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Fear neurosis symptoms. Anxiety, fears, panic attacks

Phobic (or anxiety-phobic) neurosis is one of the many types of neuroses. The main manifestation of this disorder is an uncontrollable feeling of fear and anxiety as a reaction to a specific object (object, action, memory, etc.). This feeling is so strong that a person is unable to control himself, even if he realizes that the fear is groundless and his life and health are not in danger.

Phobic neurosis is associated with an uncontrollable feeling of fear

A person can develop a phobia in two cases:

if a person directly had a bad experience in the past regarding some thing, action, place and other similar objects. For example, after accidental painful contact with a hot iron, fear of hot objects may develop in the future;
if the object is associated with thoughts and memories of a negative nature. For example, in the past, while talking on the phone, there was a fire or someone got hurt.

The development and occurrence of phobic neuroses are influenced by:

heredity;
human character: increased anxiety, constant state of worry, excessive responsibility, suspiciousness;
emotional stress and physical exhaustion;
disturbances in the functioning of the body's endocrine system;
sleep disturbance and poor diet;
infections and bad habits that cause significant harm to the body.

Often these disorders occur against the background of another disease: schizophrenia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, psychasthenia, obsessional neurosis.

The risk of phobic neurosis increases during certain periods of a person’s life: during puberty, early adulthood and immediately before menopause.

Types of phobic neuroses

The most common phobia at the moment is the fear of open spaces - agrophobia. A person suffering from this disorder, depending on the severity of the disease, either tries not to leave the house unnecessarily, or is unable to force himself to even leave his own room.

Claustrophobia - fear of closed and enclosed spaces

The opposite of this phobia is claustrophobia. A person is seized with fear at the moment when he is in a closed space. This is especially true for elevators.

According to the severity of manifestation, phobic neuroses are divided into three groups:

mild degree– fear arises from direct contact with the object of fear;
average degree– fear arises in anticipation of contact with the object of fear;
severe– just the thought of the object of fear seizes a person into panic.

Most often, phobias arise in adolescence against the background of hormonal changes in the body, and then they can develop into obsessive fears or, conversely, disappear. The beginning of such disorders is always direct or indirect contact with a future object of fear, which is negative in nature. Patients are critical of their illness and may realize the groundlessness of their own fears, but at the same time they are not able to get rid of them.

Signs of phobic nephrosis

Common symptoms of phobic neuroses include:

panic attacks;
disturbances in the functioning of the autonomic organ system (cardiovascular system, respiratory system, etc.);
headache;
general weakness;
sleep disorders;
depression;
emotional tension.

All these signs are easy to detect when the patient comes into contact with the subject of the phobia.

Depression may be one of the symptoms of phobic neurosis

In medicine, all symptoms are divided into 4 groups:

Panic attacks are intense fear and a feeling of imminent death, accompanied by increased sweating, heart rhythm disturbances, dizziness, nausea, difficulty breathing and a feeling of the unreality of what is happening.
Agrophobia is a fear of open spaces, large crowds of people, and in severe cases, fear of leaving one’s own home or room.
Hypohodrical phobias are the fear of contracting some disease or the feeling that a person is already terminally ill.
Social phobias are the fear of being the center of attention, being criticized or ridiculed.

There are many types of phobias

Treatment of phobic neuroses

If you have a question about the consequences and treatment of phobic neurosis, you need to consult a doctor, and not self-medicate and rely on Internet resources for everything. Ill-informed treatment can only worsen the situation.

For mild forms of phobias, you can limit yourself to attending sessions with a professional psychoanalyst.

For more advanced cases, cognitive behavioral therapy is considered the most effective method. Its main task is to teach the patient to manage his own emotions and fears through a detailed examination of the situations in which an attack occurs, identifying the causes and ways to get rid of such reactions.

Drug therapy is used in combination with any psychotherapy. It is impossible to overcome a phobia with medications alone.

A therapist can help treat phobias

In addition to basic treatment methods, doctors usually recommend relaxing massage, yoga or meditation, herbal medicine, short regular rest in sanatoriums, and acupuncture.

Phobias and various fears are very diverse, they are the most common. At the same time, the nature of the patients’ behavior is appropriate. Signs of fear neurosis are not difficult to determine, since the patient’s behavior demonstrates them quite eloquently. For example, the patient begins to be afraid of certain objects, he asks his loved ones to remove this object from him as far as possible. If a person is afraid of closed spaces, then he can hardly tolerate public transport and cannot stay indoors if it is closed, especially alone.

