Subject: CE201

Lecturer: Lim Lady

Academic year: 2021-2022

Things you should know about phobia

Written by: Leng Munymoninn

According to a website called Health-line, phobia is defined as“an excessive and irritating
fear reaction to a certain source of fear which could be animals, places, or situations.” Nearly
10% of the population are affected by the problem.(1) It is a mental problem that people
usually overlook and think that it is just the nature of humans. However, this mental health
problem can be harmful to some people and leads to anxiety and depression. That is why it is
essential to learn about the problem. In this essay, we will discuss symptoms, risk factors,
types, advantages and disadvantages, and treatment of phobia.

To understand phobias clearly, It is very important that we know how to notice someone
with this problem. In most cases, when exposed to the source of their phobia, people usually
try to avoid it immediately, or they ensure it with intense fear or anxiety. They show some
physical symptoms such as sweating, trembling, shortness of breath, confusion, and so on.
They also experience other problems including feeling faint, dizzy, heart pounding and so
on.(2) Knowing about the symptoms of phobia allows people with phobia to be helped on
time.

Regarding sources of phobia, it is categorised into three main types.(4) The first one is
Specific Phobia which is the extreme fear of a specific object or situation. It is subcategorised
into five main types-fear of animals(rabbit, cat, dog…), fear of blood and
needles(haemophobia), situational fear(fly in a plane…), fear of natural environment(fear of
darkness..), and other fears like fear of clown… . Another one is Agoraphobia. It is defined as
the extreme fear of public places or situations. Normally, people with this phobia fear of
being in a crowded place or people space, and some have chronic health problems and fear
that they may have a medical emergency in public places. The last one is Social Phobia-the
extreme fear of embarrassing or being judge by other people. It is also referred to as social
anxiety disorders. People with it always worry about what others might see or look at them so
they tend to isolate themselves at home to avoid being judged.

Concerning risk factors, both genetics and environment can cause phobia(3). Like some
diseases, researchers have shown that phobia is contained in our DNA and it may run in
families from one generation to another; this means that if a family member has phobia, other
members are also at high risks of having it as well. For environmental factors, they are
divided into two main points-cultural factors and life experience. Culture spreads phobia
through belief, norm, and so on. In Cambodian culture, for instance, people are told that there

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are ghosts haunting people at night, and this makes most of them have the phobia of ghosts.
Besides cultural factors, some life experiences such as car accidents, severe injury,…. lead to
past trauma and possibility of having phobia in one’s life as well.

On top of that, this mental disorder causes significant impacts ranging from annoying to
severely disabling.(5) The impacts are divided into external and internal impacts. Externally,
phobia affects daily activities of people and reduces their productivity leading to economic
loss of the individual and the society. In some cases, this disorder can cause accidents leading
to paralysis and death as well. Internally, people with phobia tend to feel helpless and think
that they are unable to do anything about their problem. What is more, they feel embarrassed
because other people make joke of them for their phobia. Lastly, trauma and avoidance are
also the negative impacts caused by phobia. For example, most old Cambodian people living
overseas do not wish to come back to Cambodia. Their past traumas during the Khmer Rouge
regime are still haunting them and they’re scared that they will face the same situation again,
if they come back. However, everything has its pros and cons. Phobia plays an important role
in helping people to avoid dangers on time. It also makes people alert of the incoming
dangers so that they are able to prepare themselves to deal with those dangers effectively.

For the treatments, there are two main options available-Psychotherapy and
Pharmacotherapy(1). In psychotherapy, a technique called Cognitive Behavioural Technique
or CBT in short is used. This technique allows the patients to face their source of phobia in a
controlled setting. There are four steps in this technique. First, patients are asked about their
phobia and the psychologist helps them to feel relaxed. Then, patients are shown just pictures
of the phobia or cartoons of it. After that, a film or short video is shown to them. This makes
patients get used to their phobia. Lastly, patients are asked to touch the object of their phobia.
By doing so, patients can have direct contact with their source of phobia and know that it is
not as harmful as what they have always thought. Pharmacotherapy, on the other hand, some
antidepressants and anti-anxiety medications are used. These medicines calm the patient's
emotional and physical reactions to their fear and reduce the risk from panic attack as well. It
is highly recommended that the combination of both methods is the best choice for treating
phobia.

To sum up, phobia is a common mental health disorder with various symptoms, wide
range causes, and it happens to people in different forms. However, it can be harmful that its
negative impacts range from annoying to severely disabling and people with it need to be
treated on time with either or both of the treatment options above before it becomes severe.
Personally, one should know that phobia is not a joke, so we should not make fun of those
with it, and if you think that you or people you know are having phobia which is annoying or
harmful, go and meet doctors or psychologists now to get proper treatment before it is too
late.
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References: (08/04/2022)
(1)https://www.healthline.com/health/list-of-phobias
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(2)
- https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/conditions/phobias/symptoms/
(3)
- https://youtu.be/_i_RX_EPZ0Y
(4) https://youtu.be/PCOg2G797ek
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(5) https://www.verywellmind.com/psychological-and-emotional-effects-of-phobias-
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2671693

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