types of phobia essay

Types of Phobias

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Phobias are abnormal fear of a specific object, animal, bird, insect, activity, or a certain situation. It is a type of anxiety disorder that can precipitate a panic attack.

Those with phobias tend to avoid the feared object or activity as much as possible and become anxious when they anticipate having to confront them.

These may be fears of an animal that they may well avoid in daily life, for example, the snake.

However, in some, the fears may be of more common objects and situations like fear of flying, interacting with people (social phobias), or using a closed lift (claustrophobia). This may severely hamper a person’s day to day life.

Mild phobias are widespread, particularly in childhood, although most of these fears disappear by the age of six or eight. People can also develop phobias when going through a particularly stressful period of their lives.

Research shows that approximately five percent of adults develop agoraphobia (fear of open spaces), and around one percent of the population develop severe debility due to this phobia.

Agoraphobia usually starts when a person is in their late 20s and is more common in women than men. Around one to two percent of men and women develop social phobia.

To be classed as a phobia, the symptoms must be due to anxiety and not arise from another physical or psychological problem.

Classification of phobias

Phobias may be grouped into two broad classes:

Simple / specific phobias

Simple or specific phobias like those of an object, animal, or situation. Specific phobias include fear of:

Closed spaces
Flying etc.

Simple phobias may also be a fear of blood, medical interventions such as injections, or injury. Sufferers may faint in the presence of blood or injury, following a reduction in their heart rate and blood pressure.

This is called a vasovagal response, which leads to fainting. It does not normally occur with other anxiety disorders. In other phobias and panic disorders, the person’s heartbeat and blood pressure usually increase as their arousal rate increases.

Complex phobias

Examples of complex phobias are social and agoraphobias. Social phobias are fears of interacting with people or social gatherings, and agoraphobias fear open spaces or public places where escape is difficult like shopping malls, public transport buildings, etc.

Agoraphobia is commonly associated with depression and marital or family disharmony. Both social and agoraphobia may lead to confinement of the patient within their homes.

Common phobias

The most common phobias include fear of:

Spiders (Arachnophobia)

Social situations (social phobia)

Flying (Aviatophobia)

Open spaces (Agoraphobia)

Confined spaces (Claustrophobia)

Heights (Acrophobia)

Cancer (Cancerophobia)

Thunderstorms (fear of lightening – Astraphobia; fear of thunder – Brontophobia)

Death (Necrophobia)

Heart disease (Cardiophobia)

Less common phobias

Other less common phobias are fears of:

Needles/sharp objects (Aichmophobia)

Cats (Ailurophobia)

People (Anthropophobia)

Men (Androphobia)

Sex (Genophobia)

Women (Gynophobia)

Water (Aquaphobia)

Bees (Apiphobia)

Toads (Bufonophobia)

Dogs (Cynophobia)

Dentists and doctors (Dentophobia and Iatrophobia respectively)

Reptiles (Herpetophobia)

Sleep (Hypnophobia)

Mice (Musophobia)

Dirt and germs (Mysophobia)

Anything new (Neophobia)

Night (Noctiphobia)

Darkness (Nyctophobia)

Snakes (Ophidiphobia)

Fire (Pyrophobia)

Being buried alive (Taphophobia)

God (Theophobia)

Strangers (Xenophobia)

Animals (Zoophobia)

https://www.bps.org.uk/
http://www.camden.nhs.uk/downloads/Panic%20and%20phobias.pdf
https://www.unk.com/
http://www.healthwise.org.hk/az/english/pdf/E%2027.pdf

Dr. Ananya Mandal

Dr. Ananya Mandal is a doctor by profession, lecturer by vocation and a medical writer by passion. She specialized in Clinical Pharmacology after her bachelor's (MBBS). For her, health communication is not just writing complicated reviews for professionals but making medical knowledge understandable and available to the general public as well.

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What are phobias?

A phobia is an excessive and irrational fear reaction. If you have a phobia, you may experience a deep sense of dread or panic when you encounter the source of your fear. The fear can be of a certain place, situation, or object. Unlike general anxiety disorders, a phobia is usually connected to something specific.

The impact of a phobia can range from annoying to severely disabling. People with phobias often realize their fear is irrational, but they’re unable to do anything about it. Such fears can interfere with work, school, and personal relationships.

An estimated 19 million Americans have a phobia that causes difficulty in some area of their lives. Seek the help of your doctor if you have a fear that prevents you from leading your fullest life.

Genetic and environmental factors can cause phobias. Children who have a close relative with an anxiety disorder are at risk of developing a phobia. Distressing events, such as nearly drowning, can bring on a phobia. Exposure to confined spaces, extreme heights, and animal or insect bites can all be sources of phobias.

People with ongoing medical conditions or health concerns often have phobias. There’s a high incidence of people developing phobias after traumatic brain injuries . Substance abuse and depression are also connected to phobias.

Phobias have different symptoms from serious mental illnesses such as schizophrenia . In schizophrenia, people have visual and auditory hallucinations, delusions, paranoia, negative symptoms such as anhedonia, and disorganized symptoms. Phobias may be irrational, but people with phobias do not fail reality testing.

Agoraphobia

Agoraphobia is a fear of places or situations that you can’t escape from. The word itself refers to “fear of open spaces.” People with agoraphobia fear being in large crowds or trapped outside the home. They often avoid social situations altogether and stay inside their homes.

Many people with agoraphobia fear they may have a panic attack in a place where they can’t escape. Those with chronic health problems may fear they will have a medical emergency in a public area or where no help is available.

Social phobia

Social phobia is also referred to as social anxiety disorder . It’s extreme worry about social situations and it can lead to self-isolation. A social phobia can be so severe that the simplest interactions, such as ordering at a restaurant or answering the telephone, can cause panic. People with social phobia often go out of their way to avoid public situations.

Other types of phobias

Many people dislike certain situations or objects, but to be a true phobia, the fear must interfere with daily life. Here are a few more of the most common ones:

Glossophobia: This is known as performance anxiety, or the fear of speaking in front of an audience. People with this phobia have severe physical symptoms when they even think about being in front of a group of people. Glossophobia treatments can include either therapy or medication .

Acrophobia: This is the fear of heights. People with this phobia avoid mountains, bridges, or the higher floors of buildings. Symptoms include vertigo , dizziness , sweating , and feeling as if they’ll pass out or lose consciousness.

Claustrophobia: This is a fear of enclosed or tight spaces. Severe claustrophobia can be especially disabling if it prevents you from riding in cars or elevators. Learn more about claustrophobia, from additional symptoms to treatment options.

Aviophobia: This is also known as the fear of flying .

Dentophobia: Dentophobia is a fear of the dentist or dental procedures. This phobia generally develops after an unpleasant experience at a dentist’s office. It can be harmful if it prevents you from obtaining needed dental care .

Hemophobia: This is a phobia of blood or injury. A person with hemophobia may faint when they come in contact with their own blood or another person’s blood.

Arachnophobia: This means fear of spiders.

Cynophobia: This is a fear of dogs.

Ophidiophobia: People with this phobia fear snakes.

Nyctophobia : This phobia is a fear of the nighttime or darkness. It almost always begins as a typical childhood fear. When it progresses past adolescence, it’s considered a phobia.

Risk factors

People with a genetic predisposition to anxiety may be at high risk of developing a phobia. Age, socioeconomic status, and gender seem to be risk factors only for certain phobias. For example, women are more likely to have animal phobias. Children or people with a low socioeconomic status are more likely to have social phobias. Men make up the majority of those with dentist and doctor phobias.

Symptoms of phobias

The most common and disabling symptom of a phobia is a panic attack. Features of a panic attack include:

pounding or racing heart
shortness of breath
rapid speech or inability to speak
upset stomach
elevated blood pressure
trembling or shaking
chest pain or tightness
a choking sensation
dizziness or lightheadedness
profuse sweating
a sense of impending doom

A person with a phobia doesn’t have to have panic attacks for accurate diagnosis, however.

Treatment options

Treatment for phobias can involve therapeutic techniques, medications, or a combination of both.

Online therapy options

Read our review of the best online therapy options to find the right fit for you.

Cognitive behavioral therapy

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is the most commonly used therapeutic treatment for phobias. It involves exposure to the source of the fear in a controlled setting. This treatment can decondition people and reduce anxiety.

The therapy focuses on identifying and changing negative thoughts, dysfunctional beliefs, and negative reactions to the phobic situation. New CBT techniques use virtual reality technology to expose people to the sources of their phobias safely.

Antidepressants and anti-anxiety medications can help calm emotional and physical reactions to fear. Often, a combination of medication and professional therapy is the most helpful.

If you have a phobia, it’s critical that you seek treatment. Overcoming phobias can be difficult, but there’s hope. With the right treatment, you can learn to manage your fears and lead a productive, fulfilling life.

How we reviewed this article:

Facts and statistics. (n.d.). https://adaa.org/about-adaa/press-room/facts-statistics
Mayo Clinic Staff. (2016). Specificphobias: Symptoms and causes. http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/specific-phobias/symptoms-causes/dxc-20253341
Specific phobias. (n.d.). https://adaa.org/understanding-anxiety/specific-phobias

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Theories on How People Develop Phobias

Experts are not entirely sure why phobias develop. However, there are numerous theories, and they can be classified into three different categories:

Learning-based
Psychoanalytic

It is unlikely that these three categories are mutually exclusive as chances are that multiple causes interact in individuals to cause phobias. For example, it may be that biological differences in the brain are triggered by an experience or something in that person's environment, or that a negative experience may lead to a learned response.

Look at these theories and you'll see how complex the development of a phobia is, and why it likely stems from a combination of many factors.

Psychoanalytic Theory

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Sigmund Freud is popularly known as the father of psychoanalysis. His pioneering structural theory was largely based on the three parts of the psyche:

The id is the most primal and instinctive part of the mind and is the basis of our drives. The superego composes morals, values, and prohibitions internalized during development. The ego is the rational moderator between the two. A significant portion of the ego’s duty is to control the impulses of the id.

According to this theory, phobias are based on anxiety reactions when the ego is overwhelmed by these forces. The phobia may symbolically represent some other internal source of anxiety.

Learning Theory

The learning theory is a broadly inclusive set of theories that are based on principles of behaviorism and cognitive theory . Ivan Pavlov pioneered the learning theory by showing that dogs could be trained to salivate when a bell was rung. Since then, numerous psychologists have built on Pavlov’s work to develop more complex theories of human behavior.

According to the learning theory, phobias develop when fear responses are reinforced or punished. Both reinforcement and punishment can be positive or negative.

Positive reinforcement is the presentation of something positive, such as a parent rewarding a child for staying away from a snake. Positive punishment is the presentation of something negative or unfavorable to prevent that behavior from occurring again, such as a child being bitten by a snake.

Biological Basis

Catherine Delahaye/Getty Images

The medical model of psychology states that mental disorders are caused by physiological factors. This theory focuses on neuropsychology, which is a branch of psychology that is dedicated to studying the structure and function of the brain.

Neuropsychologists have identified certain genetic factors that may play a role in the development of phobias. It is also known that certain medications that affect the brain’s chemistry are helpful in treating phobias.

A Word From Verywell

At present, we have no definitive answer to what causes phobias. Chances are, however, that there are multiple causes, and that different people may develop phobias for different reasons.

In some cases, a combination of genetic and physiological issues may be at play. For others, the cause may be psychological or environmental. Fortunately, exposure treatments are effective for phobias, regardless of their causes.