With fear of contamination, the patient may wash their hands all day long, even without stopping when the skin begins to change. At the same time, such people constantly try to boil towels, linen, various rags, achieving their sterility. If the neurosis of fear is expressed in heart attack phobia, then such a person is constantly afraid that he may have a heart attack on the street, and no one will notice it or provide help. In this regard, the patient chooses a route to work that is close to pharmacies or clinics. But if such a person sits in a doctor’s office, then he understands that his fears are unfounded and calms down.

Thus, fear neurosis is caused by various phobias associated with specific situations and a group of ideas. Basically, obsessive actions are of the nature of actions taken above the necessary measures, when a person cannot stand a closed room, is afraid of open areas, and so on. Sometimes patients say that they are inexplicably drawn to count windows, train cars, passing cars of a certain color, and so on. Some tics, especially complex ones, can be included in this category.

In anxiety neurosis, obsessive states can be divided into obsessive ideas, fears and thoughts, but such measures are conditional. The fact is that each obsessive phenomenon is very conditional, since it contains certain ideas, drives and feelings that are closely related to each other. Many patients have their own rituals and obsessions. The fear neurosis observed in psychasthenic psychopaths is considered as a special form of neurosis called psychasthenia. Among the main features of psychasthenics are timidity, indecisiveness, constant doubt, and a state of anxious suspiciousness. In particular, they are characterized by such qualities as an increased sense of duty and anxiety.

The basis is reduced mental stress, and as a result, full-fledged higher mental acts are replaced by lower ones. Fear neurosis can be expressed in the inability to perform a certain function, since a person is constantly afraid that he will fail. Moreover, this can apply to absolutely any area. More often this has to do with public speaking, sexual functions, and so on. In addition, fear neurosis has no age restrictions; both children and elderly people are susceptible to it. For example, a speech disorder may occur due to the fact that there was an unsuccessful reading of a report in public, during which the person was worried, and speech inhibition occurred. It is not surprising that in the future the anxious expectation of failure when speaking in public is reinforced and spreads to any normal setting.

According to the same principle, the development of the expectation of failure during sexual intercourse occurs when one of the partners felt not up to par. Anxiety neurosis is always accompanied by significant anxiety; this is its main symptom. Fear itself is not dependent on the situation or certain ideas; rather, it can be called meaningless, without motivation. Such fear is primary and psychologically incomprehensible; it is not derived from other experiences, but arises on its own. Sometimes, under the influence of such fear, anxious fears arise that have no connection with this fear. Fear neurosis is often associated with a hereditary predisposition. A significant role in the formation of the disease is assigned to the first attack, which is the beginning of the disease.

The occurrence of this disease can be influenced by certain somatic causes; the presence of traumatic and psychogenic factors is also important. A special variant of this disease is considered to be affective-shock neurosis, otherwise it is called fear neurosis, which has its own forms. The simple form is characterized by a slow course of mental processes, as well as certain somato-vegetative disorders. The course of the disease is acute, it occurs after a mental shock injury, signaling danger. In this case, the person turns pale, tachycardia occurs, blood pressure fluctuates, and breathing becomes rapid.

In particular, this form is characterized by increased frequency of urination, loss of appetite, and dry mouth. A person may lose weight, his hands begin to tremble, and his legs feel weak. Thought processes are also inhibited, and verbal and speech reactions worsen. Recovery occurs gradually, but the most difficult thing to restore is disturbed sleep. In the assisted form, anxiety typically occurs, there is motor restlessness, and verbal and speech reactions are also slowed down. The stuporous form of fear neurosis is combined with

When a person is in danger, it is normal to feel fear and anxiety. After all, in this way our body prepares to act more effectively - “fight or flee.”

But unfortunately, some people tend to experience anxiety either too often or too intensely. It also happens that manifestations of anxiety and fear appear for no particular reason or for a trivial reason. In cases where anxiety interferes with leading a normal life, the person is considered to have an anxiety disorder.

