Tip : Learn To Calm Down Quickly
When youre afraid or anxious, you experience a variety of uncomfortable physical symptoms, such as a racing heart and a suffocating feeling. These physical sensations can be frightening themselvesand a large part of what makes your phobia so distressing. However, by learning how to calm yourself down quickly, you can become more confident in your ability to tolerate uncomfortable sensations and face your fears.
Perform a simple deep breathing exercise. When youre anxious, you tend to take quick, shallow breaths , which actually adds to the physical feelings of anxiety. By breathing deeply from the abdomen, you can reverse these physical sensations and feel less tense, less short of breath, and less anxious. Practice when youre feeling calm until youre familiar and comfortable with the exercise.
When Anxiety Disrupts Your Life It’s A Problem
One of the most common questions people with anxiety ask themselves is “what is the difference between normal anxiety and an anxiety disorder?” It’s true that not all problem anxiety qualifies as an anxiety disorder.
However, the answer isn’t always that simple. The reality is that if you feel as though your anxiety is causing a problem in your life, it may be beneficial to seek help. Some anxiety in life is normal, but anxiety that disrupts your quality of life is still a problem.
No matter what type of anxiety you’re dealing with, anxiety can be cured by the following strategies:
- Find out your specific type of anxiety.
- Accept that your anxiety is a problem.
- Understand your anxiety causes and triggers.
- Break them down into smaller pieces that you can manage.
- Change your lifestyle to be more anxiety free.
Below, we’ll examine the seven causes of anxiety.
You Don’t Have To Be Stupid To Support Someone
Yes, your fears may seem valid. If you don’t support someone who is suffering from depression and anxiety to move past these emotions and the problems that cause them, will they ever get better ? The key here is support.Pushing, or challenging, them can exacerbate an already stressful situation and make them worse. Here are some ways to support someone who is suffering from anxiety and depression :
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Try To Understand Phobias
- Find out as much as you can about phobias. Doing this will help you understand what someone might be experiencing. Our information on phobias is a good place to start. Reading personal experiences from the Mind blog can help too.
- Try to learn about their experience of living with a phobia. You could ask them how their phobia affects their life, or what can make it better or worse. Listening to their experience might help you empathise with how they feel.
Normal Fears In Children
Many childhood fears are natural and tend to develop at specific ages. For example, many young children are afraid of the dark and may need a nightlight to sleep. That doesnt mean they have a phobia. In most cases, they will grow out of this fear as they get older.
For example, the following childhood fears are extremely common and considered normal:
0-2 years Loud noises, strangers, separation from parents, large objects.
3-6 years Imaginary things such as ghosts, monsters, the dark, sleeping alone, strange noises.
7-16 years More realistic fears such as injury, illness, school performance, death, natural disasters.
If your childs fear is not interfering with their daily life or causing them a great deal of distress, then theres little cause for undue concern. However, if the fear is interfering with your childs social activities, school performance, or sleep, you may want to see a qualified child therapist.
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Treating Phobias With Medication
A few medications may be used to treat different kinds of phobias on their own or in conjunction with CBT. These medications arent considered cures, but they can help reduce or manage anxiety symptoms. Based on the type of phobia you have and the severity of your symptoms, your doctor will tell you if medication may be helpful for you and which type may be best. Be sure to ask your doctor questions about why they recommend a certain medication, the benefits of the medication, and what to expect while taking it.16
Medication options that may be used as a part of treating phobias include:
How Anxious Are You When Going To Math Class
Anyone can be nervous when going to math class. Typically, nervousness is a normal reaction to something that could be potentially scary. For example, if you know you are falling behind in class and havent done your homework, you might feel nervous going to class because you know you could be confronted with a low grade or extra work. But anxiety manifests differently, often accompanied by a physical reaction such as increased blood pressure, sweatiness, or stomach aches. If you experience the latter when going to math class, observe to what degree you experience the symptoms and address the issue with your teacher, tutor, or parents.
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How Long Does It Take To Get A Social Anxiety Diagnosis
In order to be diagnosed with social anxiety disorder, you must have been experiencing the symptoms outlined in the DSM-5 for at least 6 months or more. The DSM-5 diagnostic criteria also require ruling out other mental disorders such as panic disorder, body dysmorphic disorder, or autism spectrum disorder. It may therefore take multiple sessions with a mental health professional before they can confidently make a diagnosis of social anxiety disorder.
