Phobia. Clinical phobias Treatments Psychological conditions

Clinical phobias

Psychologists and psychiatrists classify most phobias into three categories and, according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV), such phobias are considered to be sub-types of anxiety disorder. The three categories are:
Social phobia- fears involving other people or social situations such as performance anxiety or fears of embarrassment by scrutiny of others, such as eating in public. Overcoming social phobia is often very difficult without the help of therapy or support groups. Social phobia may be further subdivided into
generalized social phobia (also known as social anxiety disorder or simply social anxiety) and
specific social phobia, in which anxiety is triggered only in specific situations. The symptoms may extend to psychosomatic manifestation of physical problems. For example, sufferers of paruresis find it difficult or impossible to urinate in reduced levels of privacy. This goes far beyond mere preference: when the condition triggers, the person physically cannot empty their bladder.
Specific phobias - fear of a single specific panic trigger such as spiders, snakes, dogs, water, heights, flying, catching a specific illness, etc. Many people have these fears but to a lesser degree than those who suffer from specific phobias. People with the phobias specifically avoid the entity they fear.
Agoraphobia - a generalized fear of leaving home or a small familiar 'safe' area, and of possible panic attacks that might follow. May also be caused by various specific phobias such as fear of open spaces, social embarrassment (social agoraphobia), fear of contamination (fear of germs, possibly complicated by obsessive-compulsive disorder) or PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) related to a trauma that occurred out of doors.

Phobias vary in severity among individuals. Some individuals can simply avoid the subject of their fear and suffer relatively mild anxiety over that fear. Others suffer full-fledged panic attacks with all the associated disabling symptoms. Most individuals understand that they are suffering from an irrational fear, but they are powerless to override their initial panic reaction.

Treatments

Various methods are claimed to treat phobias. Their proposed benefits may vary from person to person.

Some therapists use virtual reality or imagery exercise to desensitize patients to the feared entity. These are parts of systematic desensitization therapy.

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) can be beneficial. Cognitive behavioral therapy lets the patient understand the cycle of negative thought patterns, and ways to change these thought patterns. CBT may be conducted in a group setting. Gradual desensitisation treatment and CBT are often successful, provided the patient is willing to endure some discomfort. In one clinical trial, 90% of patients were observed with no longer having a phobic reaction after successful CBT treatment.

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) has been demonstrated in peer-reviewed clinical trials to be effective in treating some phobias. Mainly used to treat Post-traumatic stress disorder, EMDR has been demonstrated as effective in easing phobia symptoms following a specific trauma, such as a fear of dogs following a dog bite.

Hypnotherapy coupled with Neuro-linguistic programming can also be used to help remove the associations that trigger a phobic reaction. However, lack of research and scientific testing compromises its status as an effective treatment.

Antidepressant medications such SSRIs, MAOIs may be helpful in some cases of phobia. Benzodiazepines may be useful in acute treatment of severe symptoms but the risk benefit ratio is against their long-term use in phobic disorders.

Emotional Freedom Technique, a psychotherapeutic alternative medicine tool, also considered to be pseudoscience by the mainstream medicine, is allegedly useful.

These treatment options are not mutually exclusive. Often a therapist will suggest multiple treatments.