Symptoms of Anxiety Disorders

According to annual statistics, 15-17% of the adult population suffers from some form of anxiety disorder. The most common symptoms are:

Cause of anxiety and fear

Everyday events are often associated with stress. Even such seemingly ordinary things as standing in a car during rush hour, celebrating a birthday, lack of money, living in cramped conditions, overexertion at work or conflicts in the family are all stressful. And we are not talking about wars, accidents or diseases.

In order to cope with a stressful situation more effectively, the brain gives a command to our sympathetic nervous system (see figure). It puts the body into a state of arousal, causes the adrenal glands to release the hormone cortisol (and others), increases heart rate, and causes a number of other changes that we experience as fear or anxiety. This, let’s say, “ancient” animal reaction helped our ancestors survive in difficult conditions.

When the danger has passed, the parasympathetic nervous system is activated. It normalizes heart rate and other processes, bringing the body to a state of rest.

Normally, these two systems balance each other.

Now imagine that for some reason a failure occurred. (A detailed analysis of typical causes is presented).

And the sympathetic nervous system begins to become excited, reacting with feelings of anxiety and fear to such minuscule stimuli that other people do not even notice...

People then experience fear and anxiety with or without reason. Sometimes their condition is constant and enduring anxiety. Sometimes they feel nervous or impatient, have difficulty concentrating, or have trouble sleeping.

If such anxiety symptoms persist long enough, then, according to the DSM-IV, a doctor may diagnose generalized anxiety disorder» .

Or another type of “failure” - when the sympathetic nervous system hyperactivates the body for no particular reason, not constantly and weakly, but in strong bursts. Then they talk about panic attacks and, accordingly, panic disorder. We have written quite a bit about this type of anxiety-phobic disorder in others.

About treating anxiety with medications

Probably, after reading the text above, you will think: well, if my nervous system is unbalanced, then it needs to be brought back to normal. Let me take the appropriate pill and everything will be fine! Fortunately, the modern pharmaceutical industry offers a huge selection of products.

Some of the anti-anxiety drugs are typical “bullshit” drugs that have not even undergone normal clinical trials. If anyone is helped, it is through the mechanisms of self-hypnosis.

Others - yes, they really relieve anxiety. True, not always, not completely and temporarily. We mean serious tranquilizers, in particular those of the benzodiazepine series. For example, such as diazepam, gidazepam, Xanax.

However, their use is potentially dangerous. First, when people stop taking these medications, anxiety usually returns. Secondly, these drugs cause real physical dependence. Thirdly, such a crude method of influencing the brain cannot remain without consequences. Drowsiness, problems with concentration and memory, and depression are common side effects of treating anxiety with medications.

And yet... How to treat fear and anxiety?

We believe that an effective, and at the same time gentle on the body, way of treating increased anxiety is psychotherapy.

Just not outdated conversational methods like psychoanalysis, existential therapy or gestalt. Control studies indicate that these types of psychotherapy produce very modest results. And then, at best.

What about modern psychotherapeutic methods: EMDR therapy, cognitive behavioral psychotherapy, hypnosis, short-term strategic psychotherapy! With their help, you can solve many therapeutic problems, for example, changing inadequate attitudes that underlie anxiety. Or teaching clients to “control themselves” in stressful situations is more effective.

The integrated use of these methods for anxiety neuroses is more effective than treatment with medications. Judge for yourself:

the probability of a successful result is about 87%! This figure is not only the result of our observations. There are many clinical trials confirming the effectiveness of psychotherapy.

noticeable improvement in condition after 2-3 sessions.

short-termism. In other words, you don’t need to go to a psychologist for years; usually 6 to 20 sessions are required. This depends on the degree of neglect of the disorder, as well as other individual characteristics of the person applying.

How is fear and anxiety treated?

Psychological diagnostics- the main goal of the first meeting between the client and the psychotherapist (sometimes two). Deep psychodiagnostics is what further treatment is based on. Therefore, it must be as accurate as possible, otherwise nothing will work. Here is a checklist for a good diagnosis:

the real, underlying causes of anxiety have been found;

a clear and rational treatment plan for anxiety disorder has been drawn up;

the client fully understands the mechanisms of psychotherapeutic procedures (this alone gives relief, because the end of all suffering is visible!);

you feel sincere interest and care about you (in general, we believe that this condition should be present everywhere in the service industry).

