HEALTH: What is Phobia?
August 29, 2008 – 2:06 pm
Phobia is the uncontrolled form of fear. It affects the daily life of the persona. The word “phobia” comes from Greek word “Phobos”. Phobos is the god of horror. If a person has a phobia, certain events, situations, actions, people or animate objects give fear to the persona.
Any kind of fear can not be classified as phobia. There are some major reasons and results of phobias. It is the extreme feeling and reaction. There is not treatment of fear, but there are treatment ways for phobias.
Causes of Phobias
The major causes of a phobia are classified into two categories: External and internal causes. Something can make you react extremely, this is the internal cause. Then external factors increase the level of reaction. For instance; you are afraid of dogs. Coming across with dogs increases your anxiety. If a dog barks to you, the situation can turn into to be a phobia. Seeing a dog, even thought of that makes you irritated. That is the phobia.
Symptoms of Phobias
When the object, person, situation that cause fear is seen, there are some common signs of phobia. Some of the symptoms of phobias are palpitation, nausea, sudden tension changes, fainting, conscious loss, shaking, perspiration, shortness of breath, blushing and dryness of mouth.
Phobia Treatment
Generally for the treatment of phobias medicine and psychotherapy are given together. When medicine is not adequate, antidepressant is given. The most common treatment way of phobias is making the persona face the fear. The person should learn to face the fear object. Learning living with it will bring the relief.
Phobia Types
There are lots of phobia types. Phobias can be classified into three major categories. These categories are specific phobias, social phobias and function phobias. Here some phobia examples:
Agoraphobia: Fear of open or crowded place
Anglophobia: Fear of English language or culture
Arachnophobia: Fear of spider
Photophobia: Fear of light
Hematophobia: Fear of blood
Hydrophobia: Fear of water, swimming or drowning
Claustrophobia: Fear of close place
Radio phobia: Fear of x rays and radiation
Sky phobia: Fear of sky
Xenophobia: Fear of strangers
Zoophobia: Fear of animals
Thermo phobia: Fear of heat
Thanatophobia: Fear of death
Technophobia: Fear of technology
Puppet phobia: Fear of puppets
Pant phobia: Fear of everything
Negrophobia: Fear of black people
Homophobia: Fear of homosexuals
Ailurophobia: Fear of cats
Androphobia: Fear of men
Bibliophobia: Fear of books
Brontophobia: Fear of thunder
Dataphobia: Fear of data
Dentophobia: Fear of dentist
Electrophobia: Fear of electricity
Pharmaphobia: Fear of medicine
Philophobia: Fear of love
Heliophobia: Fear of sunlight
Gametophobia: Fear of marriage
Hippophobia: Fear of horses
Islamphobia: Fear of Islam and Muslims
Cancer phobia: Fear of cancer
Carnophobia: Fear of meat
Kymophobia: Fear of dogs
Logophobia: Fear of some certain words
Monophobia: Fear of loneliness
Necrophobia: Fear of corpse
Christian phobia: Fear of Christianity and Christians
Obesophabia: Fear of obesity
Neophobai: Fear of anything new
Paper phobia: Fear of paper
Topophobia: Fear of certain places
Tokokphobia: Fear of childbirth
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