Phobias
Phobias can disrupt your live and negatively affect your mental health. Our mental health treatment programs near Philadelphia can help you overcome your phobias.
Call us today or visit our admissions page to get started.
Phobias
Phobias can disrupt your live and negatively affect your mental health. Our mental health treatment programs near Philadelphia can help you overcome your phobias.
Call us today or visit our admissions page to get started.
Table of Contents
- What Are Phobias?
- Types of Phobias
- Signs and Symptoms of Phobias
- Causes and Risk Factors of Phobias
- The Impact of Phobias on Daily Life
- How Are Phobias Diagnosed?
- How Are Phobias Treated?
- How Successful is Phobia Treatment?
- Resources for Those Struggling with Phobias
- Living with Phobias
- Find Treatment for Phobias at New Mind Philadelphia
Begin Mental Health Treatment in Philadelphia Today
We believe that recovery from mental illness is not only attainable, but sustainable.
Phobias can happen to anyone, and some of them can cause tremendous problems in a person’s ability to do their job and live their personal lives. If someone has a phobia, it can be treated with structured care designed to help the person overcome persistent fears of an object, place, or situation.
New Mind Philadelphia understands the grip that phobias can have on a person. They find at least one part of their lives full of insurmountable anxiety and often do not know if help is available. Our outpatient programs offer people a way to attend valuable therapy sessions without having to move into a facility. We help people overcome their phobias and enjoy more peace of mind.
Contact us today to learn more about mental health treatment in Philadelphia.
What Are Phobias?
Phobias are characterized by an intense fear of an object, situation, or location that negatively impacts a person’s life.
To be diagnosed as a phobia, the symptoms must last for six months or more. When the individual encounters the thing they fear, it provokes tremendous symptoms of anxiety. Either the person can barely endure the thing they fear, or they avoid it at all costs.
Types of Phobias
There are three categories of phobias, and each one can be treated by attending a professional therapeutic program.
The types of phobias include:
- Agoraphobia: This is characterized by an intense and irrational fear of being in public places, particularly if getting out of them proves difficult. Some people reach the point where they are afraid to leave their homes at all.
- Social phobias: Now categorized as social anxiety disorder, this causes the person to have extreme fear about being among others in social situations.
- Specific phobias: This phobia includes a fear of one specific thing, such as flying, snakes, or other things. The list of specific phobias is quite extensive.
Signs and Symptoms of Phobias
Regardless of what kind of phobia a person has, they experience certain types of signs and symptoms. These include:
- Trembling
- Panic attacks
- Sweating
- A tremendous need to get away from a situation or object
- Avoiding the subject of the phobia at all costs
- Difficulty thinking or communicating
- Feeling faint
- Numbness in hands or feet
- Shallow breathing
- Dizziness
- Tightness in the chest
- Feeling anxious when just thinking about the subject of the phobia
- Life is negatively impacted by the phobia
- Isolating and avoiding leaving the house
Begin Treatment for Phobias Today
New Mind Wellness is a leader in the provision of mental health treatment in Pennsylvania. If you or a loved one are struggling with mental illness, reach out to us today or verify your insurance now.
Causes and Risk Factors of Phobias
Phobias can develop out of nowhere or have an identifiable cause. For example, if a parent or other family member has a fear of flying, they may pass it along to their children. Conversely, a person may enjoy flying until they experience a flight with extreme turbulence or a plane crash.
Someone who endured an adverse childhood experience can be prone to developing a phobia. In other cases, phobias may develop in a societal group in which they are common.
The Impact of Phobias on Daily Life
Phobias can have a tremendous impact on a person’s daily life. For instance, if someone is required to travel for work but has or develops a fear of flying, it can cause them to be unable to perform their job duties. If someone has a fear of driving, it limits their ability to get to places like the grocery stores, restaurants, their jobs, and social activities. This may result in the person isolating at home.
Those with agoraphobia may remain in their home for months or years. This deprives them of enough social interaction and can keep them from going to doctors’ appointments.
How Are Phobias Diagnosed?
While it can be easy to recognize a fear of something like spiders or flying, mental health therapists can provide an official diagnosis. This allows the individual to determine if their fear has reached the point of being a true phobia and decide on an appropriate treatment plan.
How Are Phobias Treated?
When someone has a phobia, there are three basic ways to treat it. The first is prescription medications, which can help alleviate symptoms like anxiety. Two types of therapy are used during phobia treatment. They include traditional talk therapy, which provides a safe space for individuals to open up and engage in one-on-one conversations with their therapist.
The other type of therapy commonly used to treat phobias and other mental health disorders is holistic therapy. It marries the treatments for a person’s physical, mental, and spiritual health all at once. It can be done individually or as part of a group.
How Successful is Phobia Treatment?
Therapy can prove very helpful for people who have phobias. Using more than one type of therapeutic modality increases a person’s ability to heal. As well, the more sessions the person attends, the more progress they can make.
Resources for Those Struggling with Phobias
Two national organizations that offer help for people who struggle with mental illnesses like phobias include:
There are also many books available that help people understand and address their phobias. Some communities have support groups either in-person or online. People can do a search for them in their area or ask their physician or therapists for recommendations.
Living With Phobias
Someone who has a phobia should reach out for help from a licensed clinic or therapist to help them begin to overcome their fears. At home, they can also engage in exercises that help reduce their fear. This includes breathing techniques, journaling, and slowly exposing themselves to the object or situation they fear.
Find Treatment for Phobias at New Mind Philadelphia
Do you have a phobia that compromises your ability to live your life because you live with overwhelming fear? New Mind Philadelphia provides structured and multi-disciplinary treatment that allows you to face your fears head-on with newfound coping mechanisms. Our team of compassionate and skilled therapists helps you reframe how you see the event, situation, or object you fear and conquer the phobia.
Contact us today to discuss how our phobia treatment works. Our admissions staff is happy to answer your questions and help you move one step closer to getting the help you deserve.