Fears/phobias that are roadblocks to your life-work journey
Trypanophobia is one of my major fears, which refers to an extreme fear of procedures involving injections. This condition appeared when I was a teenager and has not stopped yet. I did not undergo procedures involving needles in my childhood, and therefore, I do fear them a lot. On a scale of 1 to 10, I would give it 9. It is the highest level of fear that I have. My sisters and my mother have this fear; I, therefore, think it’s a genetically inherited phobia (Starinova et al. 2016). The symptoms associated include panic attacks, anxiety, running away from medical care, and feeling physically and emotionally violent. The way to manage this fear that I am using is creating confidence and mastery over my thoughts and feelings. This phobia is interfering with my life and work because I cannot be able to accept to go to the hospital when sick easily.
The second phobia is entomophobia, which refers to an extreme fear of insects. This condition appeared to me during my teenage. On a scale of 1 to 10, I can rate it at 5. The symptoms include anxiety that grows when an insect comes closer, inability to control the fear despite the knowledge that it is harmless, and doing all things to avoid insects (Eaton et al. 2018). To manage this fear, I try to get close to some insects like grasshoppers. This fear interferes with my life work journey because I cannot touch insects when I see it. Cognitive-behavioral therapy can assist in getting through this fear, and it’s something I am willing to do.
The third phobia is ophidiophobia, which refers to the fear of snakes (Starinova et al. 2016). This phobia started when I was a kid. On the scale of one to 10, the fear is at 4. The symptoms of this phobia include nausea, trembling and shaking, and increased heart-beat. To manage this fear, I do visit places reserved for wild animals to get exposed to snakes. This fear is limiting my life, especially when I see a snake-like form and get tensed. I am willing to undergo exposure therapy to manage this fear.
The fourth phobia is a fear of heights. This phobia started when I was in grade 3. On a scale of 1 to 10, the phobia is at 6. The symptoms of this phobia include shaking, crying, dizziness, and yelling (Eaton et al. 2018). To manage this fear, I am trying to learn all I can think about it. Also, relaxation is another helpful technique. Since I fear heights, I cannot live on the third floor of a building, and I find it difficult climbing tall buildings, even for work-related purposes. The gradual adoption of some behavioral techniques is what I am planning to utilize.
The last phobia is nyctophobia, which is the fear of darkness (Starinova et al. 2016). This fear started a long way when I was a little girl. On a scale of 1 to 10, the fear is at 4. The symptoms associated with this fear include racing heartbeats, trembling, and light-headedness. To manage this fear, sometimes I try sleeping with the lights off. This fear is majorly interfering with my life because I cannot stay in a dark place. I am willing to take up exposure therapy to treat this phobia.
References
Starinova, M. V., Naboka, O. I., Filiptsova, O. V., Burlaka, I. S., Dyomina, Y. V. & Pidhaina, V. V. (2016). Phobias: types, genetic, and environmental causes, influence, and therapy.
Eaton, W. W., Bienvenu, O. J., & Miloyan, B. (2018). Specific phobias. The Lancet Psychiatry, 5(8), 678-686.