Effective treatment, in our opinion, this is when:

scientifically proven and clinically tested methods of psychotherapy are used;

the work is carried out, if possible, without medications, which means no side effects, no contraindications for pregnant and nursing mothers;

the techniques used by the psychologist are safe for the psyche, the patient is reliably protected from repeated psychological trauma (and sometimes “victims” of amateurs of all stripes turn to us);

the specialist helps to increase the independence and confidence of his client, and does not seek to make him dependent on the therapist.

Sustainable results- this is a consequence of intensive joint work between the client and the psychotherapist. Our statistics show that on average this requires 14-16 meetings. Sometimes you come across people who achieve excellent results in 6-8 meetings. In particularly advanced cases, 20 sessions are not enough. What do we mean by “quality” result?

Sustained psychotherapeutic effect, no relapses. So that it doesn’t happen as often happens when treating anxiety disorders with medications: if you stop taking them, fear and other symptoms return.

There are no residual effects. Let's turn again to drug treatment. Typically, people taking medications still feel anxious, albeit through a veil. From such a “smoldering” state a fire can flare up. It shouldn't be this way.

The person is reliably protected from possible stress in the future, which (theoretically) could provoke the appearance of anxiety symptoms. That is, he is trained in self-regulation methods, has high resistance to stress, and is able to properly take care of himself in difficult situations.

Some people are constantly tense; everything in the world causes them anxiety and panic. Will prices in stores increase, will there be health problems, will a meteorite fall? People who constantly worry about any reason suffer from fear neurosis (another name is anxiety neurotic disorder). It is possible to cope with the problem. High-quality psychotherapy and a person’s desire to overcome pathology eliminate it.

Why does fear neurosis occur?

Fear neurosis has many “fathers”. But most often the disorder appears due to:

psychological trauma (dismissal, divorce). A person begins to lose ground under his feet, the future becomes foggy. This is what gives rise to neurosis;
severe stressful situations (passing an exam, moving to another city, pregnancy). Too harsh ones inspire uncertainty and cause fear;
"psychological heredity". If a child grows up in a “neurotic” family, where parents are constantly worried, then he gradually becomes anxious himself.

Fear neurosis can be caused not only by mental, but also by physiological problems. It is provoked by:

pathologically active thyroid gland;
hormonal imbalances caused by various diseases, menopause;
genetic predisposition. According to statistics, people whose close relatives are susceptible to fear neurosis suffer from this disorder several times more often than others.

Manifestations of anxiety-neurotic disorder

Unlike a phobia, where the object of fear is a specific thing or situation, anxiety neurosis does not “crystallize” into something specific. The entire life of an individual suffering from this disorder is “colored” by fear. Its sources only change periodically. This fear is not as strong as, but it lasts much longer, generating constant internal tension and a feeling of danger.

Fear neurosis differs from natural anxiety in its irrationality and intensity. Insignificant events become the reason for strong feelings in an “anxious neurotic”. For example, as soon as a person finds out that the company in which he works has suffered minor losses, it immediately begins to seem that they are about to lay off. And no reason can remove fear. Obsessive anxious thoughts constantly “scream” that they will soon be fired. They interfere with work, they interfere with rest. These persistent thoughts give rise to fear of an “ominous” unpredictable future and cause a feeling of complete helplessness.

The disorder also causes:

serious sleep problems, gives rise to nightmares. It is impossible to fall asleep without sleeping pills or strong sedatives;
severe problems with concentration, forgetfulness;
irritability, mild excitability;
chronic fatigue, which is not relieved by proper sleep and rest;
muscle tension and pain;
chronic stomach problems, diarrhea, indigestion;
pressure surges, rapid pulse, shortness of breath and dizziness.

Fear neurosis is the “father” of a host of other psychological problems. It generates:

clinical depression. This is a very common companion to anxiety neurosis. Together they form a kind of tandem, which is often called anxiety-depressive neurosis;
hypochondria - continuous pathological worry about one’s own health;
obsessive-compulsive neurosis;
a wide variety of “specific” phobias - closed spaces, being late for work, etc. At the same time, the neurosis of fear does not disappear anywhere, it is present in the mind along with a specific phobia.

How to distinguish neurosis from psychosis?

