Best Therapy and Treatment for Phobias

Best Therapy and Treatment for Phobias – Phobias are the fear which makes one go still and immovable. With the slight mention of a certain object or animal or even a state, it triggers panic in the person. The kind of fear which gives one a nibbling, crawling, or jittery feeling. It can occur to a person at any point of the day or night. It can occur to any person of any age be it a child, a youngster or an elderly person although most of the fears stem from childhood. Sometimes a child picks it up from the parents, sometimes something which is told in childhood maybe as a story or fun may instill fear amongst the child’s mind and behaviour. Fear can be anything and everything.

What are Phobias?

Phobias are considered to be related to the psychological aspect of a human being. It is some kind of disorder that affects the thinking capabilities of a person as a whole and gives anxiety. The fear might be of anything be it height, darkness, open spaces, animals, falling, books, mirrors, love, marriage, beautiful women, ugliness, gravity, water etc. to name a very few.

Phobias are classified as DSM5  which means in the wide range of psychological disorders Phobias remain in the category. There are generally five categories of phobias namely, natural environment phobias, animal Phobias, Blood Injection Injury Phobias, Situational Phobias, and other phobias.

Natural environment phobias-  The fear of storms, cyclones, rivers, lakes, mountains etc.

Animal Phobias- The fear of animals and insects, be it rats, tigers, dogs, cats, bees etc.

Blood Injection Injury Phobias- The fear of getting injections, injuries or watching blood even if it is on television etc.

Situational Phobias- The fear of height, closed spaces, drowning etc.

Other phobias- The fear of causing harm to self or someone else.

Symptoms faced when triggered by a  Phobia?

The symptoms one faces while getting triggered by a certain object or situation may be mild or sometimes hugely triggering. There are some physical symptoms that show up on a person like:

• Dilated pupils
• Shaking
• Sweaty palms
• Chest pain
• Heart racing
• Difficulty breathing
• phobia symptoms

Treatment for Phobias: Phobias are treatable and after getting cured one would never know if it ever affected them. There might be some cases where the fear instilled is incurable. This may make life stagnant and not moving. Hence any kind of treatment is needed as far as it can help one.

The best way to overcome any phobia is to be in a safe possible environment and to fill it with pleasant memories. To make the bad one good and let go of any kind of fear. While there are certain therapies and treatments which are discussed below:

Systematic Desensitization –

The therapist can make the person forget the pain of fear by a systematic flow of techniques. From starting with letting the person know about the fear, to letting them visualize, to finally letting them face it. That’s a whole process and required quite a few sessions with the therapist. The fear is slowly and gradually taken down from being sensitive to non-sensitive.

Psychotherapy–  The most effective treatment for phobias, Psychotherapy. It involves taking help from a specialized therapist to overcome the fear of something. This manages the inner turmoil and changes the fear into something good. With the constant Sessions with the therapist, the person starts to head towards a better future.

Exposure therapy- The kind of therapy which exposes oneself to the cause of the fear and lets them deal with it internally and heal. This therapy teaches the person how to overcome the fear and calm down by ownself. The therapy starts with showing pictures making the person imagine his or her fears then slowly gradually letting them face it physically and training themselves to face the fear bravely.

Cognitive-behavioural therapy- CBT is a kind of therapy that focuses on one’s thoughts and beliefs. Reminding oneself that feeling will go soon and replacing those thoughts with something good and better. The therapist can surely help with this treatment and gradually one would overcome the phobia.

Mindfulness training-

Mindfulness training techniques can help one reduce stress. These techniques help one to calm down to focus on good things and relatively forget the fear. Some mindfulness training techniques which may be helpful are:

• Meditation
• Deep Breathing
• Medication

Concluding it with, Phobias are a tiny little fear among every human being which causes them to get scared of certain elements or things. It is quite okay to live with fears unless and until it disrupts social life and peace of mind. Nothing should ruin one’s peace and happiness and it happens. Then just consult a professional and let the fear go.