Phoophobia Essay

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"We have nothing to fear but fear itself." Franklin D. Roosevelt's words seem strange to most, but are a harsh reality to some people with phobophobia. Phobophobia is defined as the fear of fear, or the fear of phobias. The origin of the word "phobo" is Greek which means irrational fear and "phobia"which means fear. Phobophobia, unlike other types of phobias, is anxiety-related rather than being based on fear of a single object or situation. People with phobophobia think they most likely have a phobia, but they cannot figure out what it is they are scared of. It is developed by the unconscious mind which is linked to an event in which a phobia was experienced with emotional trauma and stress. Phobophobia might develop from other phobias or when anxiety orders are not treated properly. Phobophobia differentiates itself from other kind of phobias because there is no environmental stimulus, but rather internal sensations similar to psychological symptoms of panic attacks.The psychological mind creates an anxious response that has itself a conditioned stimuli leading to further anxiety.
Phobophobia shares the same symptoms as panic attacks and generalized anxiety disorders. More specifically they include: dizziness, obsessive thoughts, persistent worrying, fear of fainting, desire to flee certain situations, sweating, heart pounding, tension, faintness, loss of bowel movement, and the alienation of close friends and family. Severe anxiety is the main symptom of fear of phobias, which is often characterized by an adrenaline rush. This, results in symptoms associated with stress and the belief that there are more phobias to fear. And since they are bothered too much with any experience that may be caused by phobias, people with phobop...

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...ng a particular fear and overcoming it with new learning. The process usually has five steps: evaluation, feedback, develop fear hierarchy, exposure and building. The evaluation starts with the patient explaining their fears and possibly a memory associated with it and then feedback is given by the therapist in which they usually propose a treatment plan. Next comes develop fear hierarchy, which is the when the patient and therapist come together and write down a list of scenarios involving all of the patient's fears, after the list has been compiled the step of exposure begins. Exposure is the process in which the patient faces the least frightening situation on their list, this allows the patient panic to lessen. The last stage of this treatment is building, when the patient becomes more comfortable in each scenario, and therefore forms a tolerance of their fears.

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