Windholz G. Ivan P. Pavlov: An overview of his life and psychological work . Am Psychol. 1997 ;52 (9):941–946. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.52.9.941

Bloom CM, Post RJ, Mazick J, et al. A discriminated conditioned punishment model of phobia . Neuropsychiatr Dis Treat . 2013;9:1239–1248. doi:10.2147/NDT.S49886

Deacon BJ. The biomedical model of mental disorder: a critical analysis of its validity, utility, and effects on psychotherapy research . Clin Psychol Rev . 2013;33(7):846–861. doi:10.1016/j.cpr.2012.09.007

Loken EK, Hettema JM, Aggen SH, Kendler KS. The structure of genetic and environmental risk factors for fears and phobias . Psychol Med . 2014;44(11):2375–2384. doi:10.1017/S0033291713003012

Farach FJ, Pruitt LD, Jun JJ, Jerud AB, Zoellner LA, Roy-Byrne PP. Pharmacological treatment of anxiety disorders: current treatments and future directions . J Anxiety Disord . 2012;26(8):833–843. doi:10.1016/j.janxdis.2012.07.009

Raeder F, Merz CJ, Margraf J, Zlomuzica A. The association between fear extinction, the ability to accomplish exposure and exposure therapy outcome in specific phobia . Sci Rep . 2020;10(1):4288. doi:10.1038/s41598-020-61004-3

By Lisa Fritscher Lisa Fritscher is a freelance writer and editor with a deep interest in phobias and other mental health topics.

82 Phobia Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

🏆 best phobia topic ideas & essay examples, 🔍 good research topics about phobia, 👍 interesting topics to write about phobia, ❓ research questions about phobias.

School Anxiety and Phobia in Children Fear of school is a widespread phenomenon in the modern world, so it is essential to track the symptoms as quickly as possible and eradicate the cause of stress.
Social Phobia and Stigma Treatment in Saudi Arabia In addition to the social factors, the causes of anxiety and phobic disorders include heredity, the individual characteristics of the nervous system, and the presence of congenital abnormalities.
Old Age Phobia: Problems and Solutions Most of the countries of the world share the same view regarding the issue of the fear of aging. Thus, the perception of age is never well-received by the community and there is such a […]
The Development of Phobias and Addictions On the other hand, addictions are the behavioral pattern that is characterized by either psychological or physical reliance on substances abuse which is known to have negative impacts on the health and the life of […]
Social Phobia Issue Analysis From surveys of many individuals from across the United States and elsewhere, Ruscio and his colleagues found that 40% of individuals considered themselves to be chronically shy, to the point of it being a problem. […]
Anxiety and Phobia in Dental Settings: Theories and Their Relations While external factors may lead to the creation of the anxiety pattern in a patient, the subsequent dental treatment and procedures and their experiences may either exacerbate or altogether nullify the condition.
Behavioral Treatment of Phobias One of the key concepts of CBT is that the source of a patient’s problems most likely lies inside the person, not outside. Therefore, further research should be initiated to improve the understanding of CBT […]
Anxious Phobia Disorder Patients’ Brain & Behavior The improvement of the methods of spectral and multifractal analyses of the electroencephalogram has enabled scientists and psychologists to sort the chaotic and fractal dynamics of the brain associated with anxious phobia disorders.
Specific Phobia: Major Psychiatric Disorder Moreover, the client loved going to school when she was a child because she did well in all of her classes.
Learning Theories Explaining Elevator Phobia I have tried to fight the phobia, but whenever I am faced with the scenario where I am supposed to use the elevator, the memory of the fall becomes so clear, and my fear comes […]
Conditioning in Phobias and Addictions In classical conditioning, Extinction of a behavior is induced by use of a positive reinforcement to the organism which escalates a response.
Phobia in Operant and Classical Conditioning The process of classical conditioning encompasses an association between a behavior that is involuntary and a stimulus. This process sharply differs with that of operant conditioning where the association is between voluntary behavior and a […]
Social Phobia: Causes, Symptoms and Signs It is generally associated with the way a person conducts him or herself in any social setting; in this case, an individual may be in a position of feeling very shy and / or lacking […]
Psychological Problems: The Social Phobia For the achievement of the positive outcomes in restoring of social phobia, the specialists suggest to include the assessments of the life quality and life events in the psychological treatment procedures.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy in Solving Social Phobia The third element “The situation is perceived as socially dangerous” is the cumulative effect of the trigger situation and the negative thoughts that the individual has accumulated about a particular situation and the perception by […]
Aerophobia or Fear of Flying The main aim of the careful explanation of the positive reasons of recovering from the condition is to enable the victim to have a feeling of absolute calmness as the session winds up and to […]
Blushing and Physiological Arousability in Social Phobia
Phobia: Analysis of How It Affects Society
Claustrophobia: Phobia and Frightening Airplane Experience
Connecting Paranoia With Social Phobia, Eating Disorders, and Schizophrenia
Phobia’s and Addiction Relating to Classical and Operant Conditioning
Educational Phobia: How It Affects Education
Erythrophobia: The Analysis of the Blushing Phobia
The Differences Between Phobia and Panic Disorder
The Problem of Exam Phobia Among High School Students
Explaining Reasons People Might Develop a Specific Phobia
The Relationships Between Faith, Self-Esteem, and Social Phobia
Fear and Phobia: Social Anxiety Analysis
Identifying Social Phobia: Symptoms, Treatment, and Prognosis
The Relationships Between Phobia and College Student Fears
The Problem of Islam-Phobia Under the Trump Administration
Overcoming Social Phobia and Social Anxiety
Overview of Three Most Common Phobias: Agoraphobia, Claustrophobia, and More
Phobia: Phobias and Specific Activating Events
Psychoanalytic and Behaviorism Explanations of Phobia of Darkness
Social Phobia and Perfectionism: Theories, Types, and Models
Psychological Reasons and Effects of Phobia Amongst Children
Phobias: Effects and Treatments of Phobias
Social Phobia Among Teenagers and Adults in America
The Relationship Between Social Phobia and Fear of Public Speaking
Social Phobia: How It Affects Children
Phobias: The Cause, the Effect, and the Solution
Analysis of the Effects of Phobias on People
Subliminal Cues Bias Perception of Facial Effect in Patients With Social Phobia
The Causes and Cure of Situational Phobia
Social Phobia and Low Self-Esteem as Factors Behind Unhealthy Eating Behavior
The Conscious and Subconscious Facets of a Phobia
The Factors That Contribute to the Social Phobia
The Millennial Generation Must End Islam Phobia
Analysis of Causes and Disadvantages of Phobias
Treatment Plan for Child’s School Phobia
Understanding Social Phobia and Its Effect on People in the US
What Shapes Europeans’ Attitudes Toward Xeno-Philia or Phobia
Overview of Certain Strategies for Phobia Treatment
The Netherlands on Combating Xenophobia and Racism
Islamophobia in American Media: Cause or Result
What Is a Phobia and How Does It Manifest Itself?
What Shapes Europeans’ Attitudes Toward Phobia?
How Do Phobias Differ From Ordinary Fears?
What Kinds of Phobias Do People Commonly Develop?
How to Portray Socioeconomic Factors as They Might Play a Role in Someone Having a Phobia?
Are Phobias Genetic or Learned?
What Symptoms and Behaviors Might Indicate a Phobia?
How Can Therapy Treat Phobias?
When Does Medication Make Sense for Phobia Management?
What Age Has the Most Phobias?
What Happens if Phobias Are Left Untreated?
Who Is Most Likely to Get Phobias?
How Can Utilizing Combinative Therapy Be Even More Helpful Than Just Administering One Method of Treating a Phobia?
How Can a Blood or Injury Phobia Actually Cause a Dangerous Situation for That Person?
Which Is the Most Common Type of Phobia?
What Are the Complications Arising Due to Phobias?
How Does Genetic Predisposition Play a Role in Whether or Not Someone Develops a Phobia?
What Part of the Brain Develops Phobias?
What Is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and How Do Mental Health Professionals Utilize It in Eliminating Phobias?
What Are the Symptoms of Phobias?
How Might Biofeedback, Deep Breathing Techniques, and Meditation Be Used in Conjunction to Help Treat Phobias?
How Are Phobias Diagnosed?
What Are the Causes and Risk Factors for Developing Phobia?
Why Do Phobias Get Worse With Age?
Meditation Questions
Suicide Prevention Paper Topics
Abnormal Psychology Paper Topics
Addiction Essay Topics
Behaviorism Research Ideas
Superstition Essay Ideas
Islamophobia Paper Topics
Homophobia Topics
Chicago (A-D)
Chicago (N-B)

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Using Psychology

Do you have an essay-writing phobia.

by jmalouff | Sep 30, 2011 | Uncategorized | 87 comments

A few years ago another academic and I were walking with a student (“Kiki”) who said that she always handed in essay assignments two weeks after they are due — the last day before she would receive a 0. Each time she lost 20% of the total possible points due to an automatic penalty of 2% per work day late. Over the long run she was ruining her chances of going on to postgraduate study. The other academic walking with us started to tell Kiki that the university had now extended the penalty period to three weeks with a maximum penalty of 30%, but I elbowed him right away and shook my head. I knew that if Kiki heard this news she would change to submitting three weeks late and suffer an extra 10% penalty. I knew that because I understand phobias, and Kiki had one — essay-writing phobia.

This phobia involves fear and avoidance of writing an assigned essay and/or submitting the essay. In addition to lateness penalties, the avoidance can lead to last-minute writing with its attendant stress, poor quality, and low marks. This phobia is more common than you might think.

What causes essay-writing phobia? The causes are similar for all types of phobias. The main factors likely to contribute here are genetic, biological predispositions to feel anxious, perfectionism in general, setting an unrealistically high goal for the essay, low self-efficacy for writing in general or for the specific essay, and low levels of self-control. Two other possible factors: Avoidance helps the person feel much better in the short run by reducing anxiety, and avoidance with frantic last-minute writing gives the person an ego-protecting excuse for earning a low mark.

So what is the way out of essay-writing phobia? I’ll suggest 10 strategies in order of value for most individuals:

1. Change your goal to something realistic and valuable, like doing your best under the circumstances or submitting on time or ending your avoidance. Put aside goals of being perfect and impressing the heck out of someone.

2. Gradually expose yourself to what you fear. Write the easiest part of the essay first — start with your name or the title. A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Then write the next easiest part and so on, all the way to submitting. Praise yourself for courage at each step. Use my favorite definition of courage: Doing the right thing even tho scared. There is a great deal of research evidence that gradual exposure helps eliminate phobias.

3. Discuss your fears with someone who cares about your welfare or write in a journal about your fears. Bringing them out in the open will help you deal with them.

4. Calm yourself thru deep breathing, meditation, or some other means.

5. Focus on the task at hand — tell yourself what to do next on the assignment. Think that you are writing a draft that you will improve later, if necessary. Positive thoughts often lead to positive behavior.

6. Challenge self-defeating thoughts such as “Ï can’t do this” by thinking clearly about what “this” is and by looking for evidence from the past about whether you can do it.

7. Think of times you have written good essays and submitted on time.

8. Think of how you overcame some fear before in your life.

9. Think of individuals you admire who acted bravely.

10. Write in a new location or using a different method, e.g., paper rather than laptop. The change of procedure might give you a new perspective or expectation.

Those are my thoughts. For a case study describing treatment of essay-writing phobia, see http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0005796786900422.

What helps you reduce essay writing fear and avoidance?

John Malouff, PhD, Associate Professor of Psychology

[Photo by Tyler Nix on Unsplash]

87 Comments

One of the most effective ways I’ve found to avoid procrastinating is to plan what I’m going to write thoroughly and to break it down into manageable chunks (introduction, arguments, conclusion, for instance). Often, I think we put off writing because we don’t know where to start or we’re afraid of getting lost halfway through. If you have a good plan, you always know what you have to write next, and if you chunk it, the job becomes less daunting, because you can take it a bit at a time.

As professional project managers say: first you need to plan the work, then you need to work the plan.

