. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Jan. 2017.

"Phobia Statistics and Surprising Facts About Our Biggest Fears." FearOf.net. N.p., 2016. Web.
03 Jan. 2017.

"The 25 Strangest Phobias You Could Have." List25. N.p., 08 Jan. 2015. Web. 02 Jan. 2017.

"Associations of Specific Phobia and Its Subtypes with Physical Diseases: An Adult Community
Study." BMC Psychiatry. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Jan. 2017.

Do You Feel Afraid and Uncomfortable When You Are around Other People?: A Real Illness:
Social Phobia. (6001 Executive Blvd., Rm. 8184, MSC 9663, Bethesda 20892-9663): Dept. of
Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, National Institutes of Health, National
Institute of Mental Health, 2000. Print.

"Discrimination Attorney.com." Los Angeles Disability Discrimination Lawyer Law Offices of

David H. Greenberg. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Jan. 2017.

Cellania, Miss, Roy Hinkley, and Alex Santoso. "The Fears and Phobias of Famous
People."Neatorama. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Jan. 2017.

Garber, Richard I. "How Many Americans Are Afraid of Deep Water or Drowning?"How Many
Americans Are Afraid of Deep Water or Drowning? N.p., 01 Jan. 1970. Web. 05 Jan. 2017.
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