Phobias

Question 1

Phobias are what type of disorder?

Answer 1

Anxiety disorder.

Question 2

How are phobias characterised?

Answer 2

By uncontrollable, extreme, irrational, and enduring fears.

Question 3

What are the anxiety levels of a phobia like?

Answer 3

Out of proportion to any actual risk.

Question 4

What is the occurrence rate of phobias?

Answer 4

As many sufferers attempt to deal with phobias themselves, it is difficult to estimate what the occurrence rate is.

Question 5

What percentage of people will suffer from a phobia at some point?

Answer 5

About 10%.

Question 6

Is there a phobia gender difference?

Answer 6

Yes, females are twice as likely to suffer from phobias than males.

Question 7

How long do phobias last?

Answer 7

They can be long-lasting, enduring over many years.

Question 8

State 2 examples of potential origins of phobias.

Answer 8

Childhood.

Past experiences.

Question 9

Do all remember when their phobias were created? What does this link to?

Answer 9

Some can remember an exact time and place that a phobia was created, others cannot - links to Freud’s ideas on suppression.

Question 10

What is anxiety?

Answer 10

An emotion all people experience and is a natural response to a potentially dangerous stimuli.

Question 11

What are the 3 types of phobia symptoms?

(Symptoms of phobias)

Answer 11

Behavioural symptoms.

Emotional symptoms.

Cognitive Symptoms.

Question 12

State 2 behavioural symptoms of phobias.

(Symptoms of phobias)

Answer 12

Avoidant/ anxiety response.

Disruption of functioning.

Question 13

State 2 emotional symptoms of phobias.

(Symptoms of phobias)

Answer 13

Persistent, excessive fear.

Fear from exposure to phobic stimulus.

Feelings of being overwhelmed.

Feelings like you are going to pass out.

Knowing that you’re overreacting, but feeling powerless to control your fear.

Question 14

State 2 cognitive symptoms of phobias.

(Symptoms of phobias)

Answer 14

Irrational nature of a person’s thinking.

Recognition of exaggerated anxiety.

Question 15

Outline ‘avoidant/anxiety response’ as a behavioural symptom of phobias.

(Symptoms of phobias)

Answer 15

As confrontation with feared objects and situations produces high anxiety responses, efforts are made to avoid the feared object/situations to the chance of anxiety.

Question 16

Outline ‘disruption of functioning’ as a behavioural symptom of phobias.

(Symptoms of phobias)

Answer 16

Anxiety and avoidance responses are so extreme that they severely interfere with the ability to conduct everyday working and social functioning.

Question 17

Outline ‘persistent, excessive fear’ as a emotional symptom of phobias.

(Symptoms of phobias)

Answer 17

Phobias produce high levels of anxiety due to the presence of or anticipation of feared objects/situation.

Question 18

Outline ‘fear from exposure to phobic stimulus’ as a emotional symptom of phobias.

(Symptoms of phobias)

Answer 18

Phobias produce an immediate fear response, even panic attacks.

Question 19

Outline ‘irrational nature of a person’s thinking’ as a cognitive symptom of phobias.

(Symptoms of phobias)

Answer 19

Phobics are resistance to rational arguments.

E.g. telling someone with a fear of flying that flying is the safest way to travel.

Question 20

Outline ‘recognition of exaggerated anxiety’ as a cognitive symptom of phobias.

(Symptoms of phobias)

Answer 20

Generally phobics are consciously aware that the anxiety they experience in relation to their feared object/situation is overstated.

Question 21

What are the 3 sub-types of phobias?

(Types of phobia)

Answer 21

Simple.

Social.

Agoraphobia.

Question 22

What are simple phobias also called?

(Types of phobia)

Answer 22

Specific phobias.

Question 23

When do simple phobias occur?

(Types of phobia)

Answer 23

When the sufferers have fears of specific things and environments.

Question 24

Give an example of a simple phobia.

(Types of phobia)

Answer 24

Astraphobia - an intense fear of thunder and lightning.

Question 25

What are the 4 characteristics of simple phobias? Give examples for each.

(Types of phobia)

Answer 25

Animal phobias:
E.g. spiders (arachnophobia).

Injury phobias:
E.g. blood (haematophobia).

Situational phobias:
E.g. flying (aerophobia).

Natural environment phobias:
E.g. water (hydrophobia).

Question 26

What is a social phobia?

(Types of phobia)

Answer 26

Involves being over-anxious in social situations.

The perception of being judged and feeling inadequate.

Question 27

Social phobics fear judgement and the feeling of inadequacy. What does this mean they can find difficult?

(Types of phobia)

Answer 27

Conducting meaningful relationships difficult.

Question 28

Give an example of a social phobia.

(Types of phobia)

Answer 28

Having to talk in public.

Question 29

What are the 3 characteristics of social phobias? Give examples for each.

(Types of phobia)

Answer 29

Performance phobias:
E.g. playing at a concert or eating in a restaurant with others.

Interaction phobias:
E.g. being anxious about mixing with others, such as dating or going for an interview.

Generalised phobias:
E.g. being anxious about situations where other people are present, such as being in a crowd at a football match.

Question 30

What are agoraphobias?

(Types of phobia)

Answer 30

Fear of leaving the home or a safe place.

Question 31

How do agoraphobias work?

(Types of phobia)

Answer 31

Often occurs with panic attacks, where the sufferers experience panic first and the anxiety generated makes them feel vulnerable about being in one space.

Question 32

What can bring about agoraphobias?

(Types of phobia)

Answer 32

Simple phobias (e.g. fear of contamination).