PHOBIA
We single out phobia to begin our study of the "neuroses" for several reasons:
(I) phobia is an unusually well-defined phenomenon, and when adiagnostician sees this phenomenon, there is little trouble diagnosing it correctly;
and (2) it is a disorder about which much is known concerning its cause and cure.
Until a few years ago, phobias were a mysterious disorder
from which there was no escape-unless you were one of the lucky individuals
whose phobia disappeared just as inexplicably as it arrived. Today,
most phobias can be successfully treated, and ofall psychological disorders,
phobias are perhaps the best understood.
This section narrates the story of the conquest of phobia. We begin by
defining phobia and then proceed to discuss what kinds ofphobias exist. We
discuss two rival theories of phobias: the psychoanalytic and the behavioral,
and then we discuss the four therapies that seem to work on phobias. Finally,
we present an integrated theory of phobia, which seems to account
quite adequately for symptoms, cause, and treatment.
PHOBIA DEFINED
Aphobia is a persistent fear reaction that is strongly out of proportion to the
reality ofthe danger. For example, there are some people who, out ofexaggerated
fear, will not go to the circus or the zoo. In fact, such cat phobics
cannot even be in the same room with a house cat because oftheir extreme
fear of cats. Although we can repeatedly tell the cat phobic that house cats
rarely attack humans, the fear will persist nonetheless.
A fear reaction may interfere with a phobic's entire life.
Consider the following case in which fear is so great that the woman is even afraid to leave her home:
Anna's fear of cats...
Anna was house bound. Six months ago, the house next door had become vacant
and the grass had begun to grow long. Soon, the garden had become a rendezvous for the local cats.
Now Anna was terrified that if she left her house, a cat
would spring on her and attack her. Her fear of cats was of thirty years' status,
having begun at age four when she remembered watching in horror as her father
drowned a kitten. In spite of saying that she believed it was unlikely that her father
actually did such a thing, she was haunted by the rear. At the sight of a cat, she
would panic and sometimes be completely overwhelmed with terror. She could
think of nothing else but her fear of cats. She interpreted any unexpected movement,
shadow, or noise as a cat.
We single out phobia to begin our study of the "neuroses" for several reasons:
(I) phobia is an unusually well-defined phenomenon, and when adiagnostician sees this phenomenon, there is little trouble diagnosing it correctly;
and (2) it is a disorder about which much is known concerning its cause and cure.
Until a few years ago, phobias were a mysterious disorder
from which there was no escape-unless you were one of the lucky individuals
whose phobia disappeared just as inexplicably as it arrived. Today,
most phobias can be successfully treated, and ofall psychological disorders,
phobias are perhaps the best understood.
This section narrates the story of the conquest of phobia. We begin by
defining phobia and then proceed to discuss what kinds ofphobias exist. We
discuss two rival theories of phobias: the psychoanalytic and the behavioral,
and then we discuss the four therapies that seem to work on phobias. Finally,
we present an integrated theory of phobia, which seems to account
quite adequately for symptoms, cause, and treatment.
PHOBIA DEFINED
Aphobia is a persistent fear reaction that is strongly out of proportion to the
reality ofthe danger. For example, there are some people who, out ofexaggerated
fear, will not go to the circus or the zoo. In fact, such cat phobics
cannot even be in the same room with a house cat because oftheir extreme
fear of cats. Although we can repeatedly tell the cat phobic that house cats
rarely attack humans, the fear will persist nonetheless.
A fear reaction may interfere with a phobic's entire life.
Consider the following case in which fear is so great that the woman is even afraid to leave her home:
Anna's fear of cats...
Anna was house bound. Six months ago, the house next door had become vacant
and the grass had begun to grow long. Soon, the garden had become a rendezvous for the local cats.
Now Anna was terrified that if she left her house, a cat
would spring on her and attack her. Her fear of cats was of thirty years' status,
having begun at age four when she remembered watching in horror as her father
drowned a kitten. In spite of saying that she believed it was unlikely that her father
actually did such a thing, she was haunted by the rear. At the sight of a cat, she
would panic and sometimes be completely overwhelmed with terror. She could
think of nothing else but her fear of cats. She interpreted any unexpected movement,
shadow, or noise as a cat.
Note:
Anna is house bound because she is afraid that she might be attacked by a
cat if she goes outside. Her fear is greatly out of proportion to the reality of
the danger of actually being injured by a cat. The real danger is near zero,
but her fear is extreme and irrational. Her problem is more than fear; it is a
phobia. Very intense fear, however, does not constitute a phobia unless the
actual danger is slight. For example, all of us would be housebound upon
hearing about an approaching tornado. Here, the danger is great; the behavior
is rational.
We must recognize that what we label a phobia is, by definition, partly a
societal judgment. If the consensus of a society is that cats are extremely
dangerous, it would not be considered a phobia to avoid them at all costs.
Some superstitious societies attributed certain powers to animate and inanimate
objects. Reacting to such objects with extreme fear would not constitute
a phobia. For members of that society, such reactions made good
rational sense.
There is no question that phobias cause one to suffer. They are maladaptive,
since the individual's activities are greatly restricted; they are irrational,
since the sense of danger is out of proportion to the reality of the danger.
Phobics make others uncomfortable, and their behavior is considered socially
unacceptable. Phobias are out ofthe individual's control, and phobics
want to be rid of their fear. Thus, phobias are clearly abnormal.
Treating Social Anxiety
Generalized Anxiety Treatment
Treating Panic Disorder
Agoraphobia Treatment
More at:
http://social-anxiety-treatment-cure.weebly.com/
Of course you know the treatment method I recommend!
http://theliberatormethod.com/Welcome.html
END
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Anna is house bound because she is afraid that she might be attacked by a
cat if she goes outside. Her fear is greatly out of proportion to the reality of
the danger of actually being injured by a cat. The real danger is near zero,
but her fear is extreme and irrational. Her problem is more than fear; it is a
phobia. Very intense fear, however, does not constitute a phobia unless the
actual danger is slight. For example, all of us would be housebound upon
hearing about an approaching tornado. Here, the danger is great; the behavior
is rational.
We must recognize that what we label a phobia is, by definition, partly a
societal judgment. If the consensus of a society is that cats are extremely
dangerous, it would not be considered a phobia to avoid them at all costs.
Some superstitious societies attributed certain powers to animate and inanimate
objects. Reacting to such objects with extreme fear would not constitute
a phobia. For members of that society, such reactions made good
rational sense.
There is no question that phobias cause one to suffer. They are maladaptive,
since the individual's activities are greatly restricted; they are irrational,
since the sense of danger is out of proportion to the reality of the danger.
Phobics make others uncomfortable, and their behavior is considered socially
unacceptable. Phobias are out ofthe individual's control, and phobics
want to be rid of their fear. Thus, phobias are clearly abnormal.
Treating Social Anxiety
Generalized Anxiety Treatment
Treating Panic Disorder
Agoraphobia Treatment
More at:
http://social-anxiety-treatment-cure.weebly.com/
Of course you know the treatment method I recommend!
http://theliberatormethod.com/Welcome.html
END
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~