Hyperestrogenism, hyperestrogenic state, or estrogen excess, is a medical condition characterized by an excessive amount of estrogenic activity in the body. Signs and symptoms
Signs of hyperestrogenism may include heightened levels of one or more of the estrogen sex hormones (usually estradiol and/or estrone), lowered levels of follicle-stimulating hormone and/or luteinizing hormone (due to suppression of the hypothalamic–pituitary–gonadal axis by estrogen), and lowered levels of androgens such as testosterone (generally only relevant to males). Symptoms of the condition in women may consist of menstrual irregularities, amenorrhea, abnormal vaginal bleeding, and enlargement of the uterus and breasts. It may also present as isosexual precocity in children and as hypogonadism, gynecomastia, feminization, impotence, and loss of libido in males. If left untreated, hyperestrogenism may increase the risk of estrogen-sensitive cancers such as breast cancer later in life. Causes
Hyperestrogenism can be caused by ovarian tumors, genetic conditions such as aromatase excess syndrome (also known as familial hyperestrogenism), or overconsumption of exogenous sources of estrogen, including medications used in hormone replacement therapy and hormonal contraception. Liver cirrhosis is another cause, though through lowered metabolism of estrogen, not oversecretion or overconsumption like the aforementioned. Its necessary to know there exist two kinds of hyperestrogenism: Absolute (more concentration than usual of estrogen) and relative (a normal concentration of estrogen, higher with respect to progesterone). An example of absolute hyperestrogenism could be: persistent follicles that later undergo atresia without ovulating; and the example of relative hyperestrogenism: luteal insufficiency.
The Attitude Towards Heights Questionnaires (ATHQ) and Behavioural Avoidance Tests (BAT) are also used.However, acrophobic individuals tend to have biases in self-reporting. They often overestimate the danger and question their abilities of addressing height relevant issues. A Height Interpretation Questionnaire (HIQ) is a self-report to measure these height relevant judgements and interpretations. The Depression Scale of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales short form (DASS21-DS) is a self report used to examine validity of the HIQ. Treatment
Traditional treatment of phobias is still in use today. Its underlying theory states that phobic anxiety is conditioned and triggered by a conditional stimulus. By avoiding phobic situations, anxiety is reduced. However, avoidance behaviour is reinforced through negative reinforcement. Wolpe developed a technique called systematic desensitization to help participants avoid "avoidance". Research results have suggested that even with a decrease in therapeutic contact, densensitization is still very effective. However, other studies have shown that therapists play an essential role in acrophobia treatment. Treatments like reinforced practice and self-efficacy treatments also emerged.There have been a number of studies into using virtual reality therapy for acrophobia. Botella and colleagues and Schneider were the first to use VR in treatment. Specifically, Schneider utilised inverted lenses in binoculars to "alter" the reality. Later in the mid-1990s, VR became computer-based and was widely available for therapists. A cheap VR equipment uses a normal PC with head-mounted display (HMD). In contrast, VRET uses an advanced computer automatic virtual environment (CAVE).