Phobias

by:Heidi Bergeson,

Bailey Peterson, Britne Gose,

Jessica Fletcher, Suzy McCrory,

and Bryan Lafeen

Phobia

A phobia is a persistent and unreasonable fear of a particular object, activity, or situation. (fundamentals of abnormal

psychology by Ronald J. Comer)

Facts In some studies, African Americans and Hispanic Americans report having at least 50% more specific phobias than do

white Americans, even when economic factors, education, and age are held steady across the groups. (Hopko et al., 2008; Breslau et al., 2008)

More than 23% of individuals develop such phobias at some point during their lives, and many people have more than one at a time. (pg. 107)

Treatmenthttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3E9GCpc4QjI

Specific Phobia Treatment Exposure treatments- individual is

exposed to objects or situations they dread

Systematic desensitization learn to relax while gradually facing the objects or situation they fear

Flooding: people will stop fearing things when they are exposed to them repeatedly

Modeling, the therapist who confronts the geared object while the fearful person observes. Proves the person’s fear is groundless.

Key to success is actual contact with the feared object or situation.

Arachnophobia

Arachnophobia is one of the most common phobias in the world.

Arachnophobia

Within the book, there is quoted a woman named Marianne, who has a fear of spiders. She says, “Seeing a spider makes me rigid with fear, hot, trembling and dizzy. I have occasionally vomited and once fainted in order to escape from the situation. These symptoms last three to four days after seeing a spider. Realistic pictures can cause the same effect, especially if I inadvertently place my hand on one.” (Comer)

SocialPhobia

Social Phobia Social Phobia Treatment – categorize as social fears and or poor social skills.

› Treat Social fears by drug (anti-depressants), exposure therapy, group, or cognitive therapy› Social skills can be improved by social skills training.

Model appropriate social behaviors for clients, role play, reinforcement from other people with social phobias

Overcoming Social Phobia

Role play a situation. Rather than avoid a social setting due to fear of embarrassment or humiliation, role play a situation in advance. With a friend's assistance, practice introducingyourself and starting a conversation. Be calm and speak slow. Focus on your good qualities. Individuals with social phobia tend to focus on the bad and have a negative self-image. In turn, they fear that other people will view them as uninteresting or boring. Everyone has good and bad qualities. Pinpoint your three strongest character traits. This will help boost your Confidence and improve your self-worth.

Social Phobia

Practice good eye contact. Make an effort to look people in the eye. Be the first say "hello," and return smiles.

Prepare for a conversation. It can be difficult to start a conversation with someone new. Before attending a social event, brainstorm three or four topics that will make good conversations. People with social phobia can spark a discussion with a current event, hot news topic or the weather.

Talk to a stranger. Social phobics avoid interaction with strangers. Stepping outside your comfort zone is one way to overcome anxiety. Ask a stranger for directions, compliment someone or request help from a retail salesperson.

Acrophobia

Acrophobia

Is the fear of heights You may experience shaking, swearing, heart

palpitations, crying, yelling out, feeling terrified, confusion, or a feeling of being paralyzed.

According to Harold Levinson’s research with dyslexia it unexpectedly led him to the discovery that over 90% of all phobic behavior and panic attacks are due to a dysfunction within the inner-ear and its supercomputer- the cerebellum.

Claustrophobia

Claustrophobia is defined as an irrational, exaggerated fear of being in small, confined, or closed spaces.

Most cases of claustrophobia stem from a traumatic incident involving being trapped in a small space taking place in the person’s life.

When someone who suffers from claustrophobia finds themselves in a small space, they might feel a tightening in their chest, rapid heartbeat, a sudden weakening of limbs, and they can ultimately faint.

Claustrophobia is categorized as a specific phobia due to the nature

of the situation that is feared. Three types of treatment commonly used in cases of claustrophobia are desensitization, flooding, and modeling. Most people suffer from claustrophobia to a degree, but studies estimate that about 10 percent of people are actually diagnosed with having claustrophobia.

Claustrophobia

Genetics and The Serotonin Transporter Gene in Relation to Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

By, Britne Gose

Don’t confuse with obsessive compulsive personality disorder

Marked by obsessions and/or compulsions

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors Downregulate the reuptake of serotonin at the synaptic cleft via the serotonin transporter protein, 5-HTT Due to SSRI’s, the

serotonin system is a very popular research subject

SSRIS

SCL6A4

Serotonin Transporter Gene that encodes the serotonin transporter protein, 5-HTT

There are two variants in the promoter region of this gene called the long and the short.

The long variant produces 3 times as much of 5-HTT then the long variant

No Gene Found Yet

Bengel et al., (1999) found that individuals with OCD were more likely to be homozygous for the long allele

Billet et al., (1997) found that there was no statistical significance between the control groups and the experimental group

There are other Genes

No conclusive results

continued research Due to the

complexity of OCD Environmental

factors There are probably

many genes involved, interacting in different ways