Psychological conditions 

In many cases specialists prefer to avoid the suffix -phobia and use more descriptive terms, see, e.g., personality disorders, anxiety disorders, avoidant personality disorder, love-shyness.
Ablutophobia – fear of bathing, washing, or cleaning.
Acrophobia, Altophobia – fear of heights.
Agoraphobia, Agoraphobia Without History of Panic Disorder – fear of places or events where escape is impossible or when help is unavailable.
Agraphobia – fear of sexual abuse.
Aichmophobia – fear of sharp or pointed objects (such as a needle or knife).
Algophobia – fear of pain.
Agyrophobia – fear of crossing roads.
Androphobia – fear of men.
Anthropophobia – fear of people or being in a company, a form of social phobia.
Anthophobia – fear of flowers.
Aquaphobia – fear of water. Distinct from Hydrophobia, a scientific property that makes chemicals averse to interaction with water, as well as an archaic name for rabies.
Arachnophobia – fear of spiders.
Astraphobia, Astrapophobia, Brontophobia, Keraunophobia – fear of thunder, lightning and storms; especially common in young children.
Atychiphobia – fear of failure
Aviophobia, Aviatophobia – fear of flying.
Bacillophobia, Bacteriophobia, Microbiophobia – fear of microbes and bacteria.
Bathophobia - Fear of depths
Blood-injection-injury type phobia – a DSM-IV subtype of specific phobias
Chorophobia – fear of dancing.
Cibophobia, Sitophobia – aversion to food, synonymous to Anorexia nervosa.
Claustrophobia – fear of having no escape and being closed in.
Coulrophobia – fear of clowns (not restricted to evil clowns).
Decidophobia – fear of making decisions.
Dental phobia, Dentophobia, Odontophobia – fear of dentists and dental procedures
Disposophobia, better known as "compulsive hoarding" – the fear of getting rid of or losing things.
Dysmorphophobia, or body dysmorphic disorder – a phobic obsession with a real or imaginary body defect.
Emetophobia – fear of vomiting.
Epistaxiophobia - fear of Nosebleeds
Ergasiophobia, Ergophobia – fear of work or functioning, or a surgeon's fear of operating.
Ergophobia – fear of work or functioning.
Erotophobia – fear of sexual love or sexual questions.
Erythrophobia – pathological blushing.
Gelotophobia – fear of being laughed at.
Gephyrophobia – fear of bridges.
Genophobia, Coitophobia – fear of sexual intercourse.
Gerascophobia – fear of growing old or aging.
Gerontophobia – fear of growing old, or a hatred or fear of the elderly
Glossophobia – fear of speaking in public or of trying to speak.
Gymnophobia – fear of nudity.
Gynophobia – fear of women.
Halitophobia - fear of bad breath.
Haptephobia – fear of being touched.
Heliophobia – fear of sunlight.
Hemophobia, Haemophobia – fear of blood.
Hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia – fear of the number 666.
Hoplophobia – fear of weapons, specifically firearms (Generally a political term but the clinical phobia is also documented).
Kinemortophobia - fear of the undead specifically zombies.
Koumpounophobia - fear of sewing buttons.
Ligyrophobia – fear of loud noises.
Lipophobia – fear/avoidance of fats in food.
Medication phobia – fear of medications.Megalophobia - fear of large/oversized objects.
Mysophobia – fear of germs, contamination or dirt.
Necrophobia – fear of death and/or the dead.
Neophobia, Cainophobia, Cainotophobia, Cenophobia, Centophobia, Kainolophobia, Kainophobia – fear of newness, novelty.
Nomatophobia - fear of names
Nomophobia – fear of being out of mobile phone contact.
Nosophobia – fear of contracting a disease.
Nosocomephobia – fear of hospitals.
Nostophobia - fear of returning home
Nyctophobia, Achluophobia, Lygophobia, Scotophobia – fear of darkness.
Oikophobia – fear of home surroundings and household appliances.
Osmophobia, Olfactophobia – fear of smells.
Paraskavedekatriaphobia, Paraskevidekatriaphobia, Friggatriskaidekaphobia – fear of Friday the 13th.
Panphobia – fear of everything or constant fear of an unknown cause.
Phasmophobia – fear of ghosts, spectres or phantasms.
Phagophobia – fear of swallowing.
Pharmacophobia – same as medication phobia.
Philophobia - fear of love
Phobophobia – fear of having a phobia.Phonophobia – fear of loud sounds.
Porphyrophobia - fear of the color purple.
Pyrophobia – fear of fire.
Radiophobia – fear of radioactivity or X-rays.
Sociophobia – fear of people or social situations.
Scolionophobia – fear of school.
Scopophobia – fear of being looked at or stared at.
Somniphobia – fear of sleep.
Spectrophobia – fear of mirrors and one's own reflections.
Taphophobia – fear of the grave, or fear of being placed in a grave while still alive.
Technophobia – fear of technology (see also Luddite).
Telephone phobia – fear or reluctance of making or taking phone calls.
Tetraphobia – fear of the number 4.
Thanatophobia – fear of death.
Thermophobia – fear of heat.
Tokophobia – fear of childbirth.
Traumatophobia – a synonym for injury phobia: fear of having an injury.
Triskaidekaphobia, Terdekaphobia – fear of the number 13.
Trypanophobia, Belonephobia, Enetophobia – fear of needles or injections.
Workplace phobia – fear of the workplace.
Xenophobia – fear of strangers, foreigners, or aliens.