Phobia

Anxiety disorders include phobias. Can you imagine why? In my introduction to anxiety, I defined it as a form of "anticipatory fear" disproportionate to the situation. Phobias fall under this definition. I'm sure you've heard various names related to phobias. If I had to identify two common phobias, I think of arachnophobia (fear of spiders) or claustrophobia (fear of confined spaces). But how does a phobia develop? I'll try to explain it in my own words.

Phobias are learned. A (somewhat technical) definition of learning is a more or less stable modification of behavior following experience with the environment one is in contact with. So, being in contact with the environment leads us to learn how to relate to it. Let's play a kind of game: I'll provide you with a series of definitions related to learning, and you guess which one might refer to phobia.

Individual learning can be classified as follows:

Non-associative learning, which can be distinguished into:

• Habituation: consists of a reduction in behavioral response to a non-harmful stimulus presented repeatedly.
• Sensitization: consists of an increase in the frequency of behavioral response to a wide variety of stimuli when they are preceded by intense and unpleasant stimuli.

Associative learning, which can be distinguished into:

• Classical conditioning: pairing the relationship between two stimuli (unconditioned stimulus and conditioned stimulus).
• Operant conditioning: pairing the relationship between a stimulus and the consequences of a behavior.

Now, suppose you are with a friend and their dog, a medium-sized dog. For some unknown reason, the dog bites you, so you have a negative experience. From that day on, you are afraid not only of that type of dog but of all dogs, regardless of their size and actual danger or aggressiveness. It's as if you became sensitized to the negative experience and assigned it to the category "dog." It's as if you learned that all dogs are dangerous and can bite you.

So, according to the diagnostic manual (DSM-5), a specific phobia is a form of marked fear or anxiety towards a specific situation (such as animals, heights, seeing blood, etc.) that always provokes an immediate reaction, and everything is done to avoid the object of the phobia. The fear or anxiety is disproportionate to the danger (even by the admission of the subjects themselves). The fear or anxiety lasts at least six months, causes significant distress, and there is no other way to explain the symptoms.

All phobias fall under the category of specific phobia except one: agoraphobia. Agoraphobia is, of course, a form of excessive fear or anxiety concerning at least two situations among:

• using public transportation
• being in open spaces
• being in enclosed spaces (but not tight spaces)
• being in crowded spaces
• being outside the home alone.

The first thought of a person with agoraphobia is: how can I escape or get help in such a situation? So, besides exaggerated anxiety and fear, strategies are adopted to avoid these situations. Again, the fear or anxiety lasts at least six months, causes significant distress, and there is no other way to explain the symptoms.

Sources:

• American Psychiatric Association (2013) - Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.).
• Bernhill, J. W. (2014) - DSM-5 Clinical Cases.

I also recommend watching this video.

If you want me to describe a psychology topic in my own words, write it in the comments.