What is a Phobia?
When you are the sufferer of a phobia, you will find yourself afraid of an object, activity or being placed in a specific situation and you will exhibit behavior that will work to avoid what you are afraid of. For instance, many people may be afraid of spiders, heights, or small spaces.
Phobic behavior is different from stress or worry, which comes with normal, everyday activity related to work and personal responsibilities. Instead a person who is afraid of small spaces will avoid an elevator and take the stairs and a person who is afraid of heights will stay away from the edge of a building and will avoid going on roller coasters. However, as innocent as those fears seem, phobias can also lead to behavior problems, such as agoraphobia, which is the fear of being in a public place and can affect your quality of life.
When you have a phobia, you will have a high level of alertness and stress towards a particular situation, object or activity. You can be scared of either the situation or being in the situation and a phobia can be broad based.
There are five types of phobias that a person can suffer from:
- Natural/Environmental Phobias related to natural occurrences in nature, such as a storm, rain, or lightning.
- Phobias related to animals like spiders, dogs, or bugs.
- Blood-injection-injury phobias related to an injury or having to get a shot.
- Phobias related to other conditions that are out of your control, such as choking, throwing up, or loud noises.
- Situational phobias related to heights or small spaces.
Phobias only affect a small portion of the general population and the majority are mild and do not affect day to day activity.
People who suffer from more serious phobias often have other conditions present such as an anxiety disorder, depression, or abuse drugs or alcohol.