The similarity between neurosis and psychosis is no more than superficial:

psychosis “separates” the individual from reality and greatly distorts the perception of the world. Whereas neurosis only exaggerates problems and makes mountains out of molehills. However, a person perceives what is happening quite sensibly;
A neurotic does not have delusional ideas; his train of thoughts is quite logical. Yes, he may think that, for example, he will be fired when the likelihood of this is negligible. However, a neurotic will never begin to believe that evil aliens will deliberately take away his job.

If the unrealistic fear of a neurotic can be broken by the arguments of reason, then no facts or evidence will have any effect on a person who has psychosis.

Treatment of fear neurosis

To ease anxiety and anxiety-depressive neurotic disorders, you should use the following recommendations.

Physical activity

In the treatment of fear neurosis, exercise is a natural “anti-stressor”. They:

relieve muscle tension;
burn “anxiety” hormones (adrenaline);
stimulate the production of happiness hormones - serotonin, endorphin;
harden the body, making it more resistant to stress.

Therefore, try to devote at least 30 minutes a day to physical activity. Do aerobics, run, dance, swim, walk. And “tighten” your facial muscles more often. Laugh, smile even at bad jokes. This will ease internal tension and reduce anxiety.

Pay special attention to breathing

Neurotic disorders always disrupt breathing, making it short and frequent. Calm, deep breaths relax you and help release the grip of anxiety. Once every 3-4 hours 5-10 minutes do the following exercise:

Slowly inhale deeply. Be sure to do this with your nose (mouth closed).
Hold your breath for 3-4 seconds and begin to exhale very slowly (slower than you inhaled).

Give up bad habits

Forget about alcohol and cigarettes. They don't help, they only make the problem worse. Alcohol and nicotine only relieve anxiety for a short time. Then the fear returns. And with greater force.

Pharmaceutical treatment

Treatment of fear neurosis with pharmaceuticals is used to consolidate the effect of psychotherapy. The most effective ways to solve the problem are:

antidepressants (especially serotonin reuptake inhibitors). These drugs act slowly but surely. Anxiety begins to subside within 2–4 weeks from the start of use;
tranquilizers (gidazepam and other benzodiazepines). These drugs are used to quickly eliminate severe anxiety attacks and panic attacks. The drugs act quickly (within 30 minutes after administration). However, doctors do not recommend using tranquilizers for a long time, as addiction is possible.

Herbal medicine and folk remedies

Herbal medicine and some folk recipes are very effective against anxiety neurotic disorder:

mint with lemon balm. Another good way to get rid of the problem. Take 50 g of crushed mint and lemon balm leaves. Pour half a liter of boiling water. We don’t touch it for half an hour to let it brew. Then we filter and consume in small portions;
peony tincture. It is sold at the pharmacy. We drink 30–40 drops three times a day for one month;
valerian. Helps well with anxiety neurosis. Take one tablespoon of plant root (crushed). Pour a glass of boiling water and leave overnight. In the morning, strain it thoroughly, drink about two tablespoons a day.

A bath with valerian is also very useful. We prepare it like this:

Take 60 grams of plant root and put it in a saucepan.
Fill with water and boil for 20 minutes.
We do not touch it for an hour to allow the product to infuse.
Then we filter it and pour it into the bathroom (of course, first heat the water in it).

We take a bath for 20 minutes.

Psychotherapeutic treatment of anxiety neurosis

The best way to overcome anxiety-depressive neurosis is

One of the most effective weapons against a painful problem is cognitive behavioral therapy. A behaviorist determines what thoughts and ideas cause anxiety and begins to “expose” them.

The therapist asks the client how likely it is that his “catastrophic” assumptions will be true. And what is the chance that everything will not be so scary. This is how a person gradually begins to understand the groundlessness and unreality of his worries.

Psychoanalysis also helps very effectively. The psychoanalyst finds the original cause of anxiety, the “trigger” that gave rise to it (usually in early childhood). Then he helps the client to sublimate the neurotic disorder, turn it into “useful mental energy” that moves forward.

Hypnotic therapy is also very effective in combating anxiety neurosis. A specialist hypnotherapist will work through the patient’s neurotic disorder, change his attitude towards the root cause of fear, which will allow him to completely get rid of it. Psychologist-hypnologist Nikita Valerievich Baturin Over the years, it has been helping to free oneself from the shackles of anxiety and worry. Using time-tested hypnotic techniques, a specialist will work through fear neurosis, eliminate symptoms, and build a strong defense in the patient’s mind that protects him from a painful disorder.

