Phobia News and Research

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Fears are a common part of an individual’s life. However, a phobia is more than a simple fear. It starts and develops into something massive when the affected person begins to organise their life around avoiding the feared object – be it an animal, insect, place, situation or just about anything.

Regular mental health checkups may be better way to treat anxiety

No matter which treatment they get, only 20 percent of young people diagnosed with anxiety will stay well over the long term, UConn Health researchers report in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

1 Jun 2018

Genetic make-up impacts long-term effectiveness of phobia treatment

Researchers have discovered that variations in the efficacy of psychological treatment for phobias are associated with the serotonin transporter gene.

19 Apr 2018

UQ researchers create new and improved version of ‘love hormone’

A new and improved version of the ‘love hormone’ oxytocin has been developed by University of Queensland researchers.

13 Dec 2017

Researchers test new strategy to increase effectiveness of topical anesthesia used in dentistry

Researchers from Brazil and Texas have started testing on humans a new strategy to increase the effectiveness of topical anesthesia used in dentistry, used by dentists to reduce patient discomfort during the application of injected anesthesia - required for more invasive procedures such as fillings, tooth extraction or surgery.

4 Oct 2017

Educational initiative tries shifting student physicians’ attitudes toward people with obesity

An educational initiative at Touro University College of Osteopathic Medicine is reducing medical students' negative attitudes toward people with obesity, a finding researchers hope will translate into better outcomes for patients struggling with weight, according to research published in The Journal of the American Osteopathic Association.

31 Jul 2017

Refugees have specialized treatment needs due to past trauma and loss

In a study of children and adolescents referred for mental health services at US trauma treatment sites, there were important differences in the experiences of refugee youth who were displaced by war-related violence relative to immigrants and those born in the United States.

15 Jun 2017

Cognitive behavioral therapy can help cure many common phobias

Everyone fears something. In fact, it is estimated that more than 19 million Americans suffer from specific phobia.

24 May 2017

Nemaura Pharma device addresses needle phobia in diabetics

Results of recent clinical trials carried out on type 1 diabetics by Nemaura Pharma using its Memspatch Insulin Micro-needle Device (IMD) will come as a relief to those who fear needles and injections, a condition medically known as trypanophobia, affecting 10 percent of the world’s population.

18 May 2017

Virtual reality can be powerful tool for mental health treatment, research suggests

A growing body of evidence suggests that virtual reality (VR) technology can be an effective part of treatment for phobias, posttraumatic stress disorder, and other mental health conditions, according to a research review in the May/June issue of the Harvard Review of Psychiatry. The journal is published by Wolters Kluwer.

9 May 2017

Researchers outline new diagnostic model for mental illness

A consortium of 50 psychologists and psychiatrists from around the world has outlined a new diagnostic model for mental illness, in what researchers hope will be a paradigm shift in how these illnesses are classified and diagnosed.

23 Mar 2017

Scientists find evidence for gene that may be linked to social phobia

People with social anxiety avoid situations in which they are exposed to judgment by others. Those affected also lead a withdrawn life and maintain contact above all on the Internet.

9 Mar 2017

NHS offers new immersive reality treatment to help children with autism overcome phobias

Following research showing that a unique immersive virtual reality can help children with autism spectrum disorder overcome their fears and phobias, the service known as the Newcastle Blue Room is now being offered on the NHS.

10 Feb 2017

Unconscious exposure to phobic images effective in reducing fear, study finds

A team of investigators, led by Bradley S. Peterson, MD, director of the Institute for the Developing Mind at Children's Hospital Los Angeles, and Paul Siegel, PhD, associate professor of psychology at Purchase College of the State University of New York, have found that exposure to phobic images without conscious awareness is more effective than longer, conscious exposure for reducing fear.

7 Feb 2017

Psychotherapy normalizes brain changes linked to social anxiety disorder

Anxiety in social situations is not a rare problem: Around one in ten people are affected by social anxiety disorder during their lifetime. Social anxiety disorder is diagnosed if fears and anxiety in social situations significantly impair everyday life and cause intense suffering.

6 Feb 2017

Researchers find effective cure for social anxiety disorders

Social phobia is the most common anxiety disorder of our time. But the current treatment regimen for patients with this diagnosis has not proven very effective. Now a team of Norwegian and British researchers believe they have found a cure for social anxiety disorders.

21 Dec 2016

Increased sensitivity to uncertain threat common to several anxiety disorders

Several anxiety disorders, including panic disorder, social anxiety disorder and specific phobias, share a common underlying trait: increased sensitivity to uncertain threat, or fear of the unknown, report researchers from the University of Illinois at Chicago.

18 Nov 2016

Scientists reveal molecular elements that bridge anxiety and metabolism

Metabolic and anxiety-related disorders both pose a significant healthcare burden, and are in the spotlight of contemporary research and therapeutic efforts. Although intuitively we assume that these two phenomena overlap, the link has not been proven scientifically.

5 Oct 2016