How Do You Know If You Have A Specific Phobia
Here are some of the signs that you may have a phobia and should seek treatment for it:16You feel intense anxiety or fear toward a specific thing, such as an object, location, or activity.You feel intense anxiety or fear toward broader circumstances, like social settings or being in public.Your fear is so intense that it leads you to avoid the source of your fear or endure it with great difficulty.Your fear is interfering with your ability to enjoy life or function normally.
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Take Their Phobia Seriously
It might feel hard to understand why someone has a phobia of a certain situation or object. Especially when their phobia seems irrational.
However, it’s important that you take their phobia seriously. Try to understand that their phobia can:
- cause severe anxiety
- cause panic and distress
- affect their daily life.
You may not be able to see why they are so afraid of something. But the anxiety and fear they feel is very real.
“I never complain because I see no point in doing so, but I get very tired of being politely mocked for my fear.”
What’s The Difference Between Fear And Phobia
Fear is a natural emotion triggered by the brain in response to situations that it considers dangerous. Fear protects us from danger, or at least allows us to calculate the risks of a scary situation and take precautions. A phobia is an exaggerated and intense version of fear that leads us to feel extreme anxiety in certain settings even though the situation poses little or no danger. While occasional fear can protect us, phobias can greatly interfere with your quality of life.
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Find Out What Helps Them
Ask your friend or family member what you can do to help. For example, it might help to:
- take them out of the situation
- talk to them calmly
- do breathing exercises with them.
This might help them feel safer and calmer when they start to feel frightened or panicked. Knowing that you are around, and know what to do, can feel reassuring.
“I feel better if I have someone with me who knows about my anxiety and how to calm me down. It helps if I just focus on that person talking.”
Facing Your Phobia May Be The Best Way To Beat It
Debilitating fears might feel all-powerful, but that doesnt mean youre incapable of overpowering them. Remember, your phobia is literally all in your head. Your fight-or-flight response is triggered when your brain sends out a disproportionate danger signal in reaction to the thing or situation that scares you. That means you avoid it at all costs and never allow your brain to reassess the threat. That’s why the best way to overcome your phobia is to recalibrate your brains response by exposing yourself to it gradually, of course. You can either face your phobia directly or with mental imagery, videos, or virtual reality. Set a time limit, and make sure you stop just before you feel too anxious. Bit by bit, youre training your mind to respond to your phobia with less fear. This takes a little bravery and a lot of patience, but it will free you from the fears that cripple you.
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The Difference Between Fear And Phobia
The term phobia gets thrown around a lot these days, but having a fear and having a phobia arent exactly the same thing.
Essentially, fear is temporary; phobia isnt.
Having a phobia creates a stumbling block in your life, and the fear it causes can be so strong that youll do anything to avoid the object of that phobia. Phobia that becomes debilitating is a type of anxiety disorder. Take, for example, a job offer. You made it through the hardest partlanding your dream positiononly to find out that your office will be on the 20th floor of an office buildingand you have a phobia of heights. In order to avoid being so high off the ground, you turn the position down and pass up a significant job opportunity because of your phobia.1
Phobias can be debilitating and crippling, and they can keep you from enjoying the things you love with the people you love. But it doesnt have to be this way. There is hope and help for people with phobias.
Although Anxiety And Depression Are Used To Describe Everyone’s Emotions It Is Not An Emotion But A Disorder For Some
Anxiety and depression are emotions that everyone experiences in response to stressors. At this occasional frequency, they are part of normal, healthy life where you can expect the emotions to subside once the stressor has passed. However, for those who suffer from anxiety and depression, these emotions do not go away. Instead, they are persistent and build upon each other as more and more stressors intersect throughout the day.
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How Do You Get Treatment For Phobias
Phobias are really difficult to manage alone, and luckily, you dont have to theres help out there. Like many other anxiety disorders, they respond well to treatment. The first step is to see your GP or mental health professional, or get in touch with a professional service online or over the phone.
Your doctor will work with you, at a pace that suits you, to figure out a treatment plan that works for you. This could include a combination of therapy, medication and self-management strategies. Get some more information about treatments for anxiety disorders here.
What Causes Phobias
Specific phobias usually develop before the age of ten. They can be the result of a frightening early experience with a specific object or situation . Phobias can also start during childhood from witnessing the phobia of someone close to them .
The causes of complex phobias are harder to determine. Its thought that these phobias result from a combination of life experiences, personality traits, genetics and family history. Find more information about the causes of phobias and anxiety disorders here.
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How Accurate Is It
This quiz is;NOT a diagnostic tool. Mental health disorders can only be diagnosed by licensed healthcare professionals. If youd like to learn more about social anxiety disorder read;Psycoms guide to Social Anxiety Disorder: Symptoms, Causes, and Treatments.