Good practical advice can be found at YouTube channel.

Fear neurosis can turn life into a nightmare. However, with the help of an experienced psychotherapist and a personal desire to cope with the problem, it will be possible to regain confidence and inner peace.

Fears and phobias do not allow you to fully live and function; they take away mental resources to combat them. Therefore, treating fears is the most important task of psychology and psychiatry. In order to defeat them, it is necessary to study the phenomena associated with them: anxiety, panic, phobia.

What is fear?

Fear is an emotion associated with a concrete or abstract danger, as well as a human condition caused by a number of mental and psychological reasons.

If fear prevents you from adequately assessing the environment and acting rationally, it causes irresistible horror, increased blood pressure, and the appearance of disorientation - this condition is called panic.

Phobia - a persistent fear of a specific object, irrational and obsessive, associated with the fear of not being able to control something, anxiety when thinking about a frightening object, the presence of physiological manifestations (palpitations, etc.)

Fears arise due to mental trauma, and in the first time after it they are considered a natural phenomenon. But if they continue to bother you for years, this is a good reason to consult a specialist.

Symptoms

This form of condition, such as fear neurosis, manifests itself both in changes in behavior and processes in the body. A person is constantly exposed to emotional stress, gets tired quickly, doesn’t get enough sleep, worries about various things, and finds it difficult to choose priorities and his roles in society. Fear neurosis borders on such conditions as a feeling of unreality of what is happening, a strange sense of self.

Main symptoms of phobia:

inability to control fear;
obsessive, haunting fear;
dizziness, shortness of breath;
rapid heartbeat;
sweating, nausea;
feeling of a “lump in the throat”;
feeling of heat or chills in the body;
shiver; numbness, tingling;
inability to move;
pain in the chest, stomach;
frequent urination;
fear of going crazy;
fear of death.

Reasons

According to one version, phobias arise as a subconscious reaction to protect against an irresistible attraction to something. This also includes the obsessive fear of killing another, which transforms into neurosis.

Mental disorders can be accompanied by high anxiety, which leads to the formation of phobias. They are associated with phobic and anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Stress occurs in a healthy person as a reaction to prolonged emotional stress, misunderstanding in the family or in a team, unrequited love, and so on. With the loss of the ability to cope with fears, a person’s anxiety is embodied in fear-fantasies from childhood.

Stressful events such as a change of residence, the loss of a loved one, or the birth of a child provoke anxiety and stress. A hereditary predisposition to anxiety, combined with frequent stressful situations, strengthens the prerequisites for anxiety neurosis.

The cause of fear is the conflict of desires with goals and possibilities. There is constant pathological agitation. Long-term stressful effects of a characteristic situation on the psyche lead to chronic conditions.

Drug treatment

A person suffering from anxiety neuroses and panic attacks should acquire medications that block characteristic manifestations: Validol, Glycised, Corvalol, drugs based on motherwort and valerian.

The drugs of the last century for the treatment of fears were “Sodium Bromide” and “Potassium Bromide”; modern means are tranquilizers and antidepressants.

Tranquilizers, for example, Phenazepam, Sibazon, eliminate emotional stress and are used as a sedative and sleeping pill. These drugs have an antiphobic effect, reduce muscle tone, relieve insomnia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, nausea, dizziness, sweating, and fever.

Antidepressants act to reduce feelings of melancholy, apathy, increase mood, activity, improve sleep and appetite. They are like this:

Tricyclic: "Imipramine", "Amitriptyline", the introduction of which begins with a small dose, and the result of their use is observed after two weeks.
Selective serotonin inhibitors: Citalopram, Fluoxetine, Sertraline, Paroxetine. Minimum side effects and high results.
Benzodiazepines: Lorazepam, Alprazolam, Diazepam. Have a short course of therapy.
Beta blockers, for example, Propranolol. Used immediately before an alarming situation.
Herbal preparations: containing St. John's wort and other herbs, the use of which requires preparation and imposes some restrictions (prohibition of drinking alcohol, visiting beaches).

Any medications for the treatment of anxiety and fear require consultation with a specialist and formal prescription of drugs after diagnosis.

Help options

Depending on the severity of the phobia and the ability to control it, we can talk about methods of treating fear neurosis.

