Looking at a normal person walking down the street you wouldn’t know what kind of fear they might be facing. People face different fears in their lives that they can’t control. It is common for people to be scared of a situation that has a rationality behind it. For example, being scared while inside a haunted house. If the fear is irrational and many aren 't frightened by it, it would be categorized as a phobia. Living a life with constant fear that interferes with a person’s everyday life would be categorized as an anxiety disorder. Joseph Wolpe developed a way which systematic desensitization, a form of psychotherapy, can help a person gradually decrease their anxiety or fear for a certain situation. He used neuroses, a group of psychological …show more content…
Simple phobias include irrational fears of things like animals such as dogs, cats, or the most common snakes. Specific phobias are centered around specific situations such as small spaces, claustrophobia, or heights, acrophobia. Social phobias are irrational fears of interactions with other people. For example, a person might have a social phobia of public speaking or fear of embarrassment. Another form of social phobia is agoraphobia which restraints a person from being in unfamiliar, open or closed spaces, typically resulting in panic attacks. These different types of phobias have two things in common; they are irrational, and they are treated in similar …show more content…
In order to treat the fear you must treat it with relaxation while in the presence of the feared situation. The first step in Wolpe’s study was to focus on relaxing your body. He recommended a process that involves tensing and relaxing various groups of muscles until a deep state of relaxation is achieved (Wolpe,264). The second stage was to develop a list of anxiety-producing situations that are associated with the phobia. The list would descend with from the least uncomfortable situation to the most anxiety producing event you can imagine. The number of events can vary from 5 to 20 or more. The final step is to desensitize, which is the actual “unlearning” of the phobia. Wolpe told his patients that no actual contact with the fear is necessary, and that the same effectiveness can be accomplished through descriptions and visualizations(Wolpe,265). Wolpe’s participants are told to put themselves in a state of relaxation which they are taught. Then, the therapist begins reading the first situation on the hierarchy they have made up. If the patient stays relaxed through the first situation the therapist continues to the next until the state of relaxation is broken. If they feel a slight moment of anxiety they are to raise their index finger until the state of relaxation is restored. The average number
A phobic disorder is marked by a persistent and irrational fear of an object or situation that presents no realistic danger. Agoraphobia is an intense, irrational fear or anxiety occasioned by the prospect of having to enter certain outdoor locations or open spaces. For example, busy streets, busy stores, tunnels, bridges, public transportation and cars. Traditionally agoraphobia was solely classified as a phobic disorder. However, due to recent studies it is now also viewed as a panic disorder. Panic disorders are characterised by recurrent attacks of overwhelming anxiety that usually occur suddenly and unexpectedly (Weiten, 1998).
Each year, thousands upon thousands of new high school graduates enter college to begin one of the most exciting chapters of their lives. This is a time where young people get to move away from home, learn valuable life skills, meet interesting new people, and pursue the career of their dreams. While all of this may sound like nothing but positivity, there’s a dismal side to all of this that many individuals are not aware of. Out of all of the problems that college students face, social anxiety is an issue that has persisted throughout the years, and has not begun to improve. According to research out of The University of Plymouth and The University of the West of England, 10% of all university students surveyed said they experienced significant anxiety (Weaver,
Conquering phobias is a specialty of hypnotherapists. A phobia is a compulsive fear of a specified situation or object (Knight 2). A few types of phobias are fear of open spaces, fear of snow, fear of the cold, fear of marriage, fear of insanity, fear of being alone, fear of darkness, fear of disease, fear of beards, fear of birds, fear of being stared at, fear of bein...