Psycom;believes assessments can be a valuable first step toward getting treatment. All too often people stop short of seeking help out of fear their concerns arent legitimate or severe enough to warrant professional intervention.
Do I Have Social Anxiety Or Am I Just Shy
Social anxiety disorder is a chronic mental health condition in which social interactions cause irrational anxiety. Social anxiety is more than just feeling shy. People with social anxiety have an intense fear of situations where they could be watched, judged, embarrassed, or rejected by others. The symptoms are so extreme that they interfere with the persons daily routine and prevent them from taking part in ordinary activities.
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Does Social Anxiety Ever Go Away
For most people, social anxiety disorder will not go away without treatment. It is very important to seek help from a mental health professional if you believe you are experiencing symptoms of social anxiety disorder. Cognitive behavioral therapy is generally considered the most effective form of treatment for social anxiety. CBT is a form of therapy that enables you to identify negative patterns of thought and behavior and change them.
National Institute of Mental Health. Social Anxiety Disorder: More Than Just Shyness. Accessed 4/21/21.
What Triggers Social Anxiety
Some events, emotions, or experiences may make it more likely for the symptoms of social anxiety to begin or worsenthese are known as triggers. Some common triggers of social anxiety disorder include meeting new people, attending social events, making small talk, being watched while doing something, etc. Social anxiety triggers can differ from person to person and so working with a mental health professional to identify what your triggers are and how you can react when faced with them can be incredibly helpful.
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Quiz: Which Phobia Do I Have
Welcome to “Which Phobia Do I Have” quiz. A phobia is a fear for something. In most people, some phobias can go unnoticed, whereas some make it hard for someone to live a healthy life. Do you know which phobia you may be prone to have or might be suffering from? Take up the quiz and get to find out!
- Which of these do you often feel?
- A. 
Why should I? I’m ugly in the first place.
I may be sad, But not afraid.
Yes, That’s why I’m taking care my face.
Yes, I do love watching horror.
No! I don’t like it, It’s very creepy.
Sometimes I do, but not always.
Yes, I hate them, They are very ugly.
I don’t have dolls in my room.
No, I can’t, I’m so afraid it may become like Chucky.
If it’s beautiful, I will like it. If it’s ugly doll then I will throw it.
No, they said bad omen will happen every 13th.
I do the same, it’s like an ordinary day.
Yes, I am… Why shouldn’t I?
It depends if I have something to do or none.
I will die exactly 13th day of the month.
I am eaten by a zombie.
I am being chase by Chucky.
Your Reactions To The Follow Images Will Tell You Exactly What Phobia You Have Take This Quiz To Discover Your Deepest Fears
How do you feel about the picture?
How do you feel about the picture?
How do you feel about the picture?
Arachnophobia
Arachnophobia
You have Arachnophobia, the irrational fear of spiders! How you reacted to each of the pictures reveals your deepest fear of SPIDERS. There’s nothing worse you could imagine than waking up covered in SPIDERS!
Ophidiophobia
Ophidiophobia
You have Ophidiophobia, the irrational fear of snakes! Your reaction to all of the pictures in this quiz reveals a deep dear of those terrifying reptiles that crawl on their bellies: SNAKES! You couldn’t imagine anything worse than a pit full of slithering SNAKES!
Acrophobia
Acrophobia
You have Acrophobia, the irrational fear of heights and falling! Based on your reaction to the images in this quiz there is not doubt that you’re absolutely terrified of heights. You couldn’t imagine anything worse than standing on the ledge of a skyscraper, looking down!
Mysophobia
Mysophobia
You have Mysophobia, the irrational fear of contamination and germs! Based on how you reacted to these images, you are the ultimate germophobe! You strive for cleanliness in your life and always maintain a healthy environment for yourself. There’s nothing more terrifying for you than between stuck in a dirty bathroom with someone sneezing all over you!
Social Phobia
Social Phobia
Aquaphobia
Aquaphobia
Agateophobia
Agateophobia
Autophobia
Autophobia
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How To Cope With University Anxiety
The past 18 months have no doubt been a rollercoaster. Add that to moving out of your family home, meeting new people and never ending deadlines, its no surprise that you may feel a bit out of your depth. But its important to know, youre absolutely not alone.
According to the University Mental Health Survey, as many as 1 in 5 students suffer from mental health related issues like anxiety, which is why its essential to be able to spot the signs, so you can get your wellbeing back on track.
Here are six top tips on how to cope with university anxiety and get back to feeling like you.