Phobia Essay

What is a Phobia?

A phobia is an overwhelming and debilitating fear of an object, place, situation, feeling or animal. Phobias are more pronounced than fears. They develop when a person has an exaggerated or unrealistic sense of danger about a situation or object. If a phobia becomes very severe, people may organise their life around avoiding the thing that’s causing them anxiety. As well as restricting their day-to-day life, it can also cause a lot of stress.

Is a phobia a anxiety disorder?

Yes, a phobia is a type of anxiety disorder. You may not experience any symptoms until you come into contact with the source of a phobia. However, in some cases, even thinking about the source of the phobia can make a person feel anxious or panicky.

However, if you have a complex phobia such as agoraphobia, leading a normal life may be very difficult.

Types of phobias

There are a wide variety of objects or situations that someone could develop a phobia about. However, phobias can be divided into two main categories:

Specific or simple phobias

Complex phobias

Specific or simple phobias

Specific or simple phobias centre around a particular object, animal, situation or activity. They often develop during childhood or adolescence and may become less severe as you get older.

Common examples of simple phobias:

Animal phobias - such as dogs, spiders, snakes, or rodents.

Environmental - such as heights, deep water and germs.

Situational phobias - such as visiting the dentist or flying on an airplane.

Bodily phobias - such as blood, vomit, or having injections.

Sexual phobias - such as performance anxiety or the fear of getting a sexually transmitted infection.

Complex phobias

Complex phobias tend to be more disabling than simple phobias. They tend to develop during adulthood and are often associated with deep-rooted fear or anxiety about a particular situation or circumstance. The two most common complex phobias

Someone with agoraphobia will feel anxious about being in a place or situation where escaping may be difficult if they have a panic attack. The anxiety usually results in the person avoiding situations such as:

Being alone

Being in crowded places, such as busy restaurants or supermarkets.

Traveling on public transportation

Social phobia, also known as a social anxiety disorder, centres around feeling anxious in social situations. If you have a social phobia, you might be afraid of speaking in front of people for fear of embarrassing yourself yourself and being humiliated in public. In severe cases, this can become debilitating and may prevent you from carrying out everyday activities, such as eating out or meeting friends.

What causes phobias?

Phobias don’t have a single cause, but there are a number of associated factors. For example:

A phobia may be associated with a particular incident or trauma.

A phobia may be a learned response that a person develops early in life from a parent or sibling (brother and