First, I have the client form a hierarchy of different fears. Next, I give a training session on relaxation, showing them how to control their breathing and release tension through meditation. In this step, they learn to relax when presented with their fear, for it is impossible to be both relaxed and anxious at the same time. Finally, my clients are presented with their fears according to the hierarchy they had documented. Thus, I start with the lesser ones and build up to the greater fears. Of course, if you’re terrified of spiders, I’m not going to put a tarantula on your arm. We would start with maybe something as simple as a picture of someone looking at a spider at the zoo or seeing a spider on television. Then I use the relaxation techniques to control their anxiety so they are able to lessen their anxiety when confronted with their
Almost everyone alive has a fear of something whether it be heights, spiders or even clowns. Some people however have more serious issues with their fears, fears that follow them almost everywhere they go, these fears are called phobias. It is estimated that 4 to 5 percent of Americans have some type of phobia, which is an irrational fear of situations and certain objects. There are over 500 known phobias; a very common phobia is social phobia.
Having anxiety is common and a part of everyday life however; there is a huge difference between a fear and a social phobia or anxiety disorder. The difference and important distinction psychoanalysts make between a fear and a phobia is “a true phobia must be inconsistent with the conscious learning experience of the individual” (Karon 1). Patients with true phobias “do not respond to cognitive therapy but do respond well to psychoanalysis and psychoanalytic therapy” (Karon 2). Social phobia is a serious anxiety disorder that should not be taken lightly or mistaken as a fear you will simply grow out of the older you get. Social phobia has the power to destroy lives and can prevent people from living and enjoying their life to the fullest. Social phobia is a disabling condition that often starts between the ages of early childhood and late adolescence. The origins of social phobia can be linked to “traumatic social experiences and social isolation” (Hudson118-120). Social phobia is treatable however; research and statics show that not many seek help.
There are three kinds of phobias: simple phobia, social phobia, and panic attacks. Simple phobias, also called specific phobias, are fears of a specific thing, such as spiders or being in a closed place. Most simple phobias develop during childhood and eventually disappear. Specific phobia is a marked fear of a specific object or situation. It is a category for any phobias other than agoraphobia and social phobia. The categories of specific phobias are 1. situational phobias such as: fear of elevators, airplanes, enclosed places, public transportation, tunnels, or bridges; 2. fear of the natural environment such as: storms, water, or heights; 3. animal phobias such as: fear of dogs, snakes, insects, or mice; 4. blood-injection-injury phobia such as: fear of seeing blood or an injury, or of receiving an injection. (Wood 520).
On my cell phone, I found an application that uses a type of meditation and hypnosis to help with fears and phobias called Harmony - Hypnosis Meditation. I downloaded this application to see what sort of phobias that can be helped and I found that it can help with things from the fear of spiders, the fear of being alone, public speaking, water, driving, and agoraphobia which is the extreme or irrational fear of crowded spaces or enclosed public spaces. Harmony utilizes hypnotherapy in each category and video and I found that it is more of a calming way to change the way you think about the phobia, change the way you feel about it, and eventually create a coping mechanism in the mind to find a rational way to deal with the fear. I found it very
Social phobias easily lead individuals to shunning situations where they feel they might be the focus of other people in the society, as they often feel unaccomplished and therefore assume that they will be the subject of the said populations (American Psychiatric Association, 2015). The fear of negative judgment imposed by other people in the society points at a situation where one ensures that they stay devoid of situations that involve socializing with other people in the society. This makes it almost impossible for individuals with these phobias to take up roles that require public participation (Randi and Irena, 2015). It ascribes to what one can view as the phobia of other people 's reaction to an individual. Fear of rejection by others is a good example of a social phobia. Social phobias can take the form of gelotophobia, which is the fear of other people laughing at an individual, or even glossophobia, which is the fear public speaking. Social phobias can easily limit an individual y ensuring that one avoids all situations that can lead to scrutiny or contact with the public. This is debilitating and can easily lead to harmful consequences that include the inability of an individual to perform their roles in the society or even the inability to take up work for fear of judgment by others (Bourne,
