Are you afraid of the dark? Are you afraid of heights, blood, or bugs?
Each individual has his own fear, in one way or another. Fear is okay if it is rational. Rational fears serve as
our defense mechanism against things that pose danger in us. Examples of this kind of fear are fear of falling,
fire, snakes, spiders, which are simply based on your instinct to react in order to survive.
The undesirable kind is irrational fear, or more popularly known as phobia. Irrational fear does not really help
an individual in any way. It can disrupt our daily activities. Fears such as going to the dentist, riding an elevator,
or going to an event are examples of irrational fears or phobia.
People who have phobia are aware that these are irrational but just can’t control it.
Phobia can be described as the fear of fear: being in a
place or a situation, or with an object, where a person is afraid of the terrifying fear and do not know how to react.
A phobia can build up in reaction to different objects or situations. There are three general categories:
Specific Phobia
This type is the extreme, unreasonable fear of a specific object, place or situation. Examples of this
are excessive fear of height, bridges, enclosed places, flying, small insects or spiders. Among the most common
are claustrophobia, which is the fear of being in an enclosed place like an elevator, and blood phobia, which
involves fear of blood, doctors, needles, or any other situation that links to blood.
Social Phobia
This is also called the social anxiety disorder. It is characterized by the overwhelming fear of being
embarrassed, humiliated, or scrutinized in everyday social activities.
Agoraphobia
This is where the fear comes about from the thought that escaping or getting help from a
certain situation seems impossible. It could be experienced in a huge crowd, while driving or just standing
in line. Some agoraphobics only feel safe when they are at home.
Phobias have symptoms, which can be the same as when facing the perceived threat.
Some are beyond the normal response to fear. A common symptom is the anxiety
reaction which includes excessive sweating, nausea, quick heart beat, trembling, and terror.
Others may include intense fear of an object that does not pose any danger, intense fear of
being judged or watched, uncontrollable reactions to something, and use of alcohol or other substance just to get
rid of the feeling of anxiety.
Causes of Phobia
Classical Conditioning
John B. Watson, a psychologist and founder of behaviorism, was able to prove that fear of specific objects can be
learned. He showed this by doing a case with an 11 month old baby. Before his experiment, the baby
had not been afraid of the white rat. He even runs after it, catches and plays with it. So what Watson did
was to show the baby the little rat and made a loud bang on a metal pipe. The little boy had shown fear to the
loud noise prior to this. So when he saw the rat and heard the loud noise together several times, he learned to
fear the rat even without noise.
Biological Causes
Some studies show that genes may play a role in having phobias. Another reason can be that adults unknowingly
teach their children to avoid or be fearful of something.
Amygdala is a part of the human brain that connects memory with emotion. When in danger, the body sends signals
to the amygdala, which then memorizes the fear associated with the object or situation and sets the body’s
reaction. Scary experiences can create a fixed memory of fear, and the amygdala triggers an automatic reaction
to the fear when a similar situation arises.
Overcome Fears
Fear cannot always be controlled. It is our body’s way of keeping us from danger.
However, when these fears become irrational, they can have a negative impact on our lifestyle. If the fear seems
unreasonable, ask family, friends or a professional for help in overcoming it. Or visit links on this page.
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