What is a phobia?
Fear is an essential emotion that exists to warn us of dangerous situations. However, this fear can become irrational, and drive some of our behaviors, it is then called phobia. More than a simple fear, a phobia is an anxiety disorder that takes hold of people who are facing it. They are aware of their fear and try, by all methods, to avoid the element in question.
Simple and complex phobias
While some phobias are bearable in everyday life (e.g. fear of snakes when living in Europe), others such as agoraphobia (fear of the outdoors) or aerophobia (fear of flying) can make life very difficult.
Phobias are classified into two categories, simple and complex.
Simple phobias relate to a specific object, item, or situation, such as fear of dogs, thunderstorms, or air travel. The latter are usually social and are often rooted in fear of the gaze and judgment of others.
Where do phobias come from and how to treat it?
These disorders often develop in childhood as a result of a traumatic event, intense stress, or imitation. For example, if a family member suffers from a phobia of spiders, the child is likely to incorporate this fear as well.
The treatment of phobias generally involves the skills of a family doctor, but also a psychiatrist, a child psychiatrist, or a psychologist. But certain complementary therapies such as hypnosis, sophrology, EFT, EMDR, also have excellent results in phobias’ treatment.
Do you know these unusual phobias?
More current than ever in our society, nomophobia is the fear of being separated from one’s mobile phone. As for lachanophobia, it corresponds to the fear of vegetables or more specifically, bananophobia, the fear of bananas.
This information is not a substitute for medical advice. You must seek the advice of your doctor or another qualified health professional with any questions you may have regarding your health condition.
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