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Phobias Unreasonable Fears

More About Phobias

According to the Mayo Clinic Staff , "A phobia is an overwhelming and unreasonable fear of an object or situation that poses little real danger. Unlike the brief anxiety most people feel when they give a speech or take a test, a phobia is long-lasting, causes intense physical and psychological reactions, and can affect your ability to function normally at work or in social settings."

No matter what type of phobia you have it is more than likely to cause the following reaction:

  • Severe uncontrollable anxiety when faced with your fear.
  • Avoiding the object or situation that you fear, typically disproportionate to the actual danger posed. The sufferer will go to great lengths to accomplish this.
  • The anxiety reaches such a level that you are unable to function normally.
  • Powerless. Even although you can rationalize and acknowledge your fears are unreasonable, you cannot control these overwhelming feelings that arise.
  • There is also a physiological reaction. The rush of adrenalin into the system causes increased heart rate, difficulty breathing, sweating, a feeling of panic so severe you think you may die and intense anxiety.

The following is a list of the ten most common phobias:

  1. Arachnaphobia
    The fear of spiders. This phobia tend to be more common among women than men.

  2. Phidiophobia
    The fear of snakes is often attributed to evolutionary causes, personal experiences, or cultural influences.

  3. Akrophobia
    The fear of heights. This fear can lead to anxiety attacks and avoidance of high places.

  4. Agoraphobia
    The fear of a situation in which escape is difficult. This may include crowded areas, open spaces, or situations that are likely to trigger a panic attack. People will begin avoiding these trigger events, sometimes to the point that they cease leaving home. Approximately one-third of people with panic disorder develop agoraphobia.

  5. Cynophobia
    The fear of dogs. This phobia is often associated with specific personal experience, such as being bitten during childhood.

  6. Astraphobia
    The fear of thunder and lightening.

  7. Trypanophobia
    The fear of injections. Like many phobias, this fear often goes untreated because peope avoid te triggering object and situation.

  8. Social Phobia
    Fear of social situtions. In many cases, these phoias can beomen so severe that people avoid events, places, and people that are likely to trigger an anxiety attack.

  9. Aviophobia
    The fear of flying. Often treated using exposure therapy, in which the client is gradually and progressively introduced to flying.

  10. Mysophobia
    The fear of germs or dirt. May be related to obsessive compulsive disorder.

Phobias Explained

Phobias can be put into three categories:

SPECIFIC PHOBIAS. (see left)
These include fear of enclosed spaces, animals, particularly spiders, snakes or mice; heights; flying; water; storms; dentist; injections; tunnels; bridges; and not being able to get off public transportation quickly enough. There are many other specific phobias too numerous to mention

SOCIAL PHOBIAS.
Fear of public speaking; fear of embarrassment and/or humiliation from public scrutiny at social events or common social situations ; excessive self consciousness.

FEAR OF OPEN SPACES:
This is one of the phobias that generalize after having experienced one or more panic attacks. It is a fear of a place where there is no easy escape if a panic attack occurs such as an elevator; a movie theater; a room full of people.

 

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