Dear John I have had this battle for a few years now, although not usually late with assignments, essay induced anxiety levels are high, especially close to submit time. My motto is still working on it – Never give up. So thanks for giving me something to help me “work on it”. I look forward to reading the case study, when, I my essays are finished. Kind regards

This is brilliant! While I have never submitted an assignment late, I do procrastinate and worry every time I start an essay! I have to admit I have phaffed about for half a day over the abstract and introduction for a recent postgrad essay. Years of part-time study and I still agonise! :o)

I have often wondered whether we sometimes set ourselves up for failure so we have an excuse for not doing as well as we could.

Unfortunately though, setting high goals for an essay is often necessary for some students who need to maintain high GPAs in order to be competitive for places in honours and masters programs. I have found that this pressure added to my anxiety levels during my UGRAD. The old saying “You still get degrees with Ps” is true but not really helpful for a stressed out Psych UGRAD!!

I think I have the opposite going on…..I can’t bear to leave an essay to the last minute. I need weeks (or months) to write, reflect, write and rewrite, write, reflect etc etc in order to arrive at a place where I feel ready to submit my work. This is the ONLY way I can handle the pressure of the task. And it actually gets me engaged with the task, and motivated to keep chipping away at it.

I agree, breaking it into chunks works. And on a hard day I’m writing the reference list or something more light on. I know on the next or the next day I’ll feel ready to tackle the bigger stuff………..but in the end it does come down to sheer hard work and putting in the time – including doing the painstaking research, and having enough time for reflection. And the feeling that you’ve put that sort of effort in is satisfying in itself, and even more so if receive a good grade.

Thanks for the article. Having worked in the Australian Public Service for 19 years, writing is not something that scares me – but having returned to post-grad study, the concept of submitting an academic piece of writing has been more confronting. A different sort of pressure! Some great suggestions there – especially no. 10, though my wife might wonder what the heck I am up to tapping away on a keyboard in the buff! 🙂

Thank you for your article. The bodies of the essay seems to be the main part for me. I found if I break this up in chunks, topics are a lot better, ideally. Physically a relaxing massage may trigger more thoughts. Finally organised and finishing the task ahead of time.

Thanks to all of you for your comments. Many of you point to breaking the assignment into manageable parts. That, of course, is what we do in eating. We cut up our food into small chunks and then we chew it into even smaller pieces. Good process!

I like the other ideas too — planning carefully, starting early, getting massages, consistent hard work, persisting, What thoughts do use to combat anxiety about essay performance?

Arguably, the behavioural treatment of “phobias” is one of psychology’s paradigmatic successes. If the problem is with the submission of work, I think that what is required is a program of systematic desensitisation. Treatment could be integrated into an academic course, and as with all such programs would be fairly labout intensive. We would start with the submission of one sentence, delivered immediately upon receipt of the task, and after feedback had been given on that sentence, increase the task demand by an agreed on ‘trivial and immediately deliverable’ amount, give feedback, maintain salience by set a proximal deadline and so on until the task was complete.

Hi tjartz. I also favor gradual exposure treatment for phobias.

Holy crap this is a legitimate phobia? Like, a phobia that is actually recognized by professionals? I’m not just lazy/a neurotic perfectionist? I’m going to look at the link OP provided to the case study because that would explain so much. I am stunned.

Background info: I am taking a year off from my undergraduate studies on account of abysmal grades and burnout. I am not a bad student, per se—I graduated in the top 10% of my high school class and was accepted Early Decision into a prestigious research university—but even since first grade, my experiences with essays and the like have been very similar to Kiki’s.

Hi Miriam. Not only is it a real phobia, it is a common one among university students. I see evidence of that in the many, many individuals who access my posting on the topic. Also I know students who partly defeat themselves by avoiding work on assigned essays.

In the nicest way… I don’t think that there are any illegitimate phobias. Everyone with a phobia is suffering, and often unnecessarily.

You might like to have a look at Carol Dweck’s work on ‘self theories’. In particular how we can be scuppered by implicit beliefs about intelligence and achievement.

Hi there. I agree — there are many different types of stimuli that lead to phobias in at least some people.

This was really helpful. Right now I cannot give up any essays on time and I have a very low GPA. I am therefore gonna seek help and use some of these to help move forward in my academic life. It is also good to know I’m not the only one sufering

Hi CM. You are not alone with that problem. Good luck!

The problem I have is It seems that I can’t write something good without the anxiety spurring me on. It seems to give me some extra ability to focus but also makes me hate the process. I can start writing an essay really early, but the good stuff does not seem to come out until the deadline approaches and the adreniline kicks in! It is really annoying. I would love to sit calmly and write an essay and even enjoy the process, but everything I seem to write is trite until I am backed into a corner. It is so frustrating!

Hi Davenwillow. It seems that you need challenge or high arousal to write your best. If you use your imagination, you find find other ways than an impending deadline to create challenge or high arousal when writing. Please write again if you find an alternative that works for you.

My writing anxieties are beyond paralyzing. I become physically ill from the start of my writing, until my grade is posted. This information is so helpful, thank you!

It is really nice to see someone acknowledge the topic of essay phobia in students. I have been struggling with phobia for taking tests and writing papers for a while now. During my school years I feared preparing for my final exams but now that I am in college I have a strong fear of writing papers. I have tried making outlines, setting concrete time limits, writing from the body of the paper, taking anxiety medication but none of these methods help to counter my anxiety/phobia. I know this might seem like excuses to prevent myself from writing academic papers but this is truly how it is for me. I try to talk about my writing problems with psychologists however it is hard for them to grasp just how bad it is for me and they chose to focus on other problems instead.

Hi Sadbot. I know a student who describes her avoidance much as you do. If you solve the problem for yourself, tell the world how you did it — you could help many individuals.

Thanks for your thoughts, John, and everyone. I may have a ‘phobia’ now, but I didn’t start out that way. I’m an adult who returned to college 25 years after leaving, so learning how to write academically after years of e-mailing and Facebooking conversationally, has been really difficult. I think my phobia has grown out of my self-imposed perfectionism and the tedium in attempting it. Everything I write TAKES ME SO LONG. But, I agree that breaking into chunks, however one chooses to do it, is very helpful. Graphic organizers would be helpful, but I have yet to find a program that’s really cooperative with a newb. I spend all day trying to learn the program rather than getting started on my writing. Ugh. I’m sorry you all struggle, but it’s nice to know I’m not alone.

Hi Tracy. Albert Bandura would say that low self-efficacy about doing an assignment adequately is at the heart of essay-writing phobia. For students with a phobia, a better goal than doing the assignment adequately (which to some of them means perfectly) is to do the assignment as a good (or perfect!) student does: following a preparation/writing schedule, starting early, making continual progress, and submitting on time or early. In the long run of a career, timeliness in writing is more important than perfection.

I’m so glad I came across this discussion. But I wish I saw this 5 years ago.

I’ve always had problems submitting essays on time back in my college days. I majored in both Psychology and Linguistics, and took a bunch of other social science electives so understandably there were a lot of writing to do. At some stage I gave up on myself and thought I was just a lazy ass procrastinator who will never amount to much.

Before I start on an essay I would spend a lot of effort doing my readings, planning my structure, and extracting the relevant information. But when it comes to typing out the actual essay, I get stuck. The untitled word document can sit on my laptop screen for days and we just stare at each other until its finally a week overdue. Consequentially, I usually get a good raw grade for content but the late penalty takes it down to a mediocre grade.

Fast-forward until today, I have worked in a stressful(but boring) corporate environment for a while and never had a problem with time-management or punctually. A possible explanation I’ve thought of is that, ironically, I cared more about the quality of my college assignments than the tasks at my current job.

Lately, I’ve been thinking of going back to pursue a Master’s Degree but my undergrad grades make me weep with regret. How could I possibly tell the admission panel that my subpar GPA was due to late assignments and expect them to wave their wands of forgiveness? I probably can’t…

Thank you John and everyone here for sharing your thoughts and sorry for my long post in secondlanguage-English!

Hi CQ. You are not alone in suffering consequences of essay-writing phobia. You write well — look for a way ahead.

Wow- sums me up to a T! I’m doing my second undergrad, but my first one almost never got finished because I wouldn’t submit a thesis…it’s not that it wasn’t written, it was. In fact I wrote it one night but then spent the majority of the term “tweaking” it…which really just meant trying to fact check and double fact check, look for grammar problems and pick it apart to peices for no reason 🙁 I went as far as ruining my computer with some weird virus and was so relieved that I had a LEGIT reason not to hand in HAHA. My cousin is a computer whiz so that didn’t last for long. I took it to him to get it fixed but he was aware of the situation and ran my document through some of his editor friends then printed and submitted it for me omg! I got an A, but I felt robbed of my intellectual property- does that make sense?! I forgot about it for a while, but now I’m writing papers again and I can’t help but feel the same feelings as before. I know I have a problem with submitting papers but was too embarrassed to tell anyone. I finally did and thankfully my school has counsellors who are totally aware of this problem so now I get extensions and stuff but I try my hardest not to take too much advantage of that because I know in real life there are no extensions 🙁 I wanna “fix” this problem so bad…sooooo exposure exposure exposure! I may just try that writing naked tip too HAHAHA! Thanks for the great post and all the lovely dialogue going on here. Makes me feel a lot better about this 🙂

Thanks for your comment, NWM. Persistence is important in changing a habit.

Hi! I just wanted to say I really liked this article – I’m so glad I finally have a name for what I’m going through! I hate, hate writing essays; when I’m faced with a deadline, I’m sometimes tempted to grab a hammer and smash my head or hand in just so I won’t have to write it. The weird thing is, I didn’t always have this phobia or feel terribly anxious about my essays. I did pretty well for my first 2 years of college, I would submit my essays at the deadline or maybe a day or a few hours late and get maybe an A- or a B+ with a late penalty. I’m in my fourth and final honours semester now, and for the past 2 years, I can’t seem to meet any of the deadlines. My procrastination has gotten really bad – I sometimes submit in my essays one week late. For every day I’m late, my profs dock my grade by one half grade, so an A becomes an A-. I start crying almost uncontrollably when I know I have an essay due; I go into denial mode and consider quite seriously jumping out of the window to make the task of writing an essay go away and I start to seriously consider the benefits of jumping since it would mean that I would never have to do another essay again. I know this is absurd, it is my last semester and after this, I’ll never have to write another academic paper again. I also know that once I’m done with my paper, I’ll feel really happy and totally at peace and in love with the world and I will no longer want to jump. I don’t think I’m a bad student, I’m actually quite academically inclined and really like sitting in classes, listening to the profs teach. If I keep my grades up, I’ll likely graduate with a second upper class honours which is crucial for me if I want to enter my country’s civil service. But I am so scared that I won’t be able to make it because I keep submitting my essays in late. Every essay is a living hell I have to go through :(.

Hi jtxz. I sense your suffering — I feel sad thinking about it. Part of your suffering comes from an approach-avoidance conflict (I think that you want to complete your assignment and get a good grade but you feel anxious about doing the work). If avoidance of writing assignments is your only avoidance, your problems will soon end when you graduate — you will be free!

i cant write my essay. i just cant. im in college i should be able to write aa paper by myself.

Hi Moe. Phobias, though irrational, are common. I used to have a phobia of diving into water. I also had a phobia of public speaking. I am happy to say that I have left these phobias behind.

If the strategies in my blog don’t help you overcome the problem, consult a psychologist on campus. Phobia treatment usully works well.

it’s a relief to know that i’m not the only one. I failed a course in April because of this problem. now i’m taking it for the second time but the same thing is happening. the dateline was yesterday. and to avoid myself from thinking about the penalty, i play game on the smartphone. it is so hard to overcome this kind of problem. i wish i never do this master degree. i hope the lecturer still accept my essay assignment although i know there is no chance coz he is so strict kind of person. thank you for this post anyway. i will continue my essay now.