Options for overcoming fears:

overcoming fear on your own, trying, with the help of awareness and willpower, to transform your fear and become free from it;
seeking help from specialists who will prescribe medication and correct behavior.

Talking to a specialist can help you figure out how to cope with fear without resorting to psychoactive drugs. Their task is to concentrate on analyzing and determining the causes of phobias and interpreting the meaning of fear. Treatment of constant fear encourages you to immerse yourself in the most unpleasant emotions that have been repressed and suppressed.

Intensive therapy may contain methods such as special exercises for desensitization (reducing manifestations), behavior correction based on neurolinguistic programming techniques.

It is not always possible to entrust the problem to a qualified specialist, so patients resort to the following methods and techniques:

Perceive fear as an ally: in response to an alarm signal sent from within, begin to interact with the images that arise in the imagination. Come up with an “embodiment” of your fear in the form of a drawing, a sculpted figure, transform it into a humorous image or object, which will help you rethink your emotions.
Listen to your condition, if an attempt to take a step towards a phobia begins to inspire you, this is a sign that there is a chance to overcome your fear; if such thoughts cause panic, this is a reason to make every attempt to protect yourself from possible threats.

The main obstacle to liberation from fears is the fear of being afraid. The goal of therapy is to actively manage your life and do something meaningful for yourself.

Help from a psychologist, psychotherapist

The goal of behavioral therapy is to teach a person to correctly relate to anxieties, fears, panic, and physical discomfort. Psychologists recommend auto-training techniques, relaxation, and positive concentration.

Through cognitive psychotherapy, it becomes possible to identify thinking errors and adjust the way of thinking in the right direction.

Fear neurosis, which is complicated by phobias, requires hypnotic intervention. The influence is aimed at the human subconscious. The session returns the patient to a state of trust and security in relation to the world. If there is no expected effect, medications are prescribed.

With a mild course of neurosis, the main task is to establish trusting contact between the doctor and the patient.

Stages of treatment of fears by a psychotherapist:

clarification of the circumstances that led to neurosis;
searching for ways to heal using psychotherapy methods.

Psychotherapy methods:

Belief. It is necessary to change the patient’s attitude to the situation, after which the phobias lose significance and weaken.
Direct suggestion is an influence on consciousness using words and emotions.
Indirect influence is the introduction of an auxiliary stimulus that will be associated with recovery in the patient’s mind.
Self-hypnosis allows you to activate the thoughts and emotions necessary for treatment.
Auto-training is muscle relaxation, during which control over health is restored.

Additional methods - gymnastics, massage, hardening - will enhance the effectiveness of the main course of treating fears.

Self-release

The primary advice is to stop fighting obsessive thoughts and come to terms with the fact that they arise. The more violent the resistance to them, the more stress they cause. It is necessary to develop a correct attitude towards a thought: if it arises, it is a natural phenomenon, as a result of the work of a part of the brain. As has been proven by experts, obsessive states have nothing to do with intuition.

In order to treat persistent anxiety and fear, it is necessary to understand their causes. The primary task is to realize the moment of a person’s true fear: to die, disgrace, and the like, in order to resolve the internal conflict. At the next stage, you should start working on phobias, including yourself in frightening situations. This means confronting obsessive thoughts and encouraging yourself to do what leads to feelings of fear. “Treatment” in this way will allow you to experience strong emotions through a forced method, in order to subsequently rethink and get rid of them.

Keeping a diary of feelings will reveal the essence of feelings and desires and help you live consciously. It is important to describe in detail the situation that caused fear and discomfort. This process of getting to know oneself, values, and needs will be useful for those suffering from neurosis. It is recommended to write down, speak out, and share your thoughts with others. Put into words, the thought will seem harmless.

At the next stages, it is necessary to replace obsessive thoughts with rational ones, and draw up a plan of actions that will be carried out if trouble occurs. Preparedness will reduce fear.

Since panic attacks are fear, as a reaction to a non-existent situation, it is necessary to instill awareness in yourself, to encourage yourself to “return” to a crucial moment. And meditation and relaxation are good helpers for this. Over time, you will be able to look your phobias in the face.

To treat panic fears, it is necessary to eliminate destructive factors: unhealthy foods, abuse of nicotine and alcohol, spending days alone in a closed room.

