Phobophobia is the fear of phobias, or the fear of fear itself, involving intense anxiety and an unrealistic and persistent fear of the somatic sensations that precede a feared phobia's onset. It is closely related to anxiety disorders and panic attacks tied to other phobias such as agoraphobia, and rather than arising from an external stimulus, its trigger is the internal, dreadful sensations resembling the psychological symptoms of a panic attack; the resulting anxious response creates a conditioned stimulus that leads to further anxiety, producing a cycle in which the sufferer avoids the feared phobia to avoid the fear of it. Phobophobia can be a factor that maintains other phobias even though it is not necessarily a product of them.
Facts
Classification
Type of Phenomenon Diagnostic ChapterAnxiety or Fear-Related Disorders 2 Connections
In Branch
Source Phobophobia (Wikipedia)
Sources
1. Phobophobia (Wikipedia)
- Wikipedia Phobophobia lead paragraph (w-bbfill-psych-diag-0926, keyword classification against phenomenon-kind enum definitions, hand-checked)
In Branch: Abnormal Psychology, Categories
Wikipedia article 'Phobophobia' is filed under Category:Phobias.
View the Source2. ICD-11 Browser (WHO)
World Health Organization
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