Comprehensive Mental Health Support with Psychiatric Care for Your Phobias and Fears
It is natural to be scared in certain situations or worried about particular animals, people, or events. But if that fear has become so intense that you cannot face the situation or object in question, they are a type of anxiety disorder known as a phobia. Specific phobias that interfere with your ability to go about your daily life often require treatment.
Dr. Surin Sehdev is a licensed Dallas psychiatrist at Aware Behavioral Health who uses a range of medical and psychotherapy treatments for specific phobias. We help you overcome any phobia that is holding you back in a non-judgmental environment. Let us share more information about our anxiety treatments for phobias by calling us at 469-487-7744.
Treatment for Specific Phobias
As one of the most common anxiety disorders, a phobia can be nearly anything. These phobias go beyond fear. A person with a phobia will experience both mental and physical symptoms such as:
- Intense panic when simply thinking about the object of the phobia.
- Trying to avoid a situation or object by any means necessary.
- Heightened fear as an event comes closer in time.
- Rapid heart beat, dizziness, fainting, nausea, sweating, and difficulty breathing.
- Difficulty functioning normally because of these symptoms.
Not every phobia that causes you to feel these symptoms needs to be treated. Maybe you have a fear of open water, but never intend to go sailing, in which case that phobia will likely never bother you.
But when you experience these symptoms for a phobia you must regularly encounter, treatment can be necessary. The types of phobias that most often require treatment include:
- Social Phobia
- Agoraphobia (fear of leaving your home or entering crowded places)
- Fear of Flying
- Fear of Heights
- Claustrophobia (fear of enclosed spaces)
- Fear of Needles
- Fear of Animals or Insects
- Fear of Driving
- Fear of Water/Swimming
The anxiety caused by social phobia may cause you to avoid social situations, making it difficult to connect with people or advance your career. Fear of flying can keep you from traveling or visiting family, and fear of needles or claustrophobia may make it impossible to get necessary medical treatments like injections or an MRI.
How We Treat Phobias in Dallas
Phobias may be the result of a negative experience in the past or come up apparently without reason. Whatever the cause of your phobia, the intensity of it can make it seem that you will deal with it for the rest of your life. We believe that anxiety and specific phobias should not hold you back, and use a range of treatments to get your symptoms under control, or even remove them completely.
Our patient-centered treatments are built around your lifestyle, your fears, and your goals. Dr. Sehdev will guide you through questions that enable him to determine which of the following solutions will best meet your needs:
- Medication for Phobias – Dr. Sehdev can determine if medication may help you get through difficult situations where you must encounter your phobias. Medication options may include beta blockers or sedatives that can help calm your emotional and physical response to a trigger. We will work with you to be sure you have the right medications and can use them safely.
- Psychotherapy – Various forms of talk therapy can help you deal with your fears, and potentially remove them altogether in the long term. Cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT, can help you cope with feelings of fear. Exposure therapy uses repeated exposure to your phobia in small doses over time to let you build up resilience.
- Additional Support – With our comprehensive approach to psychiatric treatment in Dallas, we have more options we can tailor to your needs. Lifestyle strategies, teaching new skills, identifying other resources, and more are all areas we can assist in.
If your phobia occurs alongside any other mental health conditions, or has caused a condition like depression or substance abuse as you struggle to deal with the effects of your phobia, we also incorporate treatment for those concerns as well.
Why Choose Dr. Sehdev and Aware Behavioral Health for Anxiety Treatment
Dr. Surin Sehdev has many years of experience in treating a variety of anxiety disorders. He has worked with patients living with specific phobias of all types by providing a supportive space and the range of tools to overcome fears.
We are happy to share more about our treatment for phobias in Fort Worth, Dallas, Bedford, Grapevine, and other local cities. Contact us through the form online or call us at 469-487-7744 to set up an initial appointment.