Phobias: what they are, the most common types and how you can treat them

While some people just get scared when they see an insect inside the house or, then, get butterflies in their stomachs when looking out the window of an apartment on a very high floor, others feel a very strong fear when experiencing situations of this type, which can be classified as phobias.

Animals, heights, natural environments… These are just some very common examples among the 100 specific types that many people live with, causing suffering and even, sometimes, functional impairment in their lives.

According to the psychologist Lala Fonsecafrom São Paulo, the problem is part of the anxiety disorder and is characterized by irrational fear in relation to a real situation.

“When the person has a phobia, they are seized by terror and their body understands that they are suffering an attack”, he explains.

What is a phobia?

As Lala says, phobias are a type of disorder characterized by the irrational fear of some situation, place, object, animal or activity, even if this is not any reason for danger to the person.

The warning symptoms, according to the professional, are activated when fear dominates cognition.

“This fear is intense to the point of compromising logical reasoning in relation to reality. At that time, anxious thoughts become bad and full of negativity, causing extreme suffering and, probably, the avoidance of situations that could put the person in that place again”, she explains.

“There is, then, a compromise in the person’s life, interfering in their professional and social relationships and in the process of recognizing their own abilities.”

What happens to the body when we have a phobia?

Along with the terror felt by the person, there is a high discharge of cortisol and adrenaline in their organism.

“The body goes into ‘fight and flight’. Thus, he sees that as a dangerous situation and, with that, he has an increase in heart rate, breathing and sweating, in addition to pupil dilation, hand tremors, etc”, points out Lala.

“Depending on the number of crises that the person has, the body will understand that it is under stress and, thus, has a high sugar level, high blood pressure and a compromised immune system.”

Causes of phobias

Although the causes are still being studied, the psychologist says that there is a combination of psychological, emotional, biological and genetic factors that lead to this disorder, not to mention the family history.

There is also the chance that traumatic factors trigger certain phobias. In this case, they are situations experienced by the person that may or may not have been seen as uncomfortable and even have been faced at the time, however, over time, they became totally aversive for him.

“Not all patients remember the whole trauma situation that led them to the phobia. However, in therapy we use techniques to deal with these situations. So, whatever the cause, the phobia has a treatment.”

How to get the diagnosis?

The only way to diagnose a person with a phobia is to observe their behavior and ask about their thoughts and emotions in certain situations. According to Lala, with this, the patient usually becomes restless and shows a lot of discomfort, trying to escape the situation.

To begin to identify the problem, an assessment must be made to find out if the case is really a phobia or if it is, in fact, an anxiety disorder. Afterwards, you need to analyze how and how much fear and anxiety are harming that person’s life.

“Usually, the phobia harms social, professional activities and even relationships. The attempt to avoid the situation is intense and therefore the confrontation is almost death for the person. For example: she would rather be fired than have to take a flight to have a meeting”, says the psychologist.

“There is clinical training for health professionals to be able to carry out the assessment and give the diagnosis, in addition to, obviously, indicating the right treatment. Therefore, when you see that another person has some signs of the condition, guide them to seek help.”

treatments for phobias

Phobias can be treated and enlisting the help of a professional is the first step towards recovery.

“It is important to seek help from a psychologist or a psychiatrist. In addition, treatment is done with cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for adjustments in thoughts in relation to one’s emotions. In it, we use behavioral coping techniques and carry out possible investigations of traumatic situations”, points out Lala.

Finally, in some cases, there is still a need to use medication associated with professional treatment. However, everything will depend on the level of involvement of the phobia in the patient’s life.

Main categories

Phobias are usually divided into the following categories:

By animal: is the fear of animals or insects;
Of natural environment: it is a fear associated with the natural environment, such as thunder and heights, etc;
situational type: fear of specific situations, such as elevators, bridges or driving;
From blood, injection or injury: fear of seeing invasive medical procedures or seeing blood, wounds, etc;
Others: any other phobia that exists, such as a fear of suffocating or vomiting.

most common phobias

Acrophobia: fear of heights;
Aerophobia: fear of flying;
Agoraphobia: fear of open, closed or crowded places;
Arachnophobia: fear of spiders;
Claustrophobia: fear of closed and/or very small places;
Coulrophobia: fear of clowns;
Social phobia: fear of everyday social situations;
Glossophobia: fear of public speaking;
Hematophobia: fear of seeing blood;
Trypophobia: fear and disgust for images or objects that have holes or irregular patterns.