There are various types of phobias that many people suffer from. They typically involve a strong fear and avoidance of one particular type of object or situation. The fear is quite often strong enough to interfere with day to day activities depending on the situation, and can cause quite a bit of distress. Phobias can cause symptoms of anxiety, and spontaneous panic attacks. Listed below are the most common phobias:
ANIMAL PHOBIAS – These can include fear and avoidance of snakes, bats, rats, spiders, bees, dogs, and other creatures. They quite often start in childhood, where they are considered as normal fears. If they persist in adulthood, they can create significant distress and disrupt your life, they can be classified as a phobia.
ACROPHOBIA – (fear of heights). With acrophobia, there is a significant of heights – could be high floors in buildings, hills, mountains, or bridges. One may experience significant symptoms such as dizziness and vertigo, or an urge to jump – where they feeling is where you have an external force drawing you to the edge.
AIRPLANE PHOBIA – This phobia is the fear that the plane will crash. Quite a few people do have anxiety around flying – and can suffer from significant symptoms of anxiety and panic.
ARACHNOPHOBIA – Abnormal fear of spiders or crawling insects.
CLAUSTROPHOBIA – is usually described as a significant fear of enclosed places and the inability to get from a space. Other types of phobias include – dentist or doctor phobia, phobias to thunder and lightning, injury or illness phobias among others.
ELEVATOR PHOBIA – This phobia relates to fear of being in elevators and travelling in them. There is fear of the cables breaking or the elevator crashing, or getting stuck or trapped inside. You may experience panic in these type of phobia.
Specific fears / phobias can develop after a traumatic events or repeated exposure to certain elements. Up to 10 % of the population suffers from phobias and a very small percentage may seek treatment for their fears. Various natural treatments exist for general anxiety and panic, and are quite helpful for phobias. Before being exposed to the situation, you may take preventative natural supplements. Homeopathic medicine is fantastic for this, as are certain flower essence remedies. These work really well to alleviate the symptoms of panic and distress – for example – while flying or driving.
Other treatment methods that are currently in place include relaxation therapy and training, which when used on a regular basis help to reduce symptoms of anxiety. Cognitive therapy where fearful thoughts that tend to perpetuate the specific phobia are challenged and replace. Other therapies include: incremental exposure, panic – control therapy and interoceptive exposure (desensitization).
By: Sushma Shah, Toronto Naturopathic Doctor, at the Nature’s Intentions Naturopathic Clinic.