What Are The Causes Of Specific Phobias?



Understanding the cause of phobias, namely how phobias form, helps to understand the basic principles of cognitive behavioral therapy or CBT.

According to TCC, our reaction to adverse or difficult events occurs in three stages. This is called the ACC model:

  • Adversity (or triggering event) - the situation itself.
  • Beliefs - the way we interpret what happened.
  • Consequences - how the situation affects us and how we choose to act in response.

According to the ACC model, we experience situations, we interpret them based on our thoughts and beliefs, and these beliefs determine how we feel and act accordingly. Our beliefs are, therefore, the link between a situation and our emotional response.

If a person encountered a snake in the wild (this would be adversity or part A), they might have thoughts such as "If I get too close, it will bite me" or "I should stay back and call a dog handler to get rid of it." These thoughts would constitute the 2nd part C of the model.

Based on these thoughts, the person might experience a moderate fear that would cause them to back off and call a professional to remove the snake. Once that was done, her fear would fade, and she wouldn't think about it anymore.

Limiting Beliefs and Phobias

The process would be very different if that same person had a phobia of snakes. Maladaptive or unnecessary beliefs drive phobias about the target of the person's fears. A person with snake phobia may have beliefs such as:

  • If I see a snake, it will bite me, and I will die.
  • All snakes are bad. As soon as they see you, they try to attack.
  • If I see a snake, I'll freak out and pass out.
  • If I see a snake, that means there must be dozens more nearby.

If we place these beliefs in the ACC model, you can easily imagine how phobic people might alter the outcome. Instead of exercising reasonable caution and taking appropriate steps to stay safe, the person would panic, scream and run away, experiencing intense levels of fear and refusing to set foot in the fear zone again to receive a snakebite.



Where do these limiting beliefs come from?

There are many possibilities:

  • Direct experience: a direct and frightening encounter with the phobic stimulus.
  • Indirect experience - hearing about someone else's experience from a friend or the news.
  • Vicarious learning – if we observe other people acting fearfully in the face of a certain stimulus, we may become fearful of it ourselves.

Our genetic heritage may also play a role, making some people more susceptible to developing phobias. It's also true that certain stimuli, such as snakes and emptiness, trigger phobias more easily because they actually represent a certain level of danger, and so our brains are wired to find that scary.

Dr. Wendy M. O'Connor is among the famous Relationship and Marriage Counseling Therapists in Los Angeles, California. If you are looking for a Couples Therapist in Los Angeles, visit The Traffic Light Center website for more information.

 

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