This aims to remove the fear response of a phobia and substitute a relaxation response to the conditional stimulus. There are three steps to Systematic Desensitization. The first step is the relaxation techniques. Wolpe would teach his patients deep muscle, breathing exercises, mediation, deep breathing, releasing muscle tension and other relaxation techniques. This is the most important steps because tension is a result of fear so if the patient can relax, then they can overcome their phobia. The second step is where the patient and therapist create the patient’s fear hierarchy with fear rating from 10 to 100. Third and final step is that the patient enters a deep state relaxation, then they are exposed to each level of fear. The patient then uses their relaxation techniques to lower their tension and ease their anxiety. They can always go back a level of fear if the patient cannot handle the current level (Wolpe, 1964; Wolpe,
Main Point 1: There are three main categories of phobias. The first category is Specific Phobias which are known as simple phobias. Specific phobias or simple phobias are usually fears about specific situations, living creatures, places, activities, or things. Examples of simple phobias is dentophobia (dentists), aerophobia (flying), claustrophobia (small spaces), and acrophobia (heights). The other two categories are Social Phobia and Agoraphobia. These two are known as complex phobias. The article “What is a Phobia?”, describes them as complex phobias because “they are linked to deep-rooted fear or anxiety about certain situations, incidents or circumstances, which make them more disabling than simple phobias.” Social phobia is also referred to as social anxiety disorder. Social phobia may be defined in which a person has an excessive and unreasonable fear of social situations. (Webmd.com) A person with social phobia finds being in social situations very difficult to handle with because of the lack of social skills or experiences that person may have. Going out to social events such as parties or functions may cause anxiety to a person with social phobia. There is that fear a person has of being embarrassed in public. People with this phobia may be afraid of a specific situation such as public speaking. Medicinenet.com defines “agoraphobia” as “a fear of being outside or otherwise being in a situation from which one either cannot escape or from which escaping would be difficult or humiliating.” The results of agoraphobia are anxiety and panic attacks. People with agoraphobia sometimes confine themselves inside their own home when symptoms are
All of us at one point in our life have had a fear of something, whether it’s public speaking, trying something new for the first time, or even presenting just like we're all going to be doing. I'm sure most of us will be nervous and we try our best to get rid of that feeling. Some people have Social anxiety which is known as social phobia. It is the fear of social interaction with other people and of being judged and looked down upon. It can also be a fear of embarrassment. This leads to feelings of inadequacy, self-consciousness, and depression. Social anxiety is an issue that affects many individuals as it should be taken more seriously and should not be considered as a weakness. Moreover, individuals with social anxiety should not be judged
Systematic desensitization, also known as graduated exposure therapy which was developed by Wolpe, is one of the most effective method for reducing phobias, fears, and other anxiety disorders. This therapy uses counter-conditioning, a reverse classical conditioning technique, to unlearn or reduce the intensity of a conditioned response by establishing a new relaxation response to the conditioned stimulus gradually. Due to the fact that relaxation is incompatible with anxiety and fear, it then follows that relaxation response can counter fearful response. For Chandler to overcome his phobia of dogs, three critical concepts of systematic desensitization must be taken into account namely: relaxation training, fear hierarchy, and reciprocal inhibition.
Everyone in life has a fear, whether it is something very simple or something more extreme. When fears become more extreme, they are then classified as phobias in which become harder to deal with. In the case of acrophobia, it is described as the extreme or irrational fear of heights. The reason phobias might be considered irrational, are because of the fact that they aren’t always as much of a rational threat as people fear them to be. To add, many of these fears are developed through past experiences in which over time processed into these fears. The processes usually regard development of fear through learned processes or through certain types of conditioning from certain events
· Systematic Desensitization- by approaching the situation associated with a great deal of anxiety in steps, the patient can gradually decrease the anxiety related to it. This process usually contained three steps- relaxation techniques (which includes breathing exercises, mental imagery and biofeedback), Creating a Hierarchy (The therapist creates a series of situations in which the feared event occurs more and more intensely) and finally desensitization (where the patient can finally handle the m...