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What Is Anatidaephobia?

Perhaps you’re already somewhat familiar with a few varieties of phobias. You’ve likely heard of arachnophobia and aquaphobia. These are examples of more common phobias that people often claim to have. 

What is a phobia, though? Today, let’s learn about how phobias can impact your life and how to know when to get help from qualified mental health professionals.

Anatidaephobia: The Fear of Ducks 

Let’s get down to the bottom of this – what is anatidaephobia? At its core, this is the intense fear that no matter what you do, there is a duck somewhere nearby watching you. 

It began as a joke in a popular comic, and since then, people have circulated this joke phobia so much that it has somehow manifested as a real phobia for some. It’s not a medically recognized diagnosis, but it prompts a helpful discussion. Though you might find humor in this phobia, it sheds light on the fact that phobias can materialize from various origins.

What Is a Phobia? 

Let’s look a bit closer at phobias. If you didn’t know, a phobia is more than a cause of temporary fear or anxiety. Phobias are a form of anxiety disorder that prompts an irrational or disproportional reaction. 

They’re not that uncommon, either. Over ten percent of adults in the U.S. will experience a phobia at one time or another. 

How Can Phobias Affect Your Life? 

If you have ever had a phobia, you’ll know that these cause you to avoid specific objects, people, or experiences at length. It’s more than an uncomfortable feeling; you might find yourself reorganizing your entire life to prevent this negative stimulus. 

Let’s look at a few other ways phobias may affect your life.

You Might Have Physical Symptoms

Since phobias are a type of anxiety disorder, you may experience physical symptoms along with irrational fear. Some common signs that accompany phobias are:

  • Chest pain

  • Body chills

  • Confusion

  • Dizzy spells

  • Nausea

  • Rapid breathing

  • Quickened heartbeat

  • Shaking

  • Stomach pains

  • Excessive sweating

If you experience any of these physical symptoms along with irrational fear, don’t ignore them. Take note of your physical experiences and speak with your doctor or a psychiatrist about what you feel. 

Several Psychological Symptoms May Hold You Back 

Many people also experience psychological symptoms that inhibit their livelihood and sense of mental stability. You may feel irrational fear that leads to feelings of anger, sadness, or paranoia. These might hold you back from your everyday experiences.

Phobias May Lead to Anxiety and Depression  

If your phobia has been taking over your life, it only makes sense that you might experience increased symptoms of anxiety and depression. When these symptoms start to creep in, know that you don’t have to live with them. 

Reaching out to an accessible mental health care provider is one way you can get the help you need to manage symptoms of anxiety and depression and start feeling better sooner.

What Are Simple Phobias? 

Did you know there’s a difference between complex phobias and simple phobias? The words “simple” and “complex” don’t explain their level of severity. Instead, these words indicate the kind of phobia that is occurring. 

For example, let’s say you have had a single phobia of spiders, water, or dogs. These are simple because the source of the phobia is a specific object, animal, situation, or being.

What Are Complex Phobias? 

Some people deal with complex phobias, which can be a little bit more debilitating. With complex phobias, a person might fear and avoid situations due to a deep-seated fear of a particular circumstance occurring. 

Here’s an example of a complex phobia. Let’s say a person is struggling with agoraphobia. In this case, they would be terrified of being trapped or in situations where they would be unable to escape. As a result, they might avoid any place that could potentially lead them to be in such a scenario, such as shopping malls, movie theaters, or sports games. 

Knowing that you can find solace if you think you might be dealing with complex or simple phobias. Speaking to a trained psychiatric provider about your experiences can help you find tools to manage your symptoms.

How To Know When To Reach Out for Help With Anxiety 

Thankfully, mental health is losing its taboo status. People are seeing therapists and psychiatric providers and finding relief from the symptoms that hold them back. 

What about you? How can you know when it’s time to reach out and schedule your first appointment with a therapist or psychiatric provider? Let’s talk about a few of the signs.

You Alter Your Lifestyle

We know anxiety doesn’t always manifest as panic attacks. Sometimes, the effects of anxiety are more subtle. 

For example, you may find yourself avoiding events you used to love because you’re afraid of feeling sick, embarrassed, or sad. For example, you may find yourself avoiding events you used to love because you’re afraid of feeling sick, embarrassed, or sad. Missing out on parts of your life that you used to enjoy is one sign that anxiety seriously affects you. 

You’re Not Sleeping As Well

If you deal with anxiety symptoms frequently, you might find that you struggle to fall asleep at night. Perhaps you have racing thoughts that don’t seem to calm down. 

Maybe you feel like your body is unable to settle in the evenings, and rest escapes you. Whenever you experience restless or sleepless nights often, you might want to consider getting help managing your symptoms. 

Your Anxiety Is Recurring

Everyone has moments from time to time when they feel worried about events in their lives. If you struggle with anxiety symptoms regularly, that’s a sign that seeing a therapist or psychiatric provider might be a helpful step for you. You don’t have to accept recurring anxiety as your standard. Meeting with a professional mental health clinician can help reduce the chances of your anxiety becoming persistent after identifying triggers. 

How Mood Health Can Help

We know phobias can seriously impact your anxiety and depression. When you’re suffering from symptoms that affect your life each day, it can feel uncomfortable to talk to someone new about your problems. Still, we think that reaching out to a skilled mental health clinician is one of the best steps in the right direction.

At Mood Health, we know how important it is for you to access affordable care without having to wait for months to do so. We also know that being comfortable with your talk therapist or psychiatric care provider is essential – that’s why we offer virtual appointments you can attend from your home. 

Let us dive a little deeper into how Mood Health can help you get on track to feeling in control of your mental health. 

Human-to-Human Virtual Talk Therapy

When it comes to mental health care, we know how challenging it can be to find the right provider. Where others might try to apply a one-size-fits-all online approach, we know that your story is unique. You need a conversation with a caring mental healthcare provider instead of an algorithmic solution to your struggles. 

Stress-Free Virtual Psychiatric Care 

When dealing with depression or anxiety, finding the right medication for your symptoms can be a significant factor in feeling better. At Mood Health, it’s a breeze to set up your first appointment with a psychiatric care provider. 

During your session, your clinician will meet with you virtually to discuss your experiences, and then they’ll prescribe treatment for you. You can pick this prescription up from your local pharmacy, or we can ship it to your doorstep.

Affordable Care

We know how important affordable care can be. Unfortunately, traditional talk therapy and psychiatry can cost you as much as $150-300 per session. 

At Mood Health, we want to make it easy for you to start your care. For that reason, your first talk therapy appointment is only $39, with your continuing sessions being an affordable  $89/session. 

We bill psychiatric care monthly, and we’re happy to provide your first month for only $45, with the following months being $95. These rates are a fraction of what you’ll find with traditional therapy because we want to make starting care accessible for you.

Your Phobias Shouldn’t Hold You Back

Alright, you might not be dealing with anatidaephobia. However, you might have recently realized you deal heavily with your phobias that have produced symptoms of depression and anxiety. Your phobias and symptoms don’t have to hold you back. 

At Mood Health, we want to help you explore what’s going on and get connected with the resources that help you ways to live a life you love.

 

Sources:

Phobias | John Hopkins Medicine

Phobia | Harvard Health

Phobias – Health Encyclopedia  | University of Rochester Medical Center