Elsevier

Social Science & Medicine

Volume 61, Issue 10, November 2005, Pages 2155-2164
Social Science & Medicine

Contesting stigma and contested emotions: Personal experience and public perception of specific phobias

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2005.04.030Get rights and content

Abstract

This paper draws on interviews with members of the United Kingdom National Phobics Society to explore the implications of the contested nature of specific phobias for their experience and perception. In common with other chronic and contested conditions such as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, phobias are stigmatised and subjected to widespread judgmental attitudes in both medical and lay populations. In contrast, however, phobic experience is rarely characterised by difficulty in describing symptoms and obtaining a diagnosis: core fearful reaction to and avoidance of particular objects is usually obvious and uncontested. The crucial difference is that phobias are constituted by emotions and behaviours considered irrational and inconsequential, and it is their (perceived absence of) significance that raises questions and eyebrows. In other words, what does it matter and who cares if you happen to be scared of snakes? Using phobics’ own words as far as possible, the paper explores the processes through which phobic emotions are constructed as contested, and examines phobic means of managing experience and perception of these emotions. It reveals that many respondents are resourceful and resistant, continually renegotiating their positioning as irrational, incapable and emotionally weak.

Section snippets

Stigma and contested emotions: an introduction

Unlike other chronic and contested conditions which have been the subject of recent research—for example, arthritis, environmental illnesses and multiple sclerosis (Kroll-Smith & Floyd 1997; Moss & Dyck, 2002)—specific phobias involve widely recognised symptoms and patterns of behaviour that are rarely difficult to diagnose (APA, 1994). While there may be some debate and confusion surrounding the cause of their disorder (Merckelbach, de Jong, Muris, & van der Hout, 1996) and perhaps

Methods

The research took place between January 2001 and July 2003 and was funded by the UK National Health Service (RDO/35’12). Participants responded to recruitment notices in the National Phobic Society (NPS) newsletter, and in total, forty (5 male, 35 female) volunteers took part in in-depth individual interviews, which were audio-tape recorded and fully transcribed with respondents’ permission. Recruitment through a support organisation ensured that respondents had access to an established source

Constructing contested emotions

This section examines respondents’ own accounts of non-phobic others’ reactions to their phobia, highlighting the extent to which ignorance about phobic disorder contributes to an inability to understand and so sympathise with sufferers’ experience. Interviewees reveal that non-phobic attitudes towards them are profoundly detrimental, and frequently position phobias and ‘thus’ phobics as irrational in the extreme. Narratives disclose regular slippage between symptom and subject, such that the

Keeping up appearances

Given the extent of negative reaction that sufferers routinely face, it is unsurprising that many choose to disguise the reality of their condition, explaining their avoidance of particular objects in other non-phobic and so less contested terms. Mharrie, for example, felt unable to disclose a phobia of something people cook with and frequently expect her to eat, and so pretended to suffer from a problem commonly constructed in more socially acceptable terms: “I’d say it's an allergy, I mustn’t

‘Breaking the silence barrier’

In opening this final substantive section, one respondent's narrative of disclosure will be examined in an attempt to tease out the possible benefits of a strategy of openness about contested emotion, and contestation of associated stigma. This is not to suggest that Jase's experience is typical or in any sense ‘ideal’, but rather, that his extensive reflections might provide insights into possible futures for others. In the following excerpt, Jase draws links with experience of another now

Conclusions and contestations

This paper has explored personal experience and public perception of phobic emotions, highlighting some of the processes of their construction and contestation from phobic points of view. It has revealed the extent to which stigmatisation negatively impacts upon sufferers’ lives, and how potentially different phobic experience could be if associated emotions and behaviours were more understood and accepted than ridiculed and rebuked. Further, it has shown that whichever tactics for living with

Acknowledgements

This research was funded by an NHS award (RDO/35′12) and I am grateful for the support. I would also like to acknowledge the invaluable contribution of interviewees who shared their knowledge and expertise, and to thank steering group members, NPS volunteers, and especially Nicky Lidbetter, Christine Milligan and Anthony Gatrell for support and guidance throughout. Thanks also to Pamela Moss and Liz Bondi for inspiring and commenting on this paper, and to Mildred Blaxter and two anonymous

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