Terribly nauseous: What are phobias and where do they come from
A phobia is a fear that cannot be controlled. A certain object, place, process, situation or even a feeling can cause it - there are a lot of phobias, but at the base of each is a strong alarm. In this case, from the last from time to time all come across. How to distinguish the usual anxiety from phobias and what to do to stop the panic, we understand together with the experts: the psychotherapist of the Vitbiomed + clinic Elena Samsonova, the neuropsychologist Mikhail Ivanov and the pilot of the Pobeda airline Alexey Kochemasov.
When a phobia occurs
An unpleasant conversation with the authorities, misunderstanding in the family, a hard deadline - all this can be disturbing. This condition cannot be called pleasant, but in general the situation remains under control - this is the so-called adaptive anxiety, which usually passes quickly. But there is another anxiety - pathological. The main difference between pathological anxiety is that the experience of a threat does not correspond to reality, that is, there is no real reason for a violent reaction. When anxiety attacks a person ceases to control the situation, and the state of health deteriorates sharply: it becomes difficult to breathe, throws into a fever or shivers, dry mouth, nausea, dizziness. These “symptoms” of panic are associated with activation of the hypothalamus and autonomic centers of the brain.
According to the doctor Elena Samsonova, anxiety disorders can be hereditary: children whose relatives have this problem have a higher risk of developing phobias. Impetus to its appearance can be a lot of stress. Pathological anxiety arises spontaneously or in response to a specific stimulus (trigger) and increases with time. Very often, animals (dogs, cats), including insects (spiders, cockroaches), natural phenomena (strong thunderstorm, hurricane) or certain actions and processes (flying on an airplane, lifting on an elevator) trigger the trigger.
What are phobias
Aerophobia takes the leading place in the list of fears. Pilot Alexey Kochemasov says that some people are afraid to fly just because they do not understand what is happening on the plane. They are frightened by sounds, shaking, steam, as well as the impossibility to control the process - after all, on the plane you don’t even see where you are going. In this case, it helps to figure out what happens at what point — for this, you can subscribe to the blogs of pilots and flight attendants or read a special manual like “Easy way to stop being afraid to fly.” By the way, trying to relax with alcohol is not the most effective way: fear will not go away, but getting drunk in the air is easy even on the amount of alcohol that seems harmless on earth (this is due to oxygen starvation when climbing).
Of course, not in all cases can cope on their own. The causes of aerophobia can lie in strong feelings because of plane crashes: although according to statistics, an airplane is several times safer than a car, the tragedies with airplanes are always widely represented in the media. For the same reason, aerophobia is rarely associated with a fear of heights, because a person is not afraid of finding himself at height, but of the fact that something will happen to the plane.
Another common fear is agoraphobia, or the fear of open spaces. A person cannot be, for example, on the square - he begins to panic, it becomes difficult to breathe, it becomes dark in the eyes, it seems that fainting is about to come. Neuropsychologist Mikhail Ivanov notes that with agoraphobia a person may consciously want to be on a square or a stage, but his nervous system "votes" against.
When working with a psychotherapist, it may become clear that a person subconsciously fears getting into an awkward or inappropriate position "in front of everyone." Sometimes panic develops when it is necessary to speak in front of an audience — perhaps, when working with this situation with a specialist, it turns out that speaking to the public is hindered by the fear of not doing it well enough.
The opposite fear is claustrophobia, in which panic occurs in a confined space, such as a room without windows or an elevator, as well as in a crowd of people. Causes of claustrophobia are not fully understood. Elena Samsonova notes that the problem can be provoked by severe stress, suffered as a child: for example, the child was locked in a cramped room as a punishment, or he was accidentally locked in a closet. It is believed that claustrophobia develops due to dysfunction of the amygdala - the brain region responsible for the feeling of fear.
There are many animal-related phobias — most often people are afraid of spiders, snakes, and dogs — but the causes of zoophobia are not fully understood. According to one version, the fear of snakes or spiders could develop in the course of evolution as a means of protecting people from deadly bites. Fear of dogs or cats is associated with the experienced attack of these animals, or even the possibility of such an attack - for example, if a person is impressed with the story of how the dog bit the friend.
Fear of heights is natural - the brain receives information about loss of control, and the person begins to feel defenseless. Such fear is associated with the instinct of self-preservation, but it is not the same: a protective reaction in the form of fear arises in a really dangerous situation, for example, on the edge of an abyss. But if you look down from the window of the twentieth floor and at the same time are afraid - you have acrophobia, because there is no threat to life as such. True, spectacularly made viewing platforms with a glass floor can cause a panic attack even among those who have never noticed a fear of heights, this is due to the fact that the brain receives contradictory information: the legs are stable, and the eyes see a wide open abyss.
Fear of intimate relationships is quite rare, but very complex fear, and in women it is usually associated with painful first experience, gynecological problems causing discomfort, sexual violence, distrust of a partner, insecurity in one’s own body, and inspired attitude to sex as something shameful. Over time, accumulated fears can turn into a phobia. The way to deal with the latter depends on its cause - in case of pain or inflammatory disease, it is impossible to do without a gynecologist examination.
Another common phobia is iatrophobia, that is, the fear of doctors, which is usually associated with an experienced unpleasant episode or simply impressionability as a result of someone’s horror stories. Not going to the doctors is a bad decision, so it's best to examine the issue and find a doctor you trust; You can ask the doctor to explain at the reception what exactly is going to happen now - understanding helps not to be afraid.
Why uncontrollable fear must be fought
Knowing about his phobia, a person tries to avoid meetings with a trigger - for example, he refuses to travel by metro or constantly postpones a visit to the dentist, which only worsens the quality of life. If rational anxiety does not lead to serious consequences for a person and his lifestyle and passes on his own, then the pathological one requires the help of specialists: a neurologist and a psychologist or psychotherapist. In fact, a phobia is the tip of the iceberg: anxiety disorder interferes at different levels. And if you defeat him, pleasant changes will occur in those areas of life where they were not expected at all.
The beginning panic attack can be alleviated: first you need to find a support (wall or bench) and take a stable position. Then you need to tell yourself that the attack will definitely end; can be repeated several times: "This is just a fear that will soon pass." Finally, you need to focus on deep breathing (breathing better with the stomach): take a breath for three to four seconds and breathe out even slower - for about six seconds. This technique helps to cope with panic - and indeed, meditation and deep breathing are effective in all stressful situations.
If you are constantly frightened by something and are worried on different occasions, and anxiety persists even with a successful outcome of events, do not postpone the visit to a psychotherapist or psychiatrist. Solve the problems of phobias by methods such as psychoanalysis, cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy or gestalt therapy. If fear is accompanied by rapid heartbeat, sweating, dizziness, treatment should begin with the medication prescribed by the psychotherapist.
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