In addition to everything, you need to start eradicating negative information from your life: stop being interested in bad news, don’t watch horror movies, TV shows that cause anxious thoughts, don’t communicate with those who tend to discuss negative topics. When fear arises, you should concentrate on realizing that the cause of the fear is absent.

Breathing exercises

A panic attack is a unique way of protecting the nervous system. After a fear reaction, a person spares himself more and behaves carefully in situations fraught with stress and overload.

Breathing exercises will help alleviate the condition during an attack of fear: inhale, pause, exhale, pause. Each phase has a duration of 4 seconds. This type of gymnastics, during which you need to relax, is repeated up to 15 times every day.

As a result of exercise, the level of carbon dioxide in the blood increases, breathing and heartbeat slow down, the respiratory center in the brain functions at a different pace of activity, muscles relax, and attention switches to current events from panic images.

Childhood anxiety neurosis

The main causes of childhood fear neurosis are conflicts in the family, peer group, sometimes physical trauma, illness or severe fear.

Parents should be alert to the following manifestations:

constant anxiety;
obsessive fear;
emotional depression;
chronic fatigue;
frequent hysterical crying without obvious reasons;
tics, stuttering.

Treatments for persistent anxiety and fear in children rarely include medication. Most often, this is a way to resolve internal conflicts by influencing the psyche through creativity: drawing, modeling, writing. Art therapy is safe and effective and promotes self-expression and self-discovery. When a child portrays his fears, this leads to their disappearance from his life.

Family therapy - teaching family members to interact productively with each other. Psychotherapists are convinced that the sources of neurosis are in relationships with loved ones, and anxiety and fear can be cured by removing the cause.

How to distinguish neurosis from psychosis

To make an accurate diagnosis, the doctor needs to talk with the patient to rule out psychosis, the symptoms of which are very similar to the signs of neurosis.

In psychosis, a person is not aware of the fact of the disease, which suppresses the personality, and is less treatable, but in the case of neurosis, he understands what is happening with a mental disorder: he is critical of himself, does not lose touch with the real world. It is important to undergo a full examination.

Symptoms of neurosis: mental discomfort, irritability, anger, mood swings, worries for no good reason, chronic fatigue, fatigue. Psychosis is characterized by delusions, auditory and visual hallucinations, confused speech, fixation on past events, and restricting oneself from society.

Consequences of panic fears

The consequences of neuroses are such that a person can become a hermit because of them, lose his family, his job. Independent methods of getting rid of panic attacks should be used comprehensively. Therapy may take about three months.

The most likely consequences of phobias:

their number will increase;
the likelihood of physical harm to yourself and others;
constant panic can aggravate chronic diseases;
Frequent, severe, uncontrollable panic attacks can lead to suicide.

Fighting the fear of death

Treating feelings of anxiety and fear begins with looking at them philosophically and spending resources on life's affairs, leaving useless thoughts about death.

It’s good to direct your thoughts towards perspective, to think about what will happen after your fears come true. If this is the death of loved ones, the condition will be unbearable for some time, and then life will continue, but will change. It is impossible to feel the same emotions for too long. Faith in God gives hope for eternity. The state of believers is characterized by calmness in terms of such issues.

You need to live life to the fullest, and death is only an indication of this need. Years are given to make dreams come true, experience joy, and achieve victories. You can make the path to achieving your goal easier by breaking it down into stages. The more satisfied a person is with his life, the less his fear of death.

You should allow yourself to feel fear sometimes. The more often this happens, the weaker the emotion becomes, and over time it will disappear.

Successful treatment of anxiety and fear is replaced by confidence in the present, calmness about the future, and then death seems to be something distant.

What to do for loved ones

Anxiety neurosis disturbs the peace of the person suffering from it and his close circle. A possible reaction from family members is a wall of misunderstanding and a surge of emotions, since constantly putting yourself in the shoes of a sick person is not easy.

He needs attention and help in the form of calm. But this does not mean that you need to agree with his worldview and play along with his fears. Participation involves moral support and assurance that all difficulties will be overcome together.

The patient’s independent attempts with anxiety neurosis do not help him return to a balanced state, despite his awareness of what is happening. In complex cases, the disease exhausts the neurotic, attracting thoughts of suicide. The patient should be recommended to treat fears and phobias with the help of a psychotherapist or neurologist.