Hi Liza. Persistence often pays off in overcoming a phobia or any other type of problem.

This hits close to home, so close that even my nickname is Kiki! And as I am writing this comment, my deadline for a 1500 word essay is in 23 minute and I haven’t started >.< I have no problem studying for exams and doing assignments that do not include academic writing but just the thought of writing academic essays makes me break out in sweats! I have always either submitted my essays in late at uni or submitted in essays that only reached half the word limit. I would procrastinate until the last possible minute to start because usually the pressure of deadlines makes me less inclined to be perfect with my writing and just produce anything. In saying this, I have never failed an essay but also rarely ever achieved a great mark. My friends are always baffled by my phobia as I am an avid reader so they assume this means I am a great writer. My new years resolution to tackle this phobia is to write more. I will try to give myself things that I am interested in to research and write about. Hopefully I will be able to go through with this resolution!

Hi Kiki. You are a member of a large group (millions worldwide?) of individuals who fear and avoid academic writing. To leave the group, go right on Courage Street and then right again on Persistence Boulevard. If you submit a written assignment on time, with a proper word count, after starting early, and earn a high grade, your improved student behavior will be reinforced by the grade. If the grade is not so good, you may learn that you are not harmed by receiving a mediocre grade for maximum performance.

I ended up reading this blog because I have an essay due tomorrow which I haven’t yet started. I’ve done all the background reading and research, and even written a detailed outline, but I have a complete block on writing the essay itself until I’m almost out of time.

I used to think it was something to do with the adrenaline kick when I finish something half an hour before deadline (I’ve never actually missed one, but at my college being five minutes late means the mark is capped at 40% – if the policy was 2% deduction a day, I’d be even worse) – now, though, I’ve realised that it absolutely is perfectionism gone horribly wrong. I know my writing isn’t anywhere near the quality of published work, therefore it’s automatically terrible and the marker will think I’m an academic failure (and a failure of a person, too, because why stop there?) Writing it all at the last minute gives me a protective excuse for submitting something imperfect.

I’m trying to overcome this, but when I do start early I agonise over every single sentence and an assignment that should take a day or two of solid work takes weeks instead, with the bulk of it still being written at the last minute! It’s an improvement on high school, which I dropped out of after missing literally every deadline I had there, but still.

Interestingly, this isn’t the case with written reports and evaluations I’ve had to do at work – because my manager either just thanks me for them or, if necessary, asks for revisions. It’s the grading that’s the trouble for me, as if the entirely of my self is being reduced to a number. Of course that’s going to be stressful, even if the number isn’t a disappointingly low one.

Thank you for this post! I know it’s a few years old now, but at least I know that I’m not alone.

Hi Leksa. You are not alone. I hope that at some point you will care much less what markers think of you — you are not on this earth to please markers, or to be perfect.

Thank you for this article. I have struggled to explain my writing anxiety to others but when I do, I become frustrated because they don’t seem to understand. And I can’t make sense of it either. This has been an academic struggle for me going back to grade school. It has even negatively impacted my professional career.

I graduated a semester late from college because I didn’t turn in a paper and had to retake a class. Attempted to get my masters but after twice trying to complete my thesis class I gave up. It is not that I can’t write it is just such a difficult task…it is mentally and emotionally exhausting. I know that it has to do on some level with perfectionism and a fear of criticism. Like many I have the mindset that if I don’t try then I didn’t succeed by choice. Not sure were the mindset originated from but that is the inner voice that I battle with. This is the only area academically that I struggle with, I excel in all others.

I am currently back in school and picked an academic track that isn’t heavy on written assignments. Thought that with less writing that I could “will” my way through the writing but it is so bad that I look at the syllabus to determine how much a written assignment is weighted to determine if I will turn it in late or even at all. Which means that I have to work harder to sustain grades that can sustain the loss of points.

My issue isn’t organizing my thoughts because I can create an outline, have everything in order and can verbally recite the contents of the paper if asked. But when I put my fingers on the keys I feel like I am going into battle. It is a horrible experience that sometimes I just choose not to fight.

Hi Juanita. I can feel your suffering. I hope you will try psychological strategies or see a psychologist — anything that might help you overcome the problem.

oh dear… Could I use this as an ‘extenuating circumstance’ to stop my essay being capped at 40%?

My university is totally draconian. 1 minute late and its capped at 40%!

The ironic thing was that it was the first time I started an essay early, I chipped at it slowly and got over my fear. I was 1 minute late to submit and all the effort I made dealing with my ‘issue’ was in vain. It’s really discouraging to want to start something early again.

I was under so much stress, i pretty much skipped Christmas celebrations to work on my frigging essay that drove me to tears and unexplained increased heart rate for three weeks!

I still submitted something subpar because I broke it into too many little chunks that took me beyond the submission date so i still pulled a 42 hour all nighter to reach the word count by the date. Imagine my blood shot, teary eyes when the woman told me I am a minute late.

God I am crying now remembering it now (This was three days ago). And I am on this website because I am back to my essay avoiding ways. Sigh.

Jaappy, you suffered mightily due to be slightly tardy in submitting. Although you did not receive the grade reward you wanted, you did show yourself that you can start early and submit at about the due time. Your next step is to start early and submit early. You are very close to that level of performance, which may gain you the grade you want and positive emotions.

Thank you so much for this article! I’ve been struggle with this problem for years (since high school). And I feel like it has gotten worse as each semester goes by. I meant have to graduated from my undergrad degree last semester but I failed a subject (which wasn’t even meant to be hard in the first place) due to the exact same problem as Kiki in this article, in that I have this bad habit of submitting assignments a week or two weeks after the due date. I think it has a lot to do with my perfectionism which I have trouble dealing with, like I’m always re-writing and correcting everything before I even get to the rest of the essay. Even as I am writing this comment, I’m constantly either correcting myself or rewording my sentences.

But I also think I have a problem with academic writing in general – I found that my ideas lack coherence and/or depth (or they’re simply all over the place). I also have problems paraphrasing an author’s words or explaining particular concepts, as well as putting forward my own arguments. Often my teachers comment on how I’m just summarising what these writers are saying. It seems that I’m really terrible at critical analysis.

Everytime I have to do a journal article/literature review, research project or a combination of both, I get extremely anxious. But generally whenever I have to do an assignment, I get anxious, even just reading the subject guide which outlines the assessment tasks for the semester stresses me out.

I’m really tired of making excuses and apologies for having to submit assignments after the due date. I’ve gone to three different counselors in the past about this and I didn’t feel like they were very helpful. I feel like I need a personal academic tutor or something. At the same time, I feel really embarrassed about it. I also think I need to learn how to stand on my own and not rely or depend on other people all the time. Every time I ask help from people and end up getting good marks for a specific task, I feel like the credit’s not mine to take. It doesn’t help that I’m slow and disorganised (mentally and physically)…

I might have to give couseling another shot for this problem is literally starting to drive me insane. I hope what I’ve written here makes sense (I’m almost tempted to discard this comment but I’m going to leave it here because I think I need to get this off my chest).

Many thanks again! 🙂

Hi Anonyme. Many other individuals share your difficulties. Persistence in overcoming the problem is your best bet.

Thanks, John! I really appreciate your comment. (Just realised, I have a few typos on my post, e.g. *I’ve been struggling)

I did not notice any typos.

I feel so identified with this! I’ve had a big problem sitting down studying since high school, difficulties to find and stick to topics, organize myself and, well, I’m afraid of writing essays. During my undergrads I kind of managed to either hand in on time and get ok grades or hand in late and get (very) good grades. My university didn’t mind, but my sense of self-worth really suffered! I’m not really motivated to hand in some last-minute crap anymore (if I even had something written) when I know that in theory I could do so much better. I do try to sit down early, I love to learn, I love all the academic environment etc. It just doesn’t help. Last autumn I started a Masters, which is really heavy on writing papers and this university is much more strict than my former one. From the beginning I felt inferior (which adds to my anxieties) due to how late I handed in my papers during my undergrads. Result is that until now I haven’t managed to submit even one (of many), am blocked from future courses and scared to be kicked out. Should I talk to someone about it and whom? I always feel that this is my battle that I gotta go through alone and not bother University staff with inappropriate requests :/ In fact, a couple of months ago I contacted my University’s psychologist who sent me to a psychiatrist who told me that I’m lazy, a fake student (procrastinator!), not made for studying and should stop torturing myself and instead look for a job (knowing myself I would do the same in a job). I was supposed to have more consultations but this one crushed me so much (and increased my fears and reduced my self-worth even more) that I promised to myself to battle it alone. Now I have realized that I can’t do this alone and contacted another psychologist, but I don’t know if it’s too late to save my studies, especially since my university doesn’t seem supportive. Anyway, I was so glad to read your post and to know that I’m not the only one suffering through this. I’m determined to win this fight and learn to love my papers, though I don’t yet know how…

Hi Nina. I can sense your frustration. I am glad that you have sought help from another psychologist and that you are working toward overcoming your problem.

You seem to have low self-efficacy about writing essays. The comment you wrote on this blog shows excellent writing ability.

You could try the methods I suggest in my blog. Also, you could read this book and try some of its suggestions: You Are a Badass: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life Paperback – April 23, 2013 by Jen Sincero

Best wishes, John

Wow, I’m feeling anxious just reading these comments. I’m searching for help for my college-age son, who is extremely bright but can barely write a word without intense self-loathing (and I know he inherited that from me).

He’s worked with therapists and tutors but still he suffers to the point where he drops classes if he feels he can’t manage the writing–which is all too often. His last tutor said he needs to be on anxiety medication, but we’re wary of side effects. I’m wondering if anyone’s tried hypnotism?

Hi Worried Mom. He might benefit from using the methods I describe. If those fail, next he could consult a psychologist who provides cognitive-behavioral therapy. After that: a psychiatrist, who might prescribe an anti-depressant or an anti-anxiety drug. Hypnotherapy might help, but i wold not bet on it.

I have an extreme case. I have very unrealistic goals when it comes to essay writing and perfectionism issues. I usually end up doing well in everything like tests and exams except writing essays. I fail courses and have been on academic probation and kicked out of university twice now. Once in 1994 and once now in 2016. My problem is that when it comes to writing an essay, I spend alot of time researching the material and trying to come up with great ideas and a great thesis. I have sleep disturbances during the time when the essay is assigned and due. I do all the leg work but have nothing to show. I can get 70 percent in a course without the essay component that is worth 20 percent of mark. But without handing in the essay, I fail the course.

The very few times that I have handed in my essay, they have been late and I have received penalties. I can’t even say I procrastinate. I have fail of failure and don’t want to hand in a crappy essay but also am plagued with this phobia I guess.

Background is that I have been diagnosed with bipolar since 2004 and am on meds. However, when it’s time to write essays, it effects my sleep and mood. I see people with mediocre grades getting through the programs, not to insult them at the least, while I am failing. I have spent so much time and money and have more than enough credits to have two degrees by now. However, I have none to my name.

I just can’t leave it alone. I love studying and learning and every time I go back to college or university, I think it will be different this time. Somehow, I will be able to hand in the paper even though it is not what is up to “my standard”. I also have a fear of plagiarism as well.

To make the long story short, is there anything you can suggest to help me. My motto seems to be I will die trying. Thanks for reading my comment.

Hi Jane. Your fear of imperfection leads you to fail. Perhaps it is time to view yourself and your writing as imperfect. That is how I think of myself and my writing. With your academic writing, switch your goal from perfect writing to submitting on time. Later you can add the goal of getting a passing grade. Go forward one small step at a time.

