Phobias Treatment Scotland

How Common Are Phobias?

Phobias are more common than people believe. This is down to the fact that differentiating anxiety and a phobia can be difficult, as their symptoms cross over.

The symptoms that phobias reflect surround fear, unsteadiness, physical symptoms of anxiety, and increased pressure on the cardiovascular system; all of which are also experienced through anxiety.

Yet the difference is that symptoms and causes of phobias occur due to a trigger, whereas anxiety attacks are general.

Phobias are personal to the individual and some aren’t as common. There are however common types of phobias that are influenced by such as environments, situations, animals and bodily phobias. Two further complex phobia types are social phobia and agoraphobia.

As we’ve shared above, a phobia is personal and can develop around the most random objects. For the person with a phobia, random exposure to that thing can be engulfing, overpowering and very scary.

Phobias are highly linked to panic, which if exposure continues, can lead to mental health problems and drug or alcohol addiction developing.

For some, phobias can be managed. For example, fear of snakes can be suppressed by avoiding their habitat. Yet, for other phobias, such as social phobia and environmental phobias, control can be challenging as these things are unpredictable and unavoidable.

Down to this, the need for phobias treatment will be high, to make symptoms manageable through everyday life.

What Causes Phobias?

Phobias can be taught, influenced by trauma or can be filtered through genes.

Through nurture, phobias can be taught, where the phobias of parents or siblings may be witnessed, digested and taken on personally. This is very common when an extensive phobia is present in a loved one, where such emotions are transmitted and then attached to triggers.

Another causation of phobias lies within the impacts of trauma, where a distressing event can materialise into anxiety, which can develop into a phobia. Such feelings can be attached to exposure to an event, which then increases fear, turning into the need for distance.

This is how ongoing exposure can then advance the strength of a phobia. For example, trauma may have been experienced through social situations, which can cause returning feelings of unease and anxiety when further exposure to social situations is experienced.

Genetics can also increase the susceptibility of vulnerabilities linked to anxiety, which can advance the potential development of phobias, supporting the nature argument.

As phobias are complex, which is easy to see down to the multitude of possible causes, phobias treatment should be sourced for personal benefits.

Finding Support for Phobias and Addiction

If phobias, anxiety or other mental health symptoms are present alongside addiction, it is important that support is guided by an appropriately qualified professional or treatment provider.

Some providers may assess co-occurring mental health needs as part of addiction treatment. Clinical diagnosis, therapy and medication decisions should be made by qualified professionals.

Recovery Scotland can provide confidential guidance and referral support to help you understand possible pathways and take the next step.