what are the types and the reasons of phobias?

Answer 1

no idea how may types, I'm sure too many to list, and my guess is that most of them have no valid reason - a phobia is an irrational fear, they rarely make sense.

Answer 2

There are thousands of phobias. Spiders, snakes, balloons, buttons, electricity (electrophobia) and so on.

The reasons vary, some say that we are born with certain fears that protect us from danger, eg. fear of certain insects may be within in us as a throw back to thousands of years ago, where that fear would stop us approaching something.

Other phobias develop perhaps because of a stressful event that occurred when a certain object, song or something else was around us at the time. Unconsciously, our brains relate the two and attach the fear to the thing that was there when we were stressed.

Other phobias can be more simple say for example of dogs, where someone had been bitten and has since allowed their fear to grow and grow till they avoid all dogs.

The point is that phobias are IRRATIONAL fears.

Many people live their lives with their phobia and are able to get by ok, but for some, say the fear of pigeons and living in London, their fear can really interfere with everyday life and be quite crippling.

Phobias can be treated. The longer the fear is allowed to go on and grow the more it can take hold.

Hope this helps.

Answer 3

phobias are usually started in childhood an expericence or it is learned from the parents not the same but the same type of phobia. If the parent is afraid of snakes the child could have a fear of mice or something simular. If there is an object or consept someone can be afraid of it. A phobia is when a person feels afraid, or shows anxiety and then changes their life, and patterns of behavior to not have the aniety of the object, You can be scared of going on the freeway and not have a phobia by not avoiding it. But if you start to avoid your fear it turns into a phobia.
There are two ways to treat a phobia one is invetro--Which is real life experense. You start with the least fear and work your way up which can take a several weeks or a month or you can inmerse the person in the fear all at once. Like driving all the way across on the freeway or having snakes put on you. You can also use pictures to start with and work your way up to their worse fears.

Answer 4

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Answer 5

Phobias are irrational fears of particular situations or objects which do not normally trouble most people. They are the most common form of anxiety disorders. ­They are the most common psychiatric illnesses among women and the second most common in men over 25.

Symptoms include nausea, palpitations, difficulty in breathing, chest pains and feelings of impending insanity or death.

Phobia types
Phobias are divided into six principal groups:

Agoraphobia

This is the most common single phobia. Agoraphobia is derived from a Greek word meaning 'fear of the marketplace'. Sufferers may experience fear of going out, being alone, crowds or loss of the 'safe' environment. Many agoraphobic victims become so disabled they will not leave their homes.

Two-thirds of agoraphobics are women, most sufferers developing symptoms between the ages of 18 and 35. Many victims develop the disorder after suffering a series of unpredictable panic attacks in public, making them fear any situation which may provoke an attack.

Social phobia

A fear of social and performance situations in which the sufferer is exposed to unfamiliar people or scrutiny by others. Anxiety about behaving in an embarrassing or humiliating way can lead to withdrawal from social contact.

Social phobia affects 2-5 per cent of the population at some time in their lives. Women are more often affected than men (ratio of 2.5:1) and 95 per cent of cases occur before the age of 20.

Illness/death phobias

Sufferers may fear one particular disease or have a general fear of illness or death. The most common phobias are fears of cancer, heart attacks/disease and AIDS.

Specific phobias

Almost anything can induce phobic symptoms, for example, closed spaces (claustrophobia), vomiting (emitophobia), dogs, heights or swallowing.

Fear of animals is the most common specific phobia, particularly dogs, snakes, insects and mice. Specific phobias are more common in women.

General/diffuse phobic state

This can be a seriously debilitating condition as the sufferer is never free from panic attacks brought on by any situation or object.

Obsessive/compulsive disorders

Described as a fear of one's own impulses, sufferers usually recognise their behaviour as strange, but are compelled to perform a repetitive action. For example, obsessive thoughts about cleanliness can lead to a compulsion for continual washing. Sufferers may have a panic attack if they are prevented from carrying out their ritualistic washing.



Causes
There are many causes of specific phobias. Some begin during childhood and may be linked to a vivid memory or experience. Other fears are culturally learnt, such as avoiding black cats or walking under ladders.

Often, it is unknown why a phobia develops. Young people often outgrow their phobias, but those that persist into adulthood rarely go away without treatment.

There is some evidence that social phobia is linked to abnormalities of serotonin and dopamine neurotransmission.

A phobia frequently co-exists with some other psychiatric disorder, and for this reason is frequently misdiagnosed. For example, social phobics are twice as likely to develop major depression than non-phobics. Phobia can be co-morbid with one or all of: depression, anxiety and panic. Often, phobias precede the co-existing disorder, suggesting a precipitating role.



Management

Drug treatment ­ benzodiazepines are effective at reducing anxiety quickly, but if used long term, cause physical dependency, which can be of particular concern for a group of patients already at increased risk of substance and alcohol abuse.

The two most commonly used drugs for the treatment of social phobia in the UK are paroxetine (recommended dose 20mg daily) and moclobemide, a reversible monoamine oxidase inhibitor (recommended 600mg daily).

Paroxetine, a selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitor (SSRI), is also effective in the treatment of depression, panic disorder and obsessive compulsive disorder, conditions which are often co-morbid with social phobia.

Citalopram and paroxetine are used for panic disorder, while clomipramine is licensed for use in phobic and obsessional states.

Beta-blockers reduce autonomic symptoms such as palpitations and tremor but do not affect psychological symptoms like worry, tension and fear. They are therefore indicated for patients with predominantly somatic symptoms.

Behavioural therapy ­ for example, a person with arachnophobia imagines a spider for increasing lengths of time until they can do so without becoming frightened. Then, they may look at pictures or models and finally touch a spider. This is called exposure treatment.

Counter-conditioning is another classical conditioning technique used. Patients learn to substitute a relaxation response for the fear response.

Support groups ­ allow people to talk about and share their fears with other phobics,providing counselling and teaching relaxation methods.

Alternative treatments ­ hypnotherapy and acupuncture have worked for some people.