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Phobias Essay

Everyone knows that everyone is afraid of something. Everyone recognizes that phobias are not something to be ashamed of, and that everyone has at least one. But what exactly is a phobia? Simply put, it’s an anxiety disorder. The exact definition of a phobia is a bit different though. A phobia is an anxiety disorder in which a person will experience a strong, irrational fear of a situation, object, or activity. Adults with fears usually realize they are being irrational, but children are the opposite. A phobia will produce a feeling of anxiety that will range anywhere from mild, to downright severe. People with mild symptoms don’t usually worry about it too much because it doesn’t interfere with their day to …show more content…

In agoraphobia, it is very common for the individual to have panic disorders. Its also been speculated that agoraphobia may be something that tends to run in the family. Studies show that over half of the patients with agoraphobia have had someone else in their family with it too. When it comes to Social phobia , a lot of experts think it has a direct link to alcoholism. Individuals who have social phobia, often deal with a lot of stress. These high stress factors are said to create an increased risk for abusing alcohol. People with social phobia often become depressed and sometimes lose a lot of self esteem. These are both factors that alcohol plays off of, so it is highly recommended that people with social phobia don’t drink alcohol. People with specific phobias usually get them from a frightening experience or witnessing a traumatic event. This is the reason that it is normally found in children, because a child is much more easily frightened by littler things than an adult. Another reason why some people will develop specific phobias is that they may have been exposed to too much information about something, or too many warning about something. The symptoms of a phobia (any kind) are all relatively the same. When exposed to what frightens the person, the person will go into a panic attack like state. There are many things that can occur during a

Evaluate The Learning Approach To Phobia Study

A phobia is an overwhelming and unbearable fear of something, such as an object, place, situation, feeling or animal. Phobias are a lot profounder than fears. In my essay I will be looking at a scenario of a woman called Amy with an extreme phobia of birds and how we can explain her fear looking at different psychological theories that explains learnt behaviour.

Agoraphobias In Finding Forrester

There are various phobias that develop from specific traumas and scenarios that have a severe impact on the mind. There is a movie that gives perfect examples of Agoraphobia and it is called Finding Forrester. Agoraphobia is translated from the Greek language as “fear of the market place”(n.a , 2007). Agoraphobia is a powerful anxiety connected to a setting that is difficult to avoid or neglect. An explanation for Agoraphobia is that a person can have diversified quantity of anxiety attacks that associate it to a panic disorder.

Examples Of Fear In The Crucible

Everybody has a different perspective on fear and everybody is affected differently. The Mental Health Foundation stated that, “Fear can last for a short time and then pass but it can also last much longer and stay with us. In some cases it can take over our lives, affecting appetite, sleep, and concentration for long periods of time. Fear stops us from travelling, going to work or school, or even leaving the house.” This quote shows that fear does not affect people as much as it does to others. Although, fear can affect people for a long time which can cause them to stay isolated from others. There are many types of fears and some examples of fears include: the fear of the number 13, the fear of spiders, the fear of heights, and many others. There are hundreds of fears and many people have these fears and everybody is affected differently.

Psychodynamic Perspective

Phobias, an extreme fear of something, can best be understood through use of the psychodynamic perspective. Oftentimes, childhood traumas or exposure to the object of the fear at an early age can lead to the phobia to manifest itself when the patient is an adult.

Phobias and the Brain Essay

14 Works Cited

(3) Women are two to three times as likely to have phobias than men. There are three basic kinds of phobias: agoraphobia (fear of situations in which escape may be difficult), social phobia, and specific phobias. The DSM-IV has separated phobic stimuli into four basic categories: animal, situational, blood injury, and nature-environment. (3)

Classical And Operant Conditioning On Phobias

Phobia in clinical psychology context is an irrational fear of something or situation. The person suffering from phobia will try their best to avoid their phobia. In the extreme case that the person suffering from the phobia cannot avoid it, they will attempt to endure through the situation with a lot of distress ADDIN EN.CITE Swanson1986158(Swanson, 1986)15815817Swanson, Guy E.Phobias and Related Symptoms: Some Social SourcesSociological ForumSociological Forum103-130111986Springer08848971http://www.jstor.org/stable/684555( HYPERLINK l "_ENREF_2" o "Swanson, 1986 #158" Swanson, 1986). Phobias can cause difficulties in a person performing their daily activities.

Agoraphobia Essay

A phobic disorder is marked by a persistent and irrational fear of an object or situation that presents no realistic danger. Agoraphobia is an intense, irrational fear or anxiety occasioned by the prospect of having to enter certain outdoor locations or open spaces. For example, busy streets, busy stores, tunnels, bridges, public transportation and cars. Traditionally agoraphobia was solely classified as a phobic disorder. However, due to recent studies it is now also viewed as a panic disorder. Panic disorders are characterised by recurrent attacks of overwhelming anxiety that usually occur suddenly and unexpectedly (Weiten, 1998).

The Five Sub-Types Of Specific Phobia

Specific phobia, also known as simple phobia, is an anxiety disorder characterized by persistent and unreasonable fear of something or fear of a situation, wherein such fear is not proportionate to the danger or risk of that thing or situation that a person has the fear of. The five sub-type of specific phobia are the animal, natural environment, blood injection injury, situational and others. The most common specific phobia is the animal phobia. Examples of this animal phobia include fear of dogs, snakes, insects or mice. To prevent over diagnosis of specific phobia, DSM 5 have made several changes based on the over assessment of danger or erratic fear. To be considered as one of the specific phobias, it should meet the requirements

Phobias: The Greek God Of Fear

Everybody that you come into contact with on a daily basis will have a fear of something but a phobia can be defined as an irrational fear, this can provoke feelings of intense anxiety and initiate avoidance behaviour.

Taking a Look at Agoraphobia

Causes: There is no known specific cause for Agoraphobia, but there are some different theories. One theory is that it may be genetic and could run in a family. Another theory is that one develops it through a personal experience. This irrational fear may stem from a previous, damaging experience that occurred in a public or open place. This would lead to bad feelings or memories and anxiety of something else similar happening. The phobia may also be somatic, meaning that one will assume anxiety will accompany a situation, so anxiety really does follow. These symptoms are caused by thoughts and worries that are consciously and purposefully thought about, but not intended to cause problems, though they do.

Phobia And Classical Conditioning

In general, a phobia refers to “extreme [and] irrational fear reactions” (Powell, Honey, & Symbaluk, 2013, p. 190). Phobias are developed through a process called classical conditioning. Classical conditioning involves “a process in which one stimulus that does not elicit a certain response is associated with a second stimulus that does; as a result, the first stimulus also comes to elicit a response” (Powell et al., 2013, pp. 109-110).

Argumentative Essay On Phobias

A phobia is an extreme or irrational fear of something. Many phobias are in relation to one another. As people, we must realize that phobias cannot be fixed by ourselves. In order to help individuals that we may encounter, we must completely understand phobias. We cannot judge them for something they cannot help. To help an individual feel more at ease it is our job to know the causes, effects, impacts, and treatments of their phobia. This would help to completely understand the phobia and in the end, help us all to support each

Concrete Operational Thought Essay

Some fears that are common are fear of the dark, thunder-lightning storms, and supernatural beings (boogy man/ someone something under the bed).I remember always crying that there was a fox at my window by my bed. Later the fear tend to turn to more fear that are movie or television furled or come from scary events. Children can have a phobia of school that may come from harsh teachers, stress and bullies. Children of the age five to seven may have problems being away from home. The years eleven to thirteen can be hard if there are harsh living conditions in which create anxieties, even problems in school.

Phobia Research Paper

Known as a mental disorder a phobia is a persistent fear of a specific object, activity, or situation that leads to compelling desire to avoid it. Phobias tend to affect the way people live their lives, for example, their working and social environments, considering that they last for a very long time and are capable to cause intense psychological physical stress. It is considered today the most common mental and anxiety disorder in the United States (Matig Mavissakalian & David H. Barlow 1981 pp 2). There are many phobias such as: the fear of aging, fear of changing, fear of clowns, fear of getting fat, fear of being in closed spaces, etc.

Essay on Phobias

However, phobia can even cause people to risk their health. For example, the fear of dentists can leave people suffering from it willing to risk the health of their teeth in order to avoid having to go through an exam or procedure ( MacKay). When one knows about an upcoming confrontation, it can be the reason why one can not sleep or finds it hard to focus on important tasks. Due the change in daily routine, this unrealistic fear can interfere with the ability to socialize, work, or go about everyday life, brought on by and object, event or situation. But even animals have anxieties and phobias just as every human being (www.phobia-help.de). A phobia is an irrational fear, one knows that the object or situation, one is scared off, can not hurt one, but one is still afraid. A reason for this is that the human mind can not distinguish what is real and imaginary. When one has uncontrollable anxiety attacks, he loses rational judgement, leading to complicated problems. However, anyone can develop a phobia, men and women, teens and young adults, and elderly lady or a one-year-old boy (MacKay).

Specific phobias

Contributors

Anxiety disorders are among the most prevalent mental disorders, but the subcategory of specific phobias has not been well studied. Phobias involve both fear and avoidance. For people who have specific phobias, avoidance can reduce the constancy and severity of distress and impairment. However, these phobias are important because of their early onset and strong persistence over time. Studies indicate that the lifetime prevalence of specific phobias around the world ranges from 3% to 15%, with fears and phobias concerning heights and animals being the most common. The developmental course of phobias, which progress from fear to avoidance and then to diagnosis, suggests the possibility that interrupting the course of phobias could reduce their prevalence. Although specific phobias often begin in childhood, their incidence peaks during midlife and old age. Phobias persist for several years or even decades in 10–30% of cases, and are strongly predictive of onset of other anxiety, mood, and substance-use disorders. Their high comorbidity with other mental disorders, especially after onset of the phobia, suggests that early treatment of phobias could also alter the risk of other disorders. Exposure therapy remains the treatment of choice, although this approach might be less effective in the long term than previously believed. This Review discusses the literature regarding the prevalence, incidence, course, risk factors, and treatment of specific phobias, and presents epidemiological data from several population-based surveys.

Introduction

Anxiety disorders, which include generalised anxiety disorder, panic disorder, agoraphobia, social phobia, and specific (simple) phobias, are more prevalent in adults than are other mental disorders. 1 In 1987, Marks 2 reviewed the existing literature and conceptualised the study of anxiety, which led to a surge in research on the epidemiology and natural history of the subcategories of panic and agoraphobia, 3 – 7 social phobia, 8 – 16 and generalised anxiety disorder. 17 – 20 However, less research has been done on the subcategory of specific phobias, 21 – 23 which is the subject of this Review. As many people with specific phobias do not seek treatment, the epidemiological aspects of this Review concentrate on population-based data, focusing on the prevalence, incidence, and natural history of specific phobias. We also discuss research on risk factors (including genetic epidemiology) and treatment modalities for specific phobias. We systematically reviewed the epidemiological research literature on any specific phobia, and eight specific phobias were assessed on the basis of three separate population-based surveys. The aim of this Review is to introduce researchers and clinicians to this relatively under-developed field, to highlight the importance of specific phobias, and to provide some guidance regarding treatment options.

The diagnosis of phobic reaction was described in two short paragraphs in the first edition of the American Psychiatric Association DSM in 1952, 24 which stated that “the commonly observed forms of phobic reaction include fear of syphilis, dirt, closed places, high places, open places, animals, etc. The patient attempts to control his anxiety by avoiding the phobic object or situation.” Since then, types of phobia (including social phobias, agoraphobia, and specific phobias) have been more narrowly specified, and subtypes of specific phobias (including phobias related to blood, injections, and injury) have been expanded. The diagnosis of a specific phobia requires unreasonable fear associated with a specific object or situation, avoidance of the object or situation, persistence of the fear over time, and clinically significant distress or impairment associated with the fear, or avoidance. 25 The definitions in the American and international classifications 26 are similar, which is important for our discussion of worldwide results.

