Types Of Anxiety Disorders Specific Phobias

 

Among types of anxiety disorders there are also phobias, which are specific fears that a person develops, which may be intense and are often irrational. Common phobias may include closed in spaces, a fear of heights, driving, water, flying, spiders and blood.

What’s the difference between having a healthy fear of something and having an anxiety-related phobia? Many people have various instilled or natural fears, some of which are intense. If you have never flown before then you may be afraid of the idea of flying. But that doesn’t mean you have an anxiety phobia. Phobias do not involve just intense fear; they are an irrational and an extreme fear of one particular object or situation. People who are affected by phobias are often fearless in other aspects of life–they may be able to fly in a plane but are scared to go above the fifth floor of an elevator. Or they may work a dangerous job with plenty of risks but still have a great fear of spiders.

Phobias can be very specific and there are many recorded cases in which common objects were specified, and even extremely rare objects or situations were the source of much anxiety. These fears are usually without merit, and the sufferer may realize that. That does not change the level of anxiety, however. The anxiety caused by the phobia may lead to other disorders such as panic disorder or obsessive-compulsive disorder. The more common the phobia, the more the person affected by it will seek isolation in a desperate attempt to avoid the source of anxiety. If the phobia relates to something in ordinary life-large crowds, open spaces, small rooms, meeting new people or travel-then it obviously will affect the person’s ability to enjoy life.

Physical symptoms will usually accompany the phobia and these may include: profuse sweating, a heart rate increase, panic attacks, nausea, chest pain, dizziness or faint spells. Just because a person can survive an episode of exposure to the phobia doesn’t mean that they have conquered their fear or that their anxiety level will somehow decrease.

Phobia disorders affect an estimated nineteen million Americans. The cause is believed to be linked to genetics, though the development of the disorder is not entirely sure. Trauma may also be a factor involved, if a person learned the fear of a certain object or situation through a life-threatening experience. Development usually occurs in childhood or adolescent years and then continues into adulthood.

What is the best treatment for phobias? Some believe that avoidance is the best solution, and that may be the answer but provided that the phobia is a rare object or situation and not frequently encountered in normal life. If the phobia is unavoidable however, then it’s best to seek professional help. This type of assistance will not require medication but psychotherapy. It will likely involve the technique of systematic desensitization. This process involves gradually exposing a patient to the phobic object after an education of how to react to the object and maintain control.

The failure to treat a serious condition of anxiety related phobia could lead to other disorders, physical health problems and disappointment in a person’s personal or professional life.

Types Of Anxiety Disorders Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

Obsessive compulsive disorder starts with a thought, perhaps an upsetting thought or merely a reminder. In order to control the thought process, a person will use rituals, or compulsions, to satisfy the uncertainty in their mind. However, the rituals and the obsessive thoughts will eventually start to control them. Common fixations include the fear of germs which leads to obsessive hand washing, or the fear of invasion which leads to locking and relocking their doors.

These behaviors are not fun, in fact they can be as frustrating for the compulsive personality as they are for friends and family members. People who have this disorder cannot control themselves, as the ritual gives them some temporary relief from the obsessive thoughts; in a way, it’s like an addiction to chronic behavior, as opposed to drug abuse.

Some obsessive compulsive personalities develop a fixation on numbers. They constantly count everyday items and perhaps touch things in a particular sequence. Other symptoms of obsessive compulsive disorder may not be related necessarily to ritual, but with recurring obsessive thoughts-many of which will be disturbing and even shocking to the person thinking them.

Unfortunately, many who develop an obsessive compulsive disorder will not realize what is happening. They may not even think about their irrational behavior besides simply wanting to silence the recurring thoughts. This is especially true when dealing with children or teenagers, who usually do not think in terms of being mentally healthy or unhealthy.

Worse yet, if obsessive compulsive disorder is left undiscovered and untreated it may start to bring on more disorders, such as general anxiety or panic disorder, depression, drugs or alcoholism, or even eating disorders. Interestingly, researchers claim that one third of adults who have OCD develop the disorder as children, as genetics is believed to be one of the causes.

Symptoms of the disorder may come and go, or may get progressively worse. A person may become so affected by the compulsive thoughts and rituals that they prefer not to leave the house or venture out any where they might lose control. However, avoiding the triggers out of fear is usually not the best way to cope with OCD, nor is using drugs or alcohol as a temporary tranquilizer effective. In fact, using nonprescription drugs and over indulging in alcohol can be very dangerous to the body, in addition to worsening the obsessive condition.

The recommended treatment for diagnosed obsessive compulsive disorder may involve traditional medication or psychotherapy, including exposure and desensitization techniques. This sees a doctor gradually expose a patient to the feared object or situation and learn coping mechanisms besides ritualistic behavior or avoidance. Obsessive compulsive behavior can vary in degree; to some it may be relatively harmless but annoying (locking the doors, counting objects), but to others it can literally be a matter of life and death, as some obsessive compulsive personalities could have suicidal or masochistic tendencies. If you or someone you know exhibits symptoms associated with obsessive compulsive disorder, then professional diagnoses and treatment is recommended.