Devastating Statistics
Researches show that around 18 percent of the entire American society suffers from a certain form of a phobia. Phobias, for that matter, are uncontrollable and unreasonable fears of things which other people do not consider a threat. However, for people with phobia, their anxiety and panic triggers are more than just scary or uncomfortable since exposure to phobias or even thoughts about these things may lead a person to a panic attack, concentration issues, breathing difficulties and various otherproblems.
There are many different kinds of phobias affecting many people uniquely or following a certain behavioral pattern. Either way, it is a group of conditions which are quite hard to deal with. Usually, people with phobias, do their best to avoid their triggers. Thus, those who fear heights are likely never to climb mountains, live on high floors etc. Also, those who fear insects will never go on a field trip, enter natural surroundings like woods and such. However, this is a bad protection technique since running away from a fear does not make you beat it. Rather, it only prolongs the effect of a phobia and amplifies when you finally get exposed to your triggers.
Possible Cures for Phobias
Taking action is the best move. Therefore, if you are having problems with a phobia, you should seek medical assistance. Sometimes, it is best to visit a mental health professional and explain your problems. Then, after series of questions and analyzing, you are likely to be prescribed with atherapy.
The therapy itself may consist of many different things. For example, many people fight phobias with sedatives or other medication which is capable of calming people down. Others use talking, hypnotherapy, neurolinguistic programming or systematic desensitization.
Sedatives and drugs in general are not the best possible treatment since these deal with the symptoms rather than concentrating on the cause of the phobia itself. Moreover, there are many side-effects a person has to deal with once he/she is using drugs against phobias.
Hypnosis, however, is known to be more than helpful in these situations. Nevertheless, in order for this kind of treatment to be possible, the patient needs to be in a state of complete relaxation which is a bit hard to accomplish with people who have phobias since they are constantly in a state of alertness.
Exposure is sometimes the best possible cure. However, it has to happen gradually. Let us say that we are treating a person who has phobia regarding insects. Firstly, he/she would need to imagine an insect nearby. Then, once he/she feels comfortable with the image, he/she is to hold a photo of some kind of an insect. Eventually, the real thing is to be brought before the person, helping him/her overcome the phobia once and for all.
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