PHOBIAS

GENERAL INFORMATION

A phobia is an irrational and disproportionate fear that interferes with the person´s daily life. It can be presented by an encounter with an object or situation, or by the idea of dealing with a perceived threat. The person will look for a way to avoid the feared situation, bringing with this response severe consequences in their social, work or educational life. For example: avoiding boarding airplanes may put a person at risk the ability to enjoy travel or perform work activities that would allow for a promotion.

Phobias can occur in anyone. Adults are capable of realizing their fears and the excessive responses to situations that are distressing. Even when a person is aware of the excessiveness of the response, he or she will feel unable to control or reduce it. Professional help is needed to improve the quality of the person´s life by eliminating the fear.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What are the symptoms of a phobia?
There are identifiable physical symptoms when coming into contact with the aversive stimulus, among them are: accelerated heart rate, feeling dizzy, trembling, sweating, dry mouth, chest pain, agitated and choppy breathing and feeling a knot in the stomach. The symptoms also refer to disabling feelings of anxiety and fear. For the person who suffers a phobia, he or she can get nervous just thinking about the dreaded situation, so they end up avoiding the situation, which can severely restrict the quality of life.

What are the most common phobias?
The most common phobias are: specific phobias, which refer to the avoidance of certain situations or objects. For example, fear of insects, dirt, blood, etc. There are also phobias related to avoiding places or avoiding relationships with other people.

What is the treatment for phobias?
The psychotherapeutic treatment is to work with the origin of the fear. Cognitive errors that exacerbate fear reactions are explored. A therapist will work with the theme of the patient´s safety so that the negative perspectives of not being able to cope with a situation is reduced.

OUR TREATMENT MODEL

CADE offers a multidisciplinary treatment according to the characteristics and needs of the patient that is based on the patient´s diagnosis and an individual intervention plan.

A psychological or psychiatric disorder generally has a genetic or biological origin detonated by difficult and early or current traumatic experiences that lead the individual to become ill. Therefore, the clinical intervention in these disorders necessitates the multidisciplinary work of psychiatry, psychology, medicine, nutrition and complementary therapies. The treatment can be outpatient, inpatient or semi-inpatient based.