Has the phobia been learned or picked up from another person? it is important to consider whether a family member is helping maintain a phobia by their own fear, or by their fear of the child's anxiety or discomfort. Has the child/adolescent had a direct experience that has scared them? this type of phobia can also develop because they have witnessed or heard something. Is the child/adolescent stressed and experiencing anxiety symptoms? (e. G. From exams, parental separation).
They may incorrectly connect feelings of anxiety with an object or situation that they are in. Is embarrassment or fear of getting into a panic increasing their avoidance behaviour?.
Some people just can’t catch a break. The ‘fear of fear’, as it’s sometimes known, is when you’re petrified of developing a phobia, or the feeling of a phobia (for example the symptoms of a panic attack) fill you with dread. You can have this whether you already have a phobia or not. In some cases, it can become a self-fulfilling prophecy, in that you can be so terrified of developing a fear of things you love doing that you’ll just stop doing them altogether, until you become afraid of it or develop an even more serious phobia such as agoraphobia or social phobia.
Why do I have a phobia?
Arachnophobia – the fear of spiders affects women four times more (48% women and 12% men). Ophidiophobia – the fear of snakes. Phobics avoid certain cities because they have more snakes. Acrophobia – the fear of heights. Five percent of the general population suffer from this phobia.
Agoraphobia – the fear of open or crowded spaces. People with this fear often wont leave home. Cynophobia – the fear of dogs. This includes everything from small poodles to large great danes. Astraphobia – the fear of thunder/lightning aka brontophobia, tonitrophobia, ceraunophobia. Claustrophobia – the fear of small spaces like elevators, small rooms and other enclosed spaces. Mysophobia – the fear of germs.
Take their phobia seriously you may not understand it and you may not even understand how someone could have that phobia, but remember that it is very real to them. Let them know that their feelings are valid. Ask them what they find triggering for some people with a phobia, even talking about the thing they are afraid of can cause them to feel anxious, fearful or overwhelmed. If you ask them what they find triggering, you can be careful when talking about it. Encourage them but don’t pressure them it can be helpful to have someone to encourage you to face your fear, but it can also be harmful if to pressure someone to do something they aren’t comfortable with.
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People with agoraphobia feel an intense fear of situations or public places from which it might be difficult or embarrassing to escape, or where help might not be available. Most people with agoraphobia also have panic attacks − sudden severe attacks of anxiety, during which they fear that something dreadful is going to affect their physical or mental health. People fear having these attacks and avoid places where they might have them, such as shops and other public places, cars or other forms of transport. They also fear being away from safety or help in case something goes wrong.