Specific phobia
Specific phobia is the fear that comprises extremely definite situations such as attitude to various animals, behavior in closed spaces, consuming certain kinds of foods, or the sight of blood. Specific phobia is also called isolated or simple phobia. Although the provoking situation is isolated, getting in touch with it can induce panic attacks and panic symptoms as in cases of agoraphobia or social phobia.
Symptoms of specific phobia
The presence of any of the following signs and symptoms is typical for specific phobia:
- significant fear of specific objects or situations that are not related to agoraphobia or a social phobia;
- the evident avoidance of specific objects or situations that are not related to agoraphobia or a social phobia.
Specific phobia may acquire the form of fear of animals, birds, insects, heights, thunder, flight, darkness, small closed spaces, wounds, injections, stomatologists, hospitals, AIDS, and radiation sickness.
As in the case of social phobia, symptoms of anxiety appear only in the situations causing fear or at the thoughts of them.
During the time after the beginning of disorder minimum 2 of 14 symptoms of anxiety in frightening situations should be detected, and one of them must be vegetative one.
As in the case of social phobia, doctors usually find pronounced emotional apprehension on account of symptoms or intention to avoid situations and understanding that anxiety is excessive or unreasonable.
Differential diagnosis:
- Hypohondriacal disorder — Here are classified fears of certain diseases such as cancer, heart disease, venereal diseases, if only they are not related to specific situations in which the disease can be got.
- Delirious disorder — Differential diagnosis is needed in case when the certainty of allegedly existent diseases, disfigurement, or some disturbances attains the intensity of delirium.
Variants:
Specific phobias can be subdivided as fears of
- animals, for example fear of dogs, mice, snakes;
- the elements, for example, fear of hurricanes, waters;
- injections, blood, traumas;
- situations, for example, fear of lifts, tunnels;
- other types of phobias.
Phobophobia — specific “fear of fear”
Phobophobia is the fear of phobias also known as the fear of fear. This phobia is associated with powerful anxiety and constant fear of the somatic problems. Phobophobia is connected to free floating fears and panic attacks. Patient suffering from phobophobia is diagnosed and treated as a patient with anxiety disorder. In the case of this specific phobia anxiety disorder is sustained in a comprehensive way leading to the increase of the consequences of phobia and making the patients prone to severe fear of panic attacks. Phobophobia interferes with the stress that the patient is suffering from and the phobia that the patient might have acquired. All these factors are under influence of the particularities of patient’s existence. Phobophobia may result from factors independent of other phobias. However it can actively support them. The characteristic feature of phobophobia is the fact that actually there is no outside incentive for it. Doctors affirm that there exist internal sensations of dread that resemble considerably to clinical symptoms of panic attacks. Phobophobia has many symptoms of panic attacks and generalized anxiety disorder. Patients complain of dizziness, heart beating, sweating, tension, faintness, anxiety, and constipation. Among behavioral problems are avoidance and alienation of friends and relatives. Doctors may detect the signs of paresthesia and hyperventilation.