Dr. Roxanne Dryden-Edwards is an adult, child, and adolescent psychiatrist. She is a former Chair of the Committee on Developmental Disabilities for the American Psychiatric Association, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, and Medical Director of the National Center for Children and Families in Bethesda, Maryland.
Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, is a U.S. board-certified Anatomic Pathologist with subspecialty training in the fields of Experimental and Molecular Pathology. Dr. Stöppler's educational background includes a BA with Highest Distinction from the University of Virginia and an MD from the University of North Carolina. She completed residency training in Anatomic Pathology at Georgetown University followed by subspecialty fellowship training in molecular diagnostics and experimental pathology.
Helping those who suffer from phobias is thought to be most effective when psychotherapy and medications that are specific to the treatment of phobia are both used. One form of psychotherapy involves the supportive and gradual exposure of the individual with phobias to circumstances that are increasingly close to the one they are phobic about (desensitization). These situations can either consist of actual or computer-generated anxiety-provoking stimuli.
Cognitive behavioral therapy(CBT) has been found to significantly decrease phobic symptoms by helping the phobia sufferer change his or her way of thinking. CBT uses three techniques to accomplish this goal.
What is a phobia? What are the different kinds of phobias?
A phobia is defined as the unrelenting fear of a situation, activity, or
thing that causes one to want to avoid it. The three types of phobias are
social phobia (fear of public speaking, meeting new people, or other social
situations), agoraphobia (fear of being outside), and specific phobias (fear of
particular items or situations).
Phobias are largely underreported, probably because many phobia sufferers find ways to avoid the situations of which they are phobic. Therefore, statistics that estimate how many people suffer from phobias vary widely, but at minimum, phobias afflict more than 6 million people in the United States, with the average age of developing a phobia being about 10 years of
age. Other facts about phobias include that these illnesses are not unusual and
are thought to affect up to 28 out of every 100 people, and in all western countries, phobias strike 7%-13% of the population. Women tend to be twice as likely to suffer from a phobia compared to men.
Some of the most common phobias include fears of public speaking or other social situations (social phobia or social anxiety disorder), open spaces
(agoraphobia), closed-in spaces (claustrophobia), clowns (coulrophobia), flying
(aerophobia), blood, animals (zoophobia), commitment (commitment phobia),
driving, spiders (arachnophobia), needles (aichmophobia), snakes (ophidiophobia),
math, heights (acrophobia or altophobia), germs (mysophobia), and having dental
work done (dentophobia). Fears of midgets, haunted houses, helmets, pickles, and feet are just a few of the less common fears/phobias and may be considered weird or strange by some but can be just as debilitating as those phobias that are more common. Agoraphobia often coexists with panic disorder.
Anxiety is a feeling of apprehension and fear characterized by physical symptoms. Anxiety disorders are serious medical illnesses that affect approximately 19 million American adults.
Panic attacks are sudden feelings of terror that strike without warning. These episodes can occur at any time, even during sleep. A person experiencing a panic attack may believe that he or she is having a heart attack or that death is imminent. The fear and terror that a person experiences during a panic attack are not in proportion to the true situation and may be unrelated to what is happening around them. Most people with panic attacks experience several of the following symptoms: racing heartbeat, faintness, dizzyness, numbness or tingling in the hands and fingers, chills, chest pains, difficulty breathing, and a feeling of loss or control. There are several treatments for panic attacks.
Alcoholism is a disease that includes alcohol craving and continued drinking despite repeated alcohol-related problems, such as losing a job or getting into trouble with the law.
Stress occurs when forces from the outside world impinge on the individual. Stress is a normal part of life. However, over-stress, can be harmful. There is now speculation, as well as some evidence, that points to the abnormal stress responses as being involved in causing various diseases or conditions.
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a psychiatric condition, can develop after any catastrophic life event. Symptoms include nightmares, flashbacks, sweating, rapid heart rate, detachment, amnesia, sleep problems, irritability, and exaggerated startle response. Treatment may involve psychotherapy, group support, and medication.
Bipolar disorder (or manic depression) is a mental illness characterized by depression, mania, and severe mood swings. Treatment may incorporate mood stabilizer medications, antidepressants, and psychotherapy.
Agoraphobia is a fear of being outside or of being in a situation from which escape would be impossible. Symptoms include anxiety, fear, disorientation, rapid heartbeat, diarrhea, or dizziness. Treatment may incorporate psychotherapy, self-exposure to the anxiety-causing situation, and medications such as SSRIs, benzodiazepines, and beta blockers.
Separation anxiety disorder is a common childhood anxiety disorder that has many causes. Infants, children, older kids and adults can suffer from symptoms of separation anxiety disorder. Common treatment methods include therapy and medications.
Mental health is an optimal way of thinking, relating to others, and feeling. All of the diagnosable mental disorders fall under the umbrella of mental illness. Depression, anxiety, and substance-abuse disorders are common types of mental illness. Symptoms and signs of mental illness include irritability, moodiness, insomnia, headaches, and sadness. Treatment may involve psychotherapy and medication.
Williams syndrome is a developmental disorder that affects many parts of the body. Features may include intellectual disability, learning problems, unique personality characteristics, distinctive facial features, and heart and blood vessel problems.
Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is a mood disorder that is characterized
by multiple and/or nonspecific worries that interfere with the person's life in
some way.
The most common anxiety disorders are specific phobias. Other anxiety
disorders include social anxiety disorder,
panic disorder, generalized anxiety
disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, and posttraumatic stress disorder.
GAD is quite common, affecting millions of people.
While there is no single cause of GAD, there are many factors that increase
the risk of developing this disorder.
Signs and symptoms of anxiety can include those that are emotional or
behavioral and ways of thinking that are responses to feeling as if one is in
danger.
The similarities and differences in symptoms of anxiety in adults compared
to children and adolescents depend on the diagnosis.
