PHOBIAS

PHOBIAS

The DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) is a system for classifying mental health disorders. It is updated every so often as ideas about abnormality change. The current version is the 5th edition, known as DSM-5.

Disorders are categorised in groups such as Anxiety Disorders, Mood Disorders.

Phobias are under the category of Anxiety Disorders.

CATEGORIES OF PHOBIAS

All phobias are categorised by excessive fear and

anxiety, triggered by an object, place or situation. The extent of the fear is out of proportion to any real danger presented by the phobic stimulus.

DSM-5 recognises the following categories of phobia:

Specific Phobia - phobia of an object, such as an animal or body part, or a situation e.g. having an injection.

Social Anxiety (social phobia): phobia of a social situation e.g. public speaking.

Agoraphobia: phobia of being outside or in a public place.

CHARACTERISTICS OF PHOBIAS - BEHAVIOURAL

PANIC -Individuals will panic in the presence of their phobic stimulus, e.g. crying, running away

CHARACTERISTICS OF PHOBIAS - BEHAVIOURAL

Avoudance - Individuals usually make a lot of effort to prevent foming into contact w the phobic stimulus

CHARACTERISTICS OF PHOBIAS - BEHAVIOURAL

Endurance - sufferers remain in the presence of their phobic stimulus, but continues to experience high levels of anxiety

CHARACTERISTICS OF PHOBIAS - EMOTIONAL

Anxiety - individuals feel a high + unpleasant sense of arousal

CHARACTERISTICS OF PHOBIAS - EMOTIONAL

Fear - immediate and unpleasant response we experience in the presence or yhought of the phobic stimulus - intense + in shorter periods than anxiety

CHARACTERISTICS OF PHOBIAS - EMOTIONAL

Emotional response is unreasonable - response is disporportionate to the threat

CHARACTERISTICS OF PHOBIAS - COGNITIVE

Selective attention - individual will focus only on the phobic stimulus when its present

CHARACTERISTCS OF PHOBIAS- COGNITIVE

Irrational belief - the individual will focus only on the phobic stimulus when its present

CHARACTERISTICS OF PHOBIAS - COGNITIVE

Irrational belief - the individual may hold irrational beliefs in relation to their phobic stimulus e.g. if i go red when talking to people they wont wish to be friends with me

CHARACTERISTICS OF PHOBIAS - COGNITIVE

Cognitive distortions - the phobic stimulus may be distorted e.g. they may see a wasp as huge