Question

What is phobic disorder? define and explain the various phobic subtypes?

Answer 1

Phobic disorders are related to avoidance precipitated by certain triggers, such as animals, situations, or places.It is thought that parental history of anxiety disorder (particularly phobias), anxious temperament, and traumatic occurrences (e.g., a dog bite, leading to dog phobia) all play a role in the genesis of phobic disorders.

Many phobic disorders never come to medical attention because those suffering from the disorder can simply alter their life to avoid contact with the precipitant for their phobic reactions. However, children with simple phobia that leads to school avoidance often are referred for treatment of “school refusal.” The differentiation between a fear and phobia is in the degree of anxiety in response to exposure, the extent of the avoidant behavior, and the concomitant functional impairment. School phobia may result in the avoidance of school, but the fear is not related to separation, as in the case of separation anxiety disorder. Behavioral interventions have a well-documented efficacy in the treatment of phobias. Such interventions include desensitization through graduated imagined or real exposure.