2023 Specific Phobia

Specific phobia

A persistent, intense, irrational fear of a specific object or event, often leading to avoidance behaviours

GABA

Inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain that makes post-synaptic neurons less likely to fire.

Dysfunctional GABA system

A failure to produce, release or receive the correct about of GABA.

Long term potentiation

Long-lasting strengthening of synaptic connections due to repeated stimulation of the same neural pathways, resulting in enhanced neural transmission.

Behavioural models

Suggest that phobias are learned through experience. They can be precipitated by classical conditioning and perpetuated through operant conditioning.

Classical conditioning

Can precipitate a phobia.

Operant conditioning

Can perpetuate a phobia.

Avoidance behaviour

Actions a person takes to escape from difficult thoughts and feelings related to their phobia stimulus.

Cognitive model

A model that describes how people's perceptions of situations influence their emotional and behavioral reactions.

Cognitive biases

A tendency to think in a way that involves errors of judgement and faulty decision-making.

Memory bias

Distorted thinking that enhances or impairs the recall of a memory or alters its content.

Catastrophic thinking

A cognitive bias that involves overestimating and exaggerating the worst possible outcomes to situations even though they are unlikely to occur.

Specific environmental trigger

A negative, traumatic experience with a specific object that results in the development of a fear response.

Stigma

A sign of shame or disgrace associated with a particular attribute that sets a person apart, such as a mental disorder.

Evidence based intervention

A treatment shown to be effective in valid and reliable research studies.

Biological intervention

A treatment targeting physiological mechanisms believed to contribute to a condition.

Agonist

Drugs that mimic or enhance the action of a neurotransmitter by binding to the post-synaptic neuron.

Benzodiazepines

A GABA agonist that makes post-synaptic neurons less likely to fire, which regulates anxiety.

Breathing retraining

An anxiety management technique that involves teaching someone with a specific phobia how to consciously control their breathing and slow it down when in the presence of their phobic stimulus.

Psychological intervention

Treatment that uses activities such as psychotherapy to modify thoughts, feelings and behaviours.

Cognitive behavioural therapy

An intervention comprising a range of cognitive and behavioural therapies to help people identify, challenge and change unhelpful thought processes, feelings and behaviours to more helpful ones.

Systematic desensitisation

Involves progressively introducing a person to varying levels of their phobic stimulus while using relaxation techniques until their fear response is replaced by a relaxation response.

Fear hierarchy

A list of anxiety-inducing experiences relating to the patient's phobia, from least fear-inducing to most fear-inducing.

Social intervention

An intervention designed to increase social support for people with a mental disorder.

Psychoeducation

The process of providing information to family and friends to increase their understanding of the disorder and how to support those people close to them with a specific phobia.

Stress

State of physiological and psychological arousal produced by internal or external stressors that are perceived by the individual as exceeding their ability to cope.

Anxiety

State of physiological arousal associated with feelings of apprehension, worry, or uneasiness about something in the future.