The requirement that the individual recognises their phobia as unreasonable indicates that the presence of insight is important, and suggests that the interview or self-report method of assessment by a clinician or survey interviewer (as used in much of the research discussed herein) is probably a valid method of diagnosis. Specific phobias can be diagnosed with only a few questions. For example, the first question about specific phobias from the revised third edition of the Diagnostic Interview Schedule, 27 used in the Epidemiologic Catchment Area (ECA) study, 28 asks about the fear itself and avoidance (eg, for blood and injection phobia, “have you ever had such an unreasonable fear of seeing blood; getting an injection; or going to the dentist that you tried to avoid it?”). The second question asks about persistence (eg, “did any of these fears continue for months or even years?”), and is followed by a series of questions about possible resulting distress or impairment, such as seeing a doctor, taking medication, or staying away from work.

Prevalence and incidence

Our literature search identified 25 population-based studies of the prevalence of specific phobias in adults, done between 1984 and 2016 in populations around the world ( table 1 ). The median lifetime prevalence is 7·2% (IQR 4·0–10·4), and varies considerably among these reports, from 1·5% in Florence, Italy, 41 and 2·6% in China 50 to 14·4% in Oslo, Norway. 39 Although some of this variation is likely to be due to the use of different assessment procedures, many structured survey assessment procedures are similar, deriving from the Diagnostic Interview Schedule 53 (used in the ECA studies 28 ), which evolved into the University of Michigan Composite International Diagnostic Interview, 54 and then into the version used in the WHO World Mental Health Surveys. 55 Differences in survey responses or age ranges of the samples could also explain the variation. However, large variations are also present in studies striving to use identical methods, such as the high rate for Baltimore in the ECA study (14·5% for male participants and 23·5% for female participants) as compared with the New Haven (3·8% and 8·5%) and St Louis (4·0% and 9·4%) ECA sites, 56 and the large difference between two samples from different areas of Norway. 39 , 42 These differences could provide guidance about as-yet-unknown risk factors, and suggest different causes that might be amenable to prevention or treatment. In east Asian populations, geographical variation is low, confined within the low lifetime prevalence in these regions: 2·6% in China, 3·4% in Japan, and 3·8% in Korea. There is no obvious trend in prevalence by calendar period. The 25 WHO World Mental Health Surveys also showed less variation than did other population-based studies, presumably because the WHO surveys all used the same instrument. 57 However, low-income countries showed slightly lower prevalence in the WHO surveys, consistent with the pattern of results seen in the earlier individual studies. The large differences between populations suggest the importance of studying risk factors for specific phobias.

Lifetime prevalence of specific phobia in adults according to study and population

	Survey	Sample size	Age range, years	Lifetime prevalence (%)
	Survey	Sample size	Age range, years	Male participants	Female participants	Total

Bland et al, 1988	Edmonton	3258	≥18	4·6%	9·8%	7·2%
Eaton et al, 1991	ECA	14436	≥18	7·8%	14·4%	11·2%
Magee et al, 1996	NCS	8098	15–54	6.7%	15·7%	11·3%
Kessler et al, 2005	NCS·R	9282	≥18	8·9%	15·8%	12·5%
Stinson et al, 2007	NESARC	43093	18–98	6·2%	12·4%	9·4%

Canino et al, 1987	Puerto Rico	1551	17–64	7·6%	9·6%	8·6%
Vega et al, 1998	MAPSS	3012	18–59	6·2%	8·8%	7·4%
Vicente et al, 2006	Chile	2978	≥15	4·0%	14·8%	9·8%
Medina·Mora et al, 2007	MNCS	5826	18–65			7·0%
Viana and Andrade, 2012	SPMMHS	5037	≥18	7·9%	16·5%

Bijl et al, 1998	NEMESIS	7076	18–64	6·6%	13·6%	10·1%
Kringlen et al, 2001	Oslo	2066	18–65	8·0%	19·5%	14·4%
Alonso et al, 2004	ESEMeD	21 425	≥18	4·9%	10·3%	7·7%
Faravelli et al, 2004	Italy	2500	≥14	0·8%	2·1%	1·5%
Kringlen et al, 2006	Rural Norway	1080	18–65	2.4%	10·6%	6·5%
de Graaf et al, 2012	NEMESIS2	6646	18–64	5·5%	10·3%	7·9%
Kiejna et al, 2015	Poland	10 081	18–64	2·2%	4·6%	3·4%

Gureje et al, 2006	Nigeria	4984	≥18			5·4%
Karam et al, 2008	Lebanon	2857	≥18	4·0%	10·2%	7·1%
Alhasnawi et al, 2009	Iraq MHS	4332	≥18			4·2%

Chen et al, 1993	Hong Kong	7229	18·64	0·96%	3·16%
Oakley Browne et al, 2006	NZ MHS	12 992	≥16	7·3%	14·1%	10·8%
Lee et al, 2007	China	5201	18·70			2·6%
Cho et al, 2010	Korea ECA·R	6510	18·64	2·1%	5·5%	3·8%
Ishikawa et al, 2016	Japan	2130	≥20			3·4%
Overall
Median (IQR)				5·8% (2·4–7·6)	6.7% (9·2–14·6)	7·2% (4·0–10·4)

6 low·income and low·middle·income countries		31 773	≥18			5·7%
6 upper·middle·income countries		24 612	≥18			8·0%
13 high·income countries		68 517	≥18			8·1%

ECA=Epidemiologic Catchment Area. NCS=National Comorbidity Survey. NCS-R=National Comorbidity Survey Replication. NESARC=National Epidemiologic Survey of Alcohol and Related Conditions. MAPSS=Mexican American Prevalence and Services Survey. MNCS=Mexican National Comorbidity Survey. SPMMHS=São Paulo Megacity Mental Health Survey Sample. NEMESIS=Netherlands Mental Health Survey and Incidence Study. ESEMeD=European Study of the Epidemiology of Mental Disorders. MHS=Mental Health Survey. ECA-R=Epidemiologic Catchment Area Replication.

In all studies included in this Review, the lifetime prevalence of specific phobias was higher in female participants than in male participants. The greatest differences were observed in Chile, rural Norway, and Hong Kong, where prevalence in female participants was more than three times as high as in male participants, and the smallest differences were seen in two Latino populations: Mexicans in southern California 34 and Puerto Ricans ( table 1 ). 33 The higher prevalence in women was consistent with a Darwinian interpretation 58 (ie, that the process of selection favours groups in which the female members of the species were most avoidant of danger, especially during child-rearing years). 59 However, there was no obvious explanation for the variation in male:female ratios around the world.

The first occurrence of a specific phobia can happen at any time throughout the lifespan, as shown by data from the Baltimore ECA follow-up, 60 a cohort study designed to explore the life-course structure of mental disorders ( figure ). This study interviewed individuals selected probabilistically from the household-residing population in eastern Baltimore in 1981, with follow-up interviews of the same respondents in 1982, 1993–96, and 2004–05. 60 When asked about the first occurrence of a phobia, many participants responded that they had experienced the phobia since they were a child or since they could remember, or similar, resulting in peaks in incidence at or below 5 years of age ( figure ). These findings are consistent with those of the Early Developmental Stages of Psychopathology study in Germany (in which almost all of the sample of 3021 adolescents reported onset of specific phobia in childhood or adolescence), 62 the National Comorbidity Survey (NCS; in which the median age of onset in 8098 adults was 15 years), 31 and the World Mental Health Surveys (completed in 22 countries with a total sample size of 124 902, in which the median age of onset was 8 years). 57 The incidence of new specific phobias in girls during childhood was much higher than in boys, and gently declined thereafter until the beginning of adulthood (about 20 years of age), after which it rose until about age 30 years for women ( figure ). The peak incidence in women occurred during the years of reproduction and child rearing, possibly reflecting an evolutionary advantage. Men and women had an additional peak in incidence during old age that was much stronger for women, reaching nearly 1% per year. This pattern might reflect the new occurrence of physical conditions 63 or adverse life events (such as the unexpected death of a loved one) 64 during those years.

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Data are from the Baltimore Epidemiologic Catchment Area follow-up study 61 of 1920 respondents followed up from 1981 through 1993 (adapted from Public Mental Health [Oxford University Press] with permission). Kernel smoothing was applied, averaging incidence over a 5-year window to reduce variation.

Fears of specific objects or situations are widespread in the population. For example, more than 70% of people in the USA report having one or more unreasonable fears. 23 The prevalence of these fears is much higher than that of the consequent diagnoses ( table 2 ), which require the presence of avoidance and impairment related to the fear. In publicly available datasets from the USA (the National Epidemiologic Survey of Alcohol and Related Conditions [NESARC] 23 and the NCS 31 ) and from the Netherlands Mental Health Survey and Incidence Study (NEMESIS) 38 —all of which included large probabilistic samples representing national populations and used structured, diagnostically oriented interviews—fears of animals and heights are the two most prevalent fears in all three samples, and the order of prevalence of the different specific fears is relatively constant, with the exception that fear of blood is less prevalent in NESARC than in the other two studies ( table 2 ). The conditional probabilities of meeting the diagnostic criteria for specific phobias given the presence of the fear are similar across all seven fears and across all three samples (about 25–30%). The lifetime prevalence estimates of particular specific phobias (about 2–6%; table 2 , rightmost columns) are of the same order of magnitude as many other, more broadly defined, psychiatric diagnoses. The baseline prevalence estimates for specific phobias in the Baltimore ECA ( table 3 , left column) are higher than the estimates from the NESARC, NCS, and NEMESIS studies ( table 2 ), suggesting Baltimore to be an outlier with particularly high prevalence (as also shown in table 1 ). Since phobias are, by definition, distressing or impairing, their effective prevention or treatment could have a non-trivial effect on the mental health of the population. For blood or injection phobia, prevention could also provide a physical health benefit, because people with this phobia presumably avoid contact with doctors who engage in preventive measures across the general health spectrum. Although there are a range of universal prevention programmes for early psychopathology in general, few of them have been examined specifically with respect to simple phobias. 66 , 67

Lifetime prevalence of specific fears, phobia given specific fears, and specific phobias

	Prevalence of fear (%) in total sample			Prevalence of specific phobia (%) in participants with specific fear			Prevalence of specific phobia (%) in total sample
	NESARC (n=43093)	NCS (n=8098)	NEMESIS (n=7076)	NESARC (n=43093)	NCS (n=8098)	NEMESIS (n=7076)	NESARC (n=43093)	NCS (n=8098)	NEMESIS (n=7076)
Animals	19·7%	22·2%	12·6%	24·0%	25·8%	26·5%	4·7%	5·7%	3·3%
Heights	18·7%	20·4%	19·1%	24·2%	26·2%	25·5%	4·5%	5·3%	4·9%
Flying	11·4%	13·2%	6·9%	25·6%	26·9%	36·6%	2·9%	3·5%	2·5%
Closed spaces	11·1%	11·9%	9·5%	28·9%	35·1%	35·0%	3·2%	4·2%	3·3%
Water	9·5%	9·4%	7·1%	25·7%	35·8%	30·4%	2·4%	3·4%	2·2%
Storms	7·6%	8·7%	7·0%	25·7%	33·1%	31·3%	1·9%	2·9%	2·2%
Blood	7·4%	13·9%	9·5%	28·6%	32·8%	33·3%	2·1%	4·5%	3·2%

NESARC=National Epidemiologic Survey of Alcohol and Related Conditions (using the Alcohol Use Disorder and Associated Disabilities Interview Schedule). 23 NCS=National Comorbidity Survey (using the Composite International Diagnostic Interview). 31 NEMESIS=Netherlands Mental Health Survey and Incidence Study (using the Composite International Diagnostic Interview). 38

12-month prevalence and persistence of specific phobias in adults in three longitudinal studies

	ECA			NCS		NESARC
	Baseline prevalence	Persistence at 1 year	Persistence at 12 years	Baseline prevalence	Persistence at 10 years	Baseline prevalence	Persistence at 3 years
Animals	8·6% (04)	12%	14%	4·9% (0·3)	25%	3·7% (0·2)	15%
Heights	6·9% (0·4)	20%	11%	4·3% (0·4)	38%	3·4% (0·1)	17%
Storms	3·9% (0·3)	14%	8%	2·4% (0·3)	25%	1·5% (0·1)	14%
Water	4·0% (0·3)	17%	6%	2·8% (0·3)	25%	1·9% (0·1)	11%
Flying	3·0% (0·3)	12%	6%	2·9% (0·3)	37%	2·3% (0·1)	16%
Crowds	1·9% (0·2)	9%	28%	··	··	1·2% (0·1)	19%
Closed spaces	2·5% (0·2)	6%	··	3·5% (0·4)	34%	2·4% (01)	17%
Blood	··	··	··	3·6% (0·3)	28%	1·6% (0·1)	15%
Dentist	··	··	··	··	··	0·5% (0·1)	14%
Hospital	··	··	··	··	··	1·8% (0·1)	12%

Baseline prevalence (in 12 months preceding initial interview) is shown as % (SE). Persistence is defined as occurrence in the 12-month period preceding the follow-up interview among patients who met the criteria for the disorder in the 12 months preceding the baseline interview. ECA=Epidemiologic Catchment Area. NCS=National Comorbidity Survey. NESARC=National Epidemiologic Survey of Alcohol and Related Conditions.

