The 4 main differences between phobia and psychological trauma

A review of the characteristics that make it possible to distinguish between phobias and psychological trauma.

Do you know the differences between phobia and psychological trauma? They are two very different psychopathological conditions, although both share the fact that the person who suffers from them feels a lot of discomfort.

In this article we will explain what they consist of and we will know 4 differences between a phobia and a psychological trauma, equating the psychological trauma to what we know in psychology as PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder).

Differences between phobia and psychological trauma

To understand the differences between phobia and psychological trauma, let us first explain what each disorder consists of.

1. Phobias

A phobia is a disproportionate, irrational and exaggerated fear of a specific stimulus or situation.. Fear is accompanied by avoidance behaviors of the phobic stimulus (or if the phobic stimulus is endured, it is done with high anxiety).

You can have phobia to anything, that is why there are as many phobias as stimuli or objects. For example, phobia to spiders, to speak in public, to drive, to be in closed spaces, to clowns, etc.

Phobias are included in the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) as anxiety disorders.

2. Psychological traumas

Psychological traumas, on the other hand involve the experience, exposure or observation of extremely shocking events, which provoke a series of symptoms.which provoke a series of dysfunctional and maladaptive symptoms at the physiological, behavioral and psychological levels. These events usually involve death, serious injury or sexual violation.

In relation to psychological trauma, there are a number of trauma-related mental disorders: the best known and most frequently occurring is PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). Thus, the term "psychological trauma", in everyday language, is generally used to talk about PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder); that is why in this article we will use the concept of PTSD to allude to the term psychological trauma.

That is, we will use both concepts as equatable/interchangeable, although we must keep in mind that there may be slight variations in relation to their meaning in common language (for example, someone may speak of psychological trauma to refer to Acute Stress Disorder (ASD) instead of PTSD; ASD is like PTSD but of shorter duration).

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

As we have seen, the term psychological trauma is often used in everyday language as a synonym for PTSD. But do we really know what PTSD is?

According to the DSM-5, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) involves exposure to the occurrence of death, serious injury, or sexual violationThe exposure may be direct, by observation, by knowledge of the event to a family member or friend, or by repeated exposure to details of the event.

This exposure causes a series of characteristic symptoms, which are basically 3: intrusion, avoidance, cognitive and mood disturbances, and hyperarousal (reactivity).

The first symptom, intrusion, is noteworthy, and usually involves re-experiencing the event through distressing memories or dreams, as well as dissociative reactions, significant psychological distress and intense physiological reactions.

An important change in the DSM-5 is that eliminates the necessary criterion of responding with intense fear, helplessness, or horror before such an event, which did appear in the DSM-IV; now this response is not necessary, although logically it may still appear in PTSD.

Differences

In relation to the differences between phobia and psychological trauma, we are going to talk about the 4 most important ones:

1. Type of disorder

The first difference we find is its location (or classification) in the reference manuals in psychology, such as the DSM-5.

Thus, while in this manual phobia is classified as an "anxiety disorder", PTSD is classified as an "anxiety disorder", PTSD is classified as a "disorder related to trauma or stress factors"..

2. Triggering stimulus

On the other hand, the stimuli (or events) that trigger PTSD or psychological trauma are events related to death (e.g. murder, suicide or a traffic accident), sexual violence (e.g. rape) and serious injury (e.g. spinal cord injury).

On the other hand, the stimuli which generate a phobia are "normal" stimuliin the sense that they do not necessarily cause real harm (although in some cases they may do so). In other words, they are generally stimuli (e.g. a thunderstorm) or everyday situations (e.g. driving, public speaking, etc.).

3. Determinants of the disorder

Another difference between phobia and psychological trauma is the fundamental element that determines the appearance or occurrence of the disorder. the fundamental element that determines whether or not the disorder appears or not. To make it clearer, in the case of phobia, it is the individual's response to the stimulus (which is disproportionate and irrational) that determines whether a phobia is diagnosed as such.

In contrast, in psychological trauma, the DSM-IV considered two elements necessary to diagnose PTSD: on the one hand, a response of intense horror, fear or helplessness to the event on the part of the individual, and on the other, the actual exposure to the event (and that it was stressful). The DSM-5, on the other hand, has modified this criterion and considers only the exposure to the event to be necessary, and not the response (although it may still appear).

4. Duration of the disorder

According to the DSM, the duration of a phobia is at least 6 months; whereas the duration of a PTSD (or psychological trauma) must be at least 1 month.

Here we must point out that an ASD or Acute Stress Disorder (also considered a psychological trauma) can appear, and that it lasts from three days to one month (when it lasts longer, it becomes PTSD).

Bibliographical references:

• APA (2014). DSM-5. Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders. Madrid. Panamericana.
• Belloch, A.; Sandín, B. and Ramos, F. (2010). Manual de Psicopatología. Volume II. Madrid: McGraw-Hill.
• Bados, A. (2015). Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. Facultat de Psicologia Departament de Personalitat, Avaluació i Tractament Psicològics.