No- agoraphobia is not a social phobia or a specific phobia. Agoraphobia is a fear of places where escape may be difficult or help may not be available in the event of you having a panic attack or other incapacitating or embarrassing symptoms (fear of falling, fear of incontinence, etc.). Furthermore, agoraphobia diagnosis requires the […]
Can You Develop A Fear Of Heights Through Classical Conditioning?
Yes, you can develop a fear of heights through classical conditioning. So the basic idea for classical conditioning is this: an unconditioned stimulus (US) naturally produces an unconditioned response (UR). But when you pair a US with a conditioned stimulus (CS), then this continues to produce the UR. After multiple pairings, the CS can be presented alone to […]
How are phobias caused biologically?
Phobias (also known as specific phobia) are triggered by a stressful or fearful experience or object. This fearful sensory input is then sent to the amygdala (the fear processing center of the brain), where it ‘remembers’ the fearful stimulus. The activated amygdala also starts the cascade known as the fight or flight response, where the sympathetic […]
How Specific Phobia Evolves- The Negative Cycle of Specific Phobia
Previously, we had discussed how anxiety evolves from the negative cycle of anxiety: triggers lead to thoughts about the situation or event, which lead to anxiety, which lead to avoidant behaviors which maintain the negative cycle of anxiety. When anxiety starts to disrupt your life, then an anxiety disorder may emerge. Anxiety disorders are divided […]