Clinical course

Specific phobias are not transient disorders, as shown by data from the ECA, NCS, and NESARC studies ( table 3 ). Persistence, reflecting the chronicity of the disorder, is measured by the percentage of patients with a past-year history of the disorder at the baseline interview who report an occurrence of the disorder within the 12 months preceding the follow-up interview. In the ECA sample, 6–20% of specific phobias were persistent at 1 year, and 6–28% at 12 years; in the NCS sample, persistence at 10 years ranged from 25% to 38%; and in the NESARC sample, persistence at 3 years ranged from 12% to 19% ( table 3 ). A similar estimate of persistence, 17·5% for any specific phobia, was observed after 8 years of follow-up in the Mexican Adolescent Mental Health Survey, 68 while persistence in the NCS sample after 10 years was greater, at about 25%. In all three samples shown in table 3 , one of the most persistent phobias was that of heights. This degree of persistence is similar to that of other common, non-psychotic mental disorders. 61

Specific phobias are strong predictors of other anxiety disorders and of mood and substance-use disorders ( table 4 ). In the NESARC study, 23 anxiety disorders were the most strongly predicted, as might be expected, with odds ratios (ORs) ranging from 5·60 to 7·41 (95% CIs 4·95–8·40), without much change after adjustment for sociodemographic factors (5·12 to 7·18 [4·50–8·11]). Even after adjustment for other common mental disorders, the ORs for any anxiety disorder were high (3·84 [3·46–4·27]; table 4 ). Mood disorders were also strongly predicted (4·05 [3·69–4·46]), and the OR remained high after adjusting for closely related mood disorders (eg, the ORs for specific phobias predicting major depressive disorder were 1·99 [1·80–2·20] after adjusting for the earlier occurrence of dysthymia and mania). The ORs for substance-use disorders were lower than those of anxiety disorders, but still non-trivial and statistically significant (1·83 [1·67–2·00]). 23 High cooccurrence of specific phobias and other mental disorders was also observed across the World Mental Health Survey samples, in which 61% of lifetime cases of specific phobia had at least one other mental disorder. 57 These data suggest that the incidence of other common mental disorders could potentially be reduced by effective treatment of specific phobias. 69 , 70

Lifetime specific phobia as a predictor of lifetime mood, anxiety, and substance disorders (National Epidemiologic Survey of Alcohol and Related Conditions [n=43 093]) 23

	Unadjusted OR (95% CI)	OR adjusted for sociodemographic factors (95% CI)	OR adjusted for sociodemographic and psychiatric factors (95% CI)
Mood disorders	4·05 (3·69–4·46)	3·70 (3·36–4·09)	2·03 (1·84–2·25)
Major depression	4·08 (3·72–4·46)	3·68 (3·34–4·04)	1·99 (1·80–2·20)
Dysthymia	3·69 (3·24–4·19)	3·40 (2·99–3·87)	1·51 (1·32–1·74)
Mania or hypomania	3·66 (3·27–4·10)	3·65 (3·23–4·12)	1·84 (1·62–2·09)
Anxiety disorders	6·27 (5·66–6·94)	5·89 (5·32–6·52)	3·84 (3·46–4·27)
Panic disorder	5·60 (4·95–6·33)	5·12 (4·50–5·82)	3·05 (2·67–3·48)
Social phobia	7·41 (6·54–8·40)	7·18 (6·36–8·11)	4·68 (4·12–5·32)
Generalised anxiety disorder	6·22 (5·47–7·07)	5·79 (5·08–6·60)	3·09 (2·71–3·53)
Substance use disorders	2·18 (2·00–2·37)	2·63 (2·41–2·87)	1·83 (1·67–2·00)
Alcohol use disorder	1·79 (1·64–1·96)	2·30 (2·09–2·54)	1·62 (1·46–1·79)
Nicotine dependence	2·59 (2·37–2·83)	2·74 (2·51–3·00)	1·83 (1·66–2·03)
Drug use disorder	2·20 (1·96–2·46)	2·54 (2·24–2·87)	1·52 (1·35–1·72)

All associations are significant at p<0·001.

Risk factors

Risk factors for specific phobias have not been well studied. Most potentially pertinent studies group the anxiety disorders into one category in their presentation of even the most rudimentary risk factors. The most important demographic risk factor for specific phobias seems to be female sex ( table 1 ). We identified five studies in which the prevalence of specific phobias could be compared between rural and urban populations, 23 , 39 , 42 , 34 , 33 and found very little difference between the two groups, except in Norway, where the prevalence was 14% in the urban population and 7% in the rural population. 39 , 42

We estimated the association between the prevalence of specific fears and education, marital status, and residence in the NESARC sample, which was the only study to have this amount of detail for specific phobias of animals, heights, storms, and closed spaces ( table 5 ). 23 Lower educational attainment was associated with higher prevalence of any specific phobia (40% in people with less than high school education vs 29% in college graduates), as was formerly married status (38% in people who were separated or divorced, and 42% in widowed people, vs 35% in married people). The difference in prevalence between rural and urban areas was trivial, which is surprising given that exposures to fear stimuli presumably differ between those areas, with more exposure to animals in rural areas and heights in urban areas.

Lifetime prevalence of specific phobias by three demographic characteristics (National Epidemiologic Study of Alcohol and Related Conditions [n=43 093]) 23

	Any specific phobia	Animals	Heights	Storms	Closed places

Less than high school	40% (1·0)	24% (0·8)	23% (0·6)	14% (07)	13% (0·6)
High school graduate	37% (0·7)	21% (0·6)	20% (0·5)	9% (0·3)	11% (0·4)
Some college	35% (0·7)	19% (0·5)	18% (0·5)	6% (0·3)	11% (0·4)
College graduate	29% (0·7)	15% (0·6)	15% (0·5)	4% (0.2)	9% (0·4)

Never married	33% (0·8)	19% (0·6)	17% (0.6)	6% (0·4)	9% (0·4)
Married	35% (0·6)	19% (0·4)	18% (0·4)	7% (0.3)	11% (0·3)
Separated or divorced	38% (0·8)	22% (07)	21% (0·6)	9% (0·5)	13% (0·5)
Widowed	42% (1·1)	25% (0·9)	22% (0·8)	14% (0·6)	14% (0·6)

Rural	38% (0.9)	21% (0·8)	21% (0·5)	9% (0·4)	12% (0·5)
Suburban	34% (0·8)	18% (0·5)	18% (0·5)	7% (0.3)	11% (0·3)
City	35% (0·9)	21% (0·6)	19% (0·6)	8% (0·4)	11% (0·4)

Data are % (SE)

Data from the World Mental Health Surveys also indicate a higher prevalence of any specific phobia in people with lower educational attainment. 57 Lower educational attainment is an indicator of lower socioeconomic status in general, which is presumably associated with less control over the social and physical environment, especially in conditions of stress. Consistent with data from the USA, World Mental Health Survey data indicate a higher prevalence of any specific phobia among formerly married people (relative odds 1·3 in high-income countries and 1·1 in low-income or middle-income countries). 57 These data suggest that marital status as a risk factor for specific phobias might vary by geographical region, or according to other environmental characteristics. It seems reasonable that having a marital partner would alleviate fears somewhat in offering a protective element (ie, a spouse) to the environment; it is also possible that formerly married people are more likely to be depressed, which might be a risk factor for simple phobias.

Although genetic risk factors for specific phobias have been studied for at least three decades, 71 many of the existing studies involve overlapping samples. 72 Phobias are more likely to occur in people whose family members have phobias. Twin studies suggest that within-family resemblance is due to shared environmental factors in childhood, 73 – 75 whereas genetic factors influence familial resemblance in adulthood. 76 A meta-analysis of ten independent twin studies of specific phobias reported a mean heritability of about 30% for the three subtypes of phobias studied (animal, situational, and blood-illness). 72 Genetic epidemiological methods are also useful to elucidate how phobias relate to personality traits and other psychiatric disorders. Multivariate structural equation modelling of twin data suggests that genetic factors that influence animal and situational phobias are distinguishable from those that influence major depressive disorder, generalised anxiety disorder, panic disorder, agoraphobia, and social phobia. 77 Specific phobias also appear to be less genetically correlated with neuroticism and extraversion than are other anxiety and depressive disorders, including social phobia and agoraphobia. 78 , 79

Only about a tenth to a quarter of people with specific phobias eventually receive treatment, 30 , 57 possibly because avoidance can reduce stress and impairment. Predictors for receiving treatment include having more severe impairment, having particular phobias (eg, people with phobias of flying, closed spaces, or heights are more likely to seek treatment), and having a greater number of phobias. 57 To our knowledge, no studies have addressed the comparative effectiveness of different treatment options. Therefore, we discuss the evidence regarding the effectiveness of treatments relative to non-treatment control conditions, with a preference for published systematic reviews and meta-analyses.

Exposure therapy is the current treatment of choice for specific phobias. 80 , 81 The standard form of exposure therapy involves in-vivo or imaging approaches to phobic stimuli or situations. Virtual-reality exposure therapy was first introduced more than two decades ago to treat fear of heights 82 and remains a viable treatment option for other specific phobias. 83 Three decades ago, Öst pioneered a one-session treatment approach for specific phobias, with an average duration of approximately 2 h. 84 , 85 Subsequent studies by Öst and colleagues suggested that a single 3-h session of massed exposure therapy is as effective as multiple sessions (total 6 h) of more gradual exposure therapy for the treatment of phobias of flying, 86 blood and injections, 87 and claustrophobia. 88 The results of a 2008 meta-analysis indicate that multiple sessions might be somewhat more effective than the single-session approach, as measured by questionnaire-based functional outcomes at follow-up, 81 and careful consideration is needed when choosing the appropriate number and duration of sessions for patients; 89 however, the massed single-session approach could be considered a viable option for suitable patients.

Early studies of exposure therapies for specific phobias 90 were criticised for their various methodological limitations, including selection biases, the use of small, unrepresentative samples, and compromised control conditions. Although exposure therapy is much more widely studied and accepted now than it was in the early 1970s, systematic reviews suggest that the evidence base could still be improved. 80 , 81 Additionally, although the available evidence indicates moderately high short-term efficacy of psychological treatments for specific phobias, 80 most studies have only followed up patients for short durations. The assessment of long-term effectiveness is particularly important because treated phobias in patients (and extinguished fear responses in other animals) are susceptible to relapse. 91 – 96 One of the notable risk factors for relapse is context change, in which the individual reencounters the phobic stimulus or situation outside of the context in which extinction originally occurred. 93 , 96 Accordingly, studies have sought to extinguish conditioned responses to fear or phobic stimuli in multiple contexts, finding this approach to be comparatively more effective than extinction in a single context. 95 – 98

Pharmacotherapy is not a common treatment choice for specific phobias. However, within the past decade, studies have investigated pharmacological augmentation of exposure therapy in attempts to improve treatment outcomes. In one approach, clinicians administer the antibiotic D-cycloserine, which is thought to facilitate fear extinction learning through its role as an N-methyl D-aspartate receptor agonist. 99 , 100 The results of the first published, double-blind, randomised trial in humans indicated that oral administration of D-cycloserine (50 mg or 500 mg) before virtual-reality exposure therapy for phobia of heights was associated with substantially greater improvement than was placebo. 100 Results from a systematic review of placebo-controlled studies suggest that pre-exposure D-cycloserine administration (50 mg, 250 mg, or 500 mg) is associated with a small exposure augmentation benefit in patients with anxiety, obsessive-compulsive, or post-traumatic stress disorders (compared with pretreatment, d =–0·25 at post-treatment, d =0·19 at follow-up). 101 In another approach, clinicians administer glucocorticoids—which appear to have a role in fear extinction processing—before exposure therapy. In two randomised trials, participants in the treatment group were orally administered 20 mg cortisol 1 h before virtual-reality exposure therapy for fear of heights 102 or in-vivo exposure therapy for fear of spiders. 103 Both studies found that cortisol administration enhanced the efficacy of treatment relative to placebo-controlled exposure therapy.

Although specific phobias have a high prevalence, a low percentage of affected people seek treatment. Specific phobias begin early in life and persist over years or decades, and are associated with increased risk of various other mental disorders. The prevalence, incidence, course, and comorbidities of specific phobias are similar across the different subtypes, with the possible exception that fear of heights is more prevalent and more persistent than other subtypes. The consistent associations with some risk factors, such as female sex, education, and formerly married status, suggest the possible existence of causal pathways that could be altered to produce beneficial effects.

Future studies should more thoroughly examine barriers to treatment for specific phobias, and more high-quality studies assessing longer-term outcomes in patients treated with different forms of exposure therapy (eg, massed single-session vs more gradual multiple-session exposure, or single-context vs multiple-context exposure) are needed. The potential benefits of pharmacological augmentation of exposure also warrant further study. There is insufficient research regarding how the onset of related phobias is affected by the initial exposure to the feared object or situation, or the context of the exposure (such as the presence of social support or stress, and the magnitude of the exposure itself). Furthermore, little is known about the possibility of crossover from one type of specific phobia to another. Future research could illuminate these possibilities.

Search strategy and selection criteria

We searched PubMed on Oct 11, 2017, combining MeSH and open terms for phobias (“phobia*”[tw]) and epidemiology (“Epidemiologic Studies”[MeSH:NoExp] OR “Observational Study”[Publication Type] OR “Observational Study as Topic”[MeSH] OR “Cohort Studies”[MeSH] OR “epidemiologic study”[tw] OR “epidemiologic studies”[tw] OR “follow up”[tw] OR “longitudinal”[tw] OR “prospective*”[tw] OR “observational study”[tw] OR “observational studies”[tw]). The search was limited to studies in English and yielded 1536 records, which we assessed for their relevance to the prevalence, incidence, course, risk factors, or consequences of phobias. Citations included in reviews that did not meet the inclusion criteria were searched to identify relevant articles that the original search might have failed to capture.

Acknowledgments

WWE’s work is funded in part by a National Institute on Aging grant (U01AG052445).

Declaration of interests

We declare no competing interests.

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Lyness, D. (Ed.). (2013, May). Fears and Phobias (for Teens). Retrieved from https://kidshealth.org/en/teens/phobias.html
Nordqvist, C. (2017, December 20). Phobias: Symptoms, types, causes, and treatment. Retrieved from https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/249347.php

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How to Overcome Any Phobia

A Detailed Guide to Tried-and-True Methods

Phobia vs. Fear

Signs of Phobia
Overcoming a Phobia

A phobia is an ongoing, excessive fear of something specific such as snakes , heights, enclosed places, or other objects or situations. This leads to a person either avoiding the thing they fear or experiencing great distress when they encounter it. It is possible to learn how to get over a phobia with treatment and strategies aimed at desensitizing you to the thing you're afraid of.

Specific phobia is a type of anxiety disorder . Roughly 12.5% of adults in the United States have a specific phobia at some point in their lives.

This article will discuss types of phobias , signs and symptoms of phobias, tips to overcome them, and treatment options.

A phobia is more severe than a fear. More specifically, a phobia is an irrational fear that is out of proportion compared to the actual threat. There may be little threat, or even no threat at all, and the person could experience symptoms of anxiety .

A person with a phobia may experience a fight-or-flight response in the presence of the thing they're afraid of. When this happens, stress hormones are released that cause symptoms such as increased heart rate, dizziness, hot flashes or chills, chest pain or tightness, and butterflies in the stomach. Other symptoms can include difficulty breathing, nausea, sweating, confusion, or disorientation.

Fear, on the other hand, is an intense emotion in response to a threat in the moment. A person experiencing fear may have some of the same symptoms, but they only occur in response to a real threat or something that most people would perceive as a threat. Unlike a phobia, a fear response does not happen often enough to interfere with a person's quality of life.

Phobias and other anxiety disorders can be comorbid, meaning they occur together. For example, the same person may have generalized anxiety disorder (experiencing excessive anxiety or worry about everyday events) and social phobia.

Types of Phobias

There are different types of phobias. Specific phobia is an anxiety disorder that includes five types of phobias. Social phobia is also an anxiety disorder, but it is not classified as one of the five specific phobias.

Types of Specific Phobia

The five types of specific phobias include:

Animal type
Natural environment type
Blood-injection-injury type
Situational type

Animal Type

Animal type is a specific phobia. People with this type of phobia have an intense, ongoing fear of animals or insects . Examples include dogs , cats , birds , mice, snakes, butterflies , and spiders .

Natural Environment Type

Natural environment type is a specific phobia. People with this type of phobia have an intense, ongoing fear of objects that make up natural surroundings. Examples include deep water , heights , lightning, or storms .

Blood-Injection-Injury Type

Blood-injection-injury type is a specific phobia. People with this type of phobia have an intense, ongoing fear of seeing or experiencing injury, blood , or injections . Additional examples are blood draws or medical procedures.

Situational Type

Situational type is a specific phobia. People with this type of phobia have an intense, ongoing fear of certain experiences. Examples include elevators, enclosed places , flying, driving , animatronics , and public transportation.

People with this type of phobia have an intense, ongoing fear of something that is not part of one of the other types of specific phobias. Examples include choking, germs or getting sick, time , vomiting, dolls , ghosts , or loud noises.

What About Social Phobia?

Social phobia is a social or performance anxiety that involves self-consciousness and a significant fear of being judged and embarrassed. It is extreme and ongoing, leading to either avoidance or acute distress when in those situations. Social anxiety disorder is another name for this type of phobia.

Signs You May Need to Overcome a Phobia

It is normal to have fears of anything that could be harmful. For example, it is natural to be afraid of swimming in a lake during a thunderstorm because it's possible lightning could strike.

However, some people experience extreme, ongoing fears of objects and situations that are not likely to be harmful, or the fear is out of proportion to the risk level. If phobias are severe enough to cause significant symptoms of anxiety or interfere with daily life, it is wise to work to overcome them.

Signs of a Phobia

You experience an excessive, irrational fear about a specific object or situation.
You take actions to avoid an object or situation that you irrationally or excessively fear.
You experience symptoms of anxiety as soon as faced with an object or situation that is irrationally or excessively feared.

Tips to Overcome a Phobia

Verywell / Theresa Chiechi

Desensitize Yourself

It is possible to become desensitized to a phobia. This means that you can become less and less affected by the phobia over time with safe, controlled exposure. One way to do this is with a fear ladder, which involves exposure that is very small at first and then builds.

For example, if you are afraid of spiders, you may start by looking at pictures of flowers that look like spiders, building to looking at pictures of actual spiders. From there, you may be able to watch videos of spiders and, eventually, be able to see spiders behind glass without a fear response.

Social support plays an important role in physical and mental health, including the process of overcoming phobias. When going through the desensitization or fear ladder steps, it can be helpful to talk with friends and family about it. They can assist by listening, encouraging, and celebrating when each goal has been achieved.

If a friend or a family member has a phobia as well, it can be helpful for both people to overcome them together. It doesn't even have to be the same phobia.

How to Help a Child Cope With a Phobia

Let your child know that you take their fear seriously. Find ways to talk to your child about their fear and help them think about their fear in a rational way. For example, if they're afraid of spiders, you can discuss how most spiders aren't dangerous and those that are rarely bite. You can also work on ways to desensitize them to their fear, though in extreme cases, it may be best to do this with the help of a mental health professional who specializes in working with children.

Join a Support Group

In addition to friend and family support, or if friend and family support is not available, it can help to join a support group . A support group is a professional-led group of people who come together to cope with or overcome a problem. In this case, it is a group to overcome a phobia, and the professional leader can provide techniques and support.

Relaxation, Visualization, and Breathing Techniques

Relaxation, visualization, and breathing techniques can be used to help overcome phobias. These techniques can be used during the desensitization process, when encountering what is feared, and even when thinking about possibly encountering the fear in the future. Relaxation techniques may be combined with visualization and breathing techniques.

A phobia can also be treated with the help of a healthcare professional such as a psychologist or psychiatrist.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

Cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT, is commonly used to treat specific phobias. CBT for specific phobias combines talk therapy with exposure therapy that involves confronting the fear in small steps, in a controlled and safe environment.

CBT also teaches strategies for understanding your feelings and coping with the thing you're afraid of. People undergoing CBT learn positive ways to reframe their thinking and master their feelings so they don't feel controlled by their phobia.

Medication may also be used along with talk therapy. This type of treatment does not help the person overcome the fear, but it can relieve some of the symptoms.

Medication is usually prescribed only for use in specific situations and only in the short term. For example, someone with a fear of flying may need to take medication if they have to get on an airplane.

Medications used to treat specific phobias include:

Beta-blockers: Beta-blockers are medications that can help reduce the effects of adrenaline, such as a racing heart and shaking hands.
Antidepressants: These medications help regulate chemicals in your brain that contribute to mood and behavior.
Sedatives : These medications have a calming effect and can reduce anxiety. Because they can be addictive, your healthcare provider will likely only prescribe them in the short term.

A phobia is an extreme, irrational fear that is ongoing and can interfere with daily life or lead to anxiety symptoms. It may be a fear of a specific animal or insect, something in the environment, a potential experience, a social situation, or something else.

There are techniques and treatments to overcome and cope with phobias. Anyone struggling with a severe, ongoing fear should consult a healthcare professional such as a psychologist or psychiatrist for support.

American Psychological Association. Phobia .

National Institute of Mental Health. Specific phobia .

National Health Services. Symptoms - phobias .

Wardenaar KJ, Lim CCW, Al-Hamzawi AO, et al. The cross-national epidemiology of specific phobia in the World Mental Health Surveys . Psychol Med . 2017;47(10):1744-1760. doi:10.1017/S0033291717000174

American Psychological Association. Specific phobia .

American Psychological Association. Social phobia .

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. DSM-IV to DSM-5 specific phobia comparison .

Siegel P, Warren R, Wang Z, Yang J, Cohen D, Anderson JF, Murray L, Peterson BS. Less is more: Neural activity during very brief and