| FEARS AND PHOBIAS Phobia is a morbid fear or aversion. Phobia also means an irrational, abnormal, excessive and persistent fear of some particular object of a situation. Everyone is subject to fears at times, which could not be classified as neurotic. These fears have logical and protective reasons. Anxiety of fear without some definite ground for it, is protective a s are phobias, but they are also neurotic symptoms. According to Edmund Jacobson, fears may become prolonged and excessive. Then they constitute a burden on the nervous system and may lead toward disorders in other systems as well. Phobic anxiety or phobia is an irrational fear. The patient knows it is unnecessary. Nevertheless he is unable to overcome this fear. It occurs without logic in situations which normally should not cause fear. Sometimes situations which merely resemble the original or eve thinking of such situation may cause similar fear. Phobias, in a person who is anxious or depressed, can often make him feel more anxious and more depressed. This is a very important factor in deciding treatment because if the underlying problem is one of depression, then it is certainly necessary to use anti-depressant drugs before attempting hypnotherapy. Phobias mainly develop from past experiences, sometimes from conflicts and possibly from suggestions to a child aimed at making it afraid of something. If a parent is phobic about some situation, the child may pick up from the present-partly from identification, and partly from suggestion. That is if the parent is afraid, then the situation is dangerous and the child should also be afraid. Always there is a confused wrong thinking in interpreting the situation, and it is regarded dangerous. Phobias are best to handled by locating their causes, recalling the experience or experiences which generated them, and, discharging the accompanying emotion. Some Phobias and their names Air -Aerophobia Animals -Zoophobia Being afraid -Phobophobia Blood -Haematophobia Books -Bibliophobia Cats -Ailurophobia Darkness -Nyctophobia Death -Thanatophobia Dirt -Mysophobia Disease -Pathophobia Dogs -Cynophobia Enclosed space -Claustrophobia Fire -Pyrophobia Flying -Aerophobia Food -Sitophobia God -Thoophobia Heart disease -Cardiophobia Insanity -Maniaphobia Lighting -Astrapophobia Marriage -Gamnophobia Mind -Psychophobia Nakedness -Gymnophobia Open space -Agoraphobia Precipices -Maieusiophobia Rain -Ombrophobia Sexual intercourse -Ceitophobia Sharp objects -Belonophobia Skin diseases -Dermatosiophobia Sleep -Hypnophobia Snakes -Ophidiophobia Society -Anthrophobia Spirits -Demonophobia Stealing -Kleptophobia Surgical operations -Ergasiophobia Venereal intercourse -Venerephobia Water -Hydrophobia |
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