Phobias, definition and symptoms

PHOBIAS

There are 3 categories of phobias identified by the DSM-IV: specific, social and agoraphobia
Biological explanations for phobias include: genetics, vulnerability in the autonomic nervous system, preparedness theory. The latter is both a biological and conditioning (behavioural) explanation
None of the biological explanations can yet offer a full account of phobia acquisition and several psychological theories have been proposed
Psychological explanations for phobias include: behavioural, cognitive and psychodynamic explanations

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Obsessive-complusive disorder is a type of anxiety disorder where intrusive and worrying thoughts lead to the performance of certain rituals in order to reduce anxiety
Biological explanations include genetic, biochemical and neurophysiological causes
OCD can be explained by the two-process theory of conditioning proposed by Mowrer
There is some evidence that OCD is related to cognitive functions such as attention and memory
The psychodynamic theory suggests OCD can result from a repressed traumatic memory or may be due to a failure to resolve a childhood crisis in psychosexual development

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The main drugs used for anxiety disorders are anti-depressants such as Prozac
There are a number of drawbacks to the use of drugs for the treatment of anxiety disorders, including unwanted side-effects and the length of time before any benefit is derived from them
Systematic desensitisation and flooding are two behavioural techniques that have proved useful in the treatment of anxiety
Cognitive treatment aims to replace faulty thinking with more realistic and constructive thinking patterns
Psychodynamic treatment has proved the least effective of the treatments avaliable for anxiety disorders and is rarely used

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