NAME: S ABISHA GAINSY

CLASS: XNII

SUBJECT: ENGLISH

TOPIC: PHOBIA
SCHOOL: SRI CHAITANYA

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 INDEX

 INTRODUCTION

 AIM

 CONTENT

 CONCLUSION

 BIBLIOGRAPHY

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 INTRODUCTION

A phobia is a type of anxiety disorder that causes an individual

to experience extreme, irrational fear about a situation, living

creature, place, or object.

When a person has a phobia, they will often shape their lives to
avoid what they consider to be dangerous. The imagined threat
is greater than any actual threat posed by the cause of terror.

Phobias are diagnosable mental disorders.

The person will experience intense distress when faced with

the source of their phobia. This can prevent them from
functioning normally and sometimes leads to panic attacks.

In the United States, approximately 19 million people have

phobias.

What is a phobia?

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A phobia is a type of anxiety disorder. It is an extreme form of
fear or anxiety, triggered by a particular situation or object.

• A situation that triggers a phobia. You may know it's safe to

be out on a balcony in a high-rise block, but feel terrified to go
out on it. You might not even be able to enjoy the view from
behind the windows inside the building.

• An object that triggers a phobia. You may know that a spider

isn’t poisonous or that it won’t bite you, but this still doesn’t
reduce your anxiety. You may even feel this extreme anxiety
when you think or talk about the situation or object.

PHOBIAS AND MENTAL HEALTH

Many of us have fears about particular situations or objects.
This is perfectly normal. A fear becomes a phobia if:

• The fear is out of proportion to the danger

• It lasts for more than six months

 it has a significant impact on how you live your day-to-day

life

WHEN SHOULD I GET HELP FOR A PHOBIA?

It can be difficult to know when to get help for
a phobia. Bear in mind that phobias are a type of anxiety
disorder. It may be time to consider treatment for your phobia
if:

• avoiding the trigger object, situation, place or activity affects

your everyday life, or causes you great distress

• It keeps you from doing things you normally enjoy

• It causes intense and overwhelming fear, anxiety or panic

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• You recognize that your fear is out of proportion to the
danger

• You’ve had the phobia for at least six months

• it stops you getting support for other health problems – for

example, a phobia that stops you using the phone or seeing the
doctor.

TYPES OF PHOBIAS
Phobias can develop around any object or situation. Some
people may experience multiple phobias. They can be broadly
categorized into two groups

• Specific phobias
• Complex phobias

SPECIFIC PHOBIAS
These are phobias about a specific object or situation, such as
spiders or flying. They often develop in childhood or
adolescence. For some people, they might become less severe
as they get older. Some fairly common specific phobias are:

• Phobias of the natural environment. Such as heights, water,

darkness, storms or germs.

• Situational phobias. Such as flying, going to the dentist,

tunnels, small spaces or escalators.

• Body-based phobias. Such as blood, vomit, injections,

choking, medical procedures or childbirth.

• Other phobias. Such as certain foods, objects or costumed

characters.

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How it might feel to experience a specific phobia?
If you're afraid of something you have to see or do a lot, this
can start to have a serious impact on your everyday life. If your
phobia is about something you don't come into contact with
very often, this can sometimes have less of an impact on you.
However, you may still experience fear and anxiety even when
the object or situation isn't present. This means that your
phobia can still affect you on a daily basis.

COMPLEX PHOBIAS

Complex phobias tend to have a more disruptive or

overwhelming impact on your life than specific phobias. They
tend to develop when you are an adult.

COMMON SYMPTOMS OF PHOBIAS

• Physical symptoms of phobia

• Psychological symptoms of phobias
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 Phobias can feel different for everyone. The symptoms of
phobias can also vary in severity. Generally, the symptoms
involve experiencing intense fear and anxiety. This occurs in
face of the situation or object you're afraid of. If your phobia is
severe, even thinking about it can trigger symptoms. Below you
will find a list of some common symptoms of phobias.

Physical symptoms of phobias

The physical symptoms you can experience may include: •
feeling unsteady, dizzy, lightheaded or faint • feeling like you
are choking • a pounding heart, palpitations or accelerated
heart rate • chest pain or tightness in the chest • sweating •
hot or cold flushes • shortness of breath or a smothering
sensation • nausea, vomiting or diarrhoea • numbness or
tingling sensations • trembling or shaking.

Psychological symptoms of phobias

The psychological symptoms can vary. Some experiences may
include: • a fear of fainting • a fear of losing control • a fear of
dying • feeling out of touch with reality, or detached from your
body – known as dissociation. If your symptoms are very
intense, they could trigger a panic attack. See our pages on
anxiety and panic attacks for more information. This type of
acute fear can feel extremely unpleasant and very frightening.
It may lead to feelings of: • stress • a loss of control • being
overwhelmed • embarrassment • anxiety • depression.

As a result, many people with phobias avoid situations which

might trigger their phobia. This solution might feel effective at
first. But avoiding phobias can sometimes cause them to
become worse. This may start to have a significant impact on
how you live your daily life.

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WHAT CAUSES PHOBIA?
There doesn't seem to be one particular cause of phobias.
There are various factors that might often contribute to
developing a phobia. But there is not a clear reason why it
starts.

EXAMPLES OF CAUSES OF PHOBIAS

• Past incidents or traumas. Certain situations might have a
lasting effect on how you feel about them. For example, if you
experienced a lot of turbulence on a plane at a young age, you
might develop a phobia of flying. Or if you were injured by a
dog some years ago, you might develop a phobia of dogs. •
Learned responses from early life. Your phobia may develop
from factors in your childhood environment. For example you
might have parents or guardians who are very worried or
anxious. This may affect how you cope with anxiety in later life.
You might develop the same specific phobia as a parent or
older sibling. If they have a severe reaction to something they
fear, this might influence you to feel the same way. • Reactions
and responses to panic or fear. You might have a strong
reaction, or a panic attack, in response to a situation or object.
You may find yourself feeling embarrassed by this. Especially if
people around you react strongly to your response. You could
develop even more intense anxiety about the idea of this
happening again. • Experiencing long-term stress. Stress can
cause feelings of anxiety and depression. It can reduce your
ability to cope in particular situations. This might make you feel
more fearful or anxious about being in those situations again.
Over a long period, this could develop into a phobia. • Genetic
factors. Research suggests that some people are more
vulnerable to developing a phobia than others. You might find
it helpful to try to work out the causes for your own phobia. But
you might equally feel that there is no simple explanation.
Some people avoid the object or situation that triggers their
phobia. But this can make your fear worse over time. Being in a
scenario involving your phobia can be very difficult though. You
may need professional help to enable you to do this.

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EFFECTS OF PHOBIAS

 If left untreated, a phobia may worsen to the point at

which the person’s life is seriously affected.
 There may be periods of spontaneous improvement,
but a phobia does not usually go away unless the
person receives treatments.

CAUSES AND RISK FACTORS FOR PHOBIAS

 It is thought that phobias run in families, or can
be triggered by life events.
 Phobia sufferers have been found to be more
likely to manage stress by avoiding the stressful
situation and by having difficulty minimizing the
intensity of the fearful situation.

HOW ARE PHOBIAS EVALUATED

 Many health care providers may help diagnose phobias
specialists whom you see for a medical conditions,
psychiatrists, psychologists, and social workers.
 A phobia may be associated with a number of other
mental health conditions, especially other anxiety
disorders.
 Routine laboratory tests are often performed during the
initial evaluation to rule out other possible of the
symptoms.

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TREATMENT OF PHOBIAS

 Exposing them to circumstances that are increasingly

close to the one they are phobic.

 A second method is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT).

Which helps in changing the way of thinking of the
sufferer?

MEDICATIONS TO TREAT PHOBIAS

 Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor

(SSRI) medications are often used to treat
phobias.

 These medications affect levels of

serotonin in the brain.

HOW TO OVERCOME FEAR?

1 . IDENTIFY YOUR FEAR

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  Really think about what you are afraid of. For
example, while you may hate going to the dentist,
it might be the use of needles that you’re truly
afraid of. In this case, you want to focus on your
fear of needles, not the dentist.

 If you are having trouble in pinpointing your

phobia, write down the things that scare you. You
may be able to isolate the true fear.

2 . WRITE DOWN YOUR GOAL

 The act of writing down your goals can actually

help you succeed. You are more likely to write
down detailed, achievable goals, rather than
vague ones. You’ll also be more committed to
sticking with them.

3 . KNOW THAT BEING AFRAID IS PERFECTLY

NORMAL

After all, fear has helped humans survive in many situations.

On the other hand, fears may easily turn to phobias; also
prevent someone from accomplishing certain things. For
example:

Many people feel anxious about getting shots or having

blood drawn. Shots can be painful. It is when someone
starts to medical examinations and treatments just
because he or she might get a shot, that the fear becomes
problematic.

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CONCLUSION

Here we could relate a chapter “DEEP WATER” from NCERT

class 12 ENGLISH text. It is an extract from the book ‘Men and
Mountains’ by William Douglas. Over here, the author tells us
about how he overcomes the deep-rooted fear of water. We learn
that the author develops fear of water following two very
dreadful incidents. In this first one, he is four years old when a
wave knocks him down. Similarly, in the second one, he is 11
years of age. A bully throws him in the deep end of the pool and
almost drowns. Thus, having gone through such scary
experiences, he fears water deeply. However, he does work
really hard to overcome it.

Finally, we learn about the measures he takes to overcome this

fear.

 Moreover, he accomplishes in overcoming the fear and

gives us all a great lesson of determination and will power.

 We learn that if we are determined enough and have the

courage, we can overcome any fear that comes our way
without letting the fear overpower us.

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 BIBLIOGRAPHY

 https://www.slideshare.net/NoufS94/phobia-psychologhy-
project
 https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/249347

 https://www.researchgate.net/publication/
342658533_Phobias_-_what_who_why_and_how_to_help

 https://www.healthline.com/health/phobia-simple-specific
 https://pdsd.libguides.com/studentprojects/
fearsandphobias

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