A phobia is an anxiety disorder involving fear of a situation or object. Image: Phobia Stock Photos
Phobia of the Day: What is Ergophobia?
A phobia is an anxiety disorder involving fear of a situation or object. Exposure to the source of the fear triggers an irrational response.
A phobia is an anxiety disorder involving fear of a situation or object. Image: Phobia Stock Photos
A phobia is an anxiety disorder involving excessive and persistent fear of a situation or object. Exposure to the source of the fear triggers an immediate anxiety response.
Most specific phobias fall into one of four major categories:
- Fears of the natural environment
- Fears related to animals
- Fear related to medical treatments or issues
- Fears related to specific situations
Phobia of the Day: Ergophobia is an extreme, irrational, and debilitating fear of working and of the features of work, such as specific tasks, social relationships, or speaking meetings
Ergophobia is an extreme, irrational, and debilitating fear of working and of the features of work, such as specific tasks, social relationships, or speaking meetings. In order to be diagnosed as ergophobia, symptoms must persist for over six months, and they shouldn’t be better explained by another diagnosis like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), generalized anxiety, or another phobia. Common symptoms of ergophobia include:
- Sweating
- Racing heart or heart palpitations
- Dry mouth
- Feeling suffocated or having difficulty catching one’s breath
- Full blown panic attacks
- Inability to meet work deadlines
- Difficulty staying in a job
- Long periods of unemployment
- Avoidance of taking on additional work responsibility
- Ruminating on negative work situations or challenges at work
- Disengagement from the workplace
SELF-CARE TIPS FOR PHOBIAS THAT BRING ON ANXIETY
- Talk to someone you trust.
- Learn to manage panic and anxiety.
- Look into joining a support group.
- Use self-help resources.
- Take a course for your specific phobia.
RECENT PHOBIA WORD POSTS:
Do you have a phobia you suffer from that you’d like to share?
If so, send an email to info@thesouthafrican.com or a WhatsApp to 060 011 0211 and we’ll publish the ones that we feel are most interesting!
You can also follow @TheSAnews on Twitter and The South African on Facebook for all the latest phobias.
