Phobia: Irrational Fear And How It Can Hold You Back From Living A Normal Life

Phobia is a general term used to signify the unrelenting fear of something, an activity or a situation to the extent that one wants to avoid it. This could mean a social phobia in which a person is afraid of social situations, meeting new people, public speaking, etc or specific phobias implying fear of particular situations or items. Most phobias remain unreported usually because phobia sufferers somehow find ways to keep away from the situations that induce the phobia. However, immediate attention from a certified Orange County anxiety therapist will surely help overcome any person’s worst fears.

Some of the common phobias people suffer from include social anxiety disorder or social phobia, agoraphobia or fear of open space, claustrophobia or fear of enclosed space, and acrophobia or fear of height. Left untreated any of these phobias may reach a point where it starts affecting the normal day to day life of a person. Phobic anxiety can also become life threatening at times for some people increasing the risk of heart attacks. There is no clear explanation as to why phobias develop in a person. Some think that it has something to do with genetic factors, while others feel that it develops because of a person’s upbringing  and also because of certain specific events in their life.

Signs and Symptoms

There is often a panic attack in people suffering from phobias. There is a feeling of panic, fear, or terror despite their own realization of the fact that such feelings are out of proportion with respect to the real danger involved. Phobia also manifests itself in some physical symptoms such as sweating, shaking, nausea; trouble thinking clearly, trouble breathing or rapid heartbeat. There is a strong desire to escape from the situation responsible for such phobic reactions.

Intensive Anxiety Therapy

People can deal with their phobias using various  self help approaches, such as talking about their fears, imagining facing their fears, making positive self statements, and most important of all refraining from stressful situations. Self help approaches however work best when combined with cognitive behavioral therapy in Orange County . Therapists expose an individual suffering from phobias in a supportive and gradual manner to situations close to what they are phobic about. This can be done by computer generated stimuli or even actual stimuli. Therapists also organize group therapy sessions so that an individual can learn from someone else’s reaction to a phobic situation. Depending on the severity of the problem, medications are sometimes also used to treat various kinds of phobias.

Call Olga Wingood, licensed MFT, at (949)231-8778 if you are suffering from any specific phobia and find it disturbing enough to perform your normal day-to-day activities..

Providing Counseling Services in Orange County: Irvine, Tustin, Orange, Huntington Beach, Fountain Valley, Laguna, Santa Ana, Laguna Niguel, Lake Forest, Newport Beach, Costa Mesa, Corona Del Mar, Aliso Viejo, Mission Viejo, San Juan Capistrano, Rancho Santa Margarita, Ladero Ranch, Dana Point and San Clemente, California .