Do You Have Phobias?

A phobia is an irrational fear of certain situations, persons, places, and/or things. An emotional response that was learned because of a difficult experience in life. Most often it is linked to the area of the brain behind the pituitary gland. The area of the brain is called the amygdala. The amygdala releases hormones that affect fear and aggression. This is known as fight or flight.

      The main symptom is an unreasonable need to avoid the fear.  Phobias are common forms of anxiety disorders.  An event that made an impact on a person and is engraved in their memory.  Then when the event occurs again the body reacts as if in danger.  The person's heart might race, start to sweat, get an uneasy feeling, etc. 

     Some phobias are caused by children watching a parent, relative reaction to a situation.  An example:  a mother has a fear of birds.  The child sees how the mother reacts around birds and the child reacts the same. 

     Phobias are the most common form of mental illness in women of all ages.  In men over twenty five it is the second common form.  If a phobia is interfering in someones life then that person needs to get treatment.

      There are three categories of phobias:

1.   Social phobia

      Fear of people

      Fear of social situations.

2.   Specific phobia

      Fear of a specific phobia.

          an example:  Fear of spiders, dogs, water, or heights.

3.   Agoraphobia

      Fear of leaving home and/or safe area.

     The severity of phobias range from mild anxiety to panic attacks.

There are several types of treatments for phobias. One type of treatment or a combination of treatments may be needed to successfully treat a person's phobia. The following is a list of some of the treatments:

• Systematic Desensitization Therapy
• Emotional Freedom Technique
• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
• Hypnotherapy
• Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing
• Antidepressants.

It is possible to develop a phobia over anything. Phobias get their names from Greek word for what the fear is then add phobia to the end of the word.

     There are a lot, and I mean a lot, of phobias.  Here are some phobias and what they are:

• Ablutophobia, fear of washing, bathing
• Anthropophobia, fear of people
• Autophobia, fear of being alone
• Bibliophobia, fear of books.
• Bogyphobia, fear of bogyman
• Chrematophobia, fear of money
• Hippopotomonstrosessquippedaliophobia, fear of long words
• Obesophobia, fear of gaining weight
• Panophobia, fear of everything.

     What phobias do you have?  Is being afraid of something always considered a phobia?  What if you don't like something, is that a phobia?  You don't like a person named Bob.  Do you have bobophobia?  Something to consider.