//Understanding Phobia//
I have been curious about phobias as of late. I have always known that phobias involve fear but there is much more to understand around this topic and much research has gone into recognising and treating phobia. So let’s take a quick look at the basics of phobias.
Phobias can be divided into different types. Social phobia involves public or generally social settings where a person is exposed to interactions in larger groups. Also known as social anxiety, this is something that I feel many may have felt at some point in their life at perhaps varying degrees. The pressures of life continue to mount and in certain parts of the world this is amplified by cultural settings and other environmental factors.
On the other hand of public social settings, agoraphobia is described as fear resulting from being left alone in public spaces. Where comfort and security is lost when a person is alone. It goes beyond just wider spaces, a number of circumstances can trigger a panic attack in a person. Common activities that can reveal symptoms of agoraphobia include public transport and larger public spaces, even without being outdoors.
Specific phobia focuses on a certain experience or object that triggers a reaction. This might be something similar to when a person says they are scared of heights or needles. The fear itself is one part of the anxiety but other symptoms can emerge when triggered including confusion, nausea, vomiting and a number of other conditions. Specific phobias can exist across a number of items and a person can have more than one phobia. It’s worth noting that phobias can also develop over time and may manifest with mild to eventual severe symptoms that are more obvious.
//Research and Future//
There are many types of phobia and these are just a few of the umbrellas that group certain types. The other part of part of phobia is fear. When the body experiences fear we see chemical releases within the body. Common symptoms result in anxiety and much of this has been linked to various neurotransmitters in the brain. Aside from psychological and lifestyle rehabilitation, scientists continue to expand their knowledge of the brain. Perhaps technologies like Neuralink will shed insight or even treat phobia in the distant future. On the other hand, the device itself can make many feel uncomfortable, this is why I feel that while technology will be useful in understanding and linking the body to the digital realm. We will eventually leverage this new knowledge into organic forms of treatment that is not reliant on technology.
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