Comprehensive exams for Mental Health Q 201
A 35-year-old female has intense fear of riding an elevator. She claims “ As if I will die inside.” The client is suffering from:
A. Agoraphobia
B. Social phobia
C. Claustrophobia
D. Xenophobia
Correct Answer: C. Claustrophobia
Claustrophobia is fear of closed space. Claustrophobia is a type of specific phobia, where one has a fear of closed spaces. Examples of closed spaces are engine rooms, MRI machines, elevators, etc. Those with specific phobias generally will report avoidance behaviors regarding the particular object or situation that triggers their fear. The fear can be expressed as a danger of harm, disgust, or experience of the physical symptoms in a phobic scenario. physical symptoms include, but are not limited to, difficulty breathing, trembling, sweating, tachycardia, dry mouth, and chest pain. Emotional symptoms include, but are not limited to, feeling overwhelming anxiety or fear, fear of losing control, feeling an intense need to leave the situation, the understanding of the fear as irrational, but an inability to overcome it.
Option A: Agoraphobia is fear of open space or being a situation where escape is difficult. Agoraphobia is the anxiety that occurs when one is in a public or crowded place, from which a potential escape is difficult, or help may not be readily available. It is characterized by the fear that a panic attack or panic-like symptoms may occur in these situations. Individuals with agoraphobia, therefore, strive to avoid such situations or locations. In the currently-used DSM-5, agoraphobia is considered a distinct diagnosis that can occur independently of other diagnoses, such as generalized anxiety disorder or panic disorder. In the DSM-5, it is defined as “marked fear or anxiety about actual or anticipated exposure of public spaces, with the symptoms of fear or anxiety occurring most of the time in at least two of five common, different situations.”
Option B: Social phobia is fear of performing in the presence of others in a way that will be humiliating or embarrassing. Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is characterized by excessive fear of embarrassment, humiliation, or rejection when exposed to possible negative evaluation by others when engaged in a public performance or social interactions. It is also known as social phobia. With the publication of DSM-5, the diagnostic criteria for SAD have been broadened from previous editions to include fear of acting in a way or show anxiety symptoms that offend others or lead to rejection in addition to fear of humiliation or embarrassment. Additionally, the latest edition of DSM removed the generalized subtype and added the “performance only” specifier.
Option D: Xenophobia is fear of strangers. Xenophobia, or fear of strangers, is a broad term that may be applied to any fear of someone who is different from us. Hostility towards outsiders is often a reaction to fear. It typically involves the belief that there is a conflict between an individual’s ingroup and an outgroup. Xenophobia often overlaps with forms of prejudice including racism and homophobia, but there are important distinctions. Where racism, homophobia, and other forms of discrimination are based on specific characteristics, xenophobia is usually rooted in the perception that members of the outgroup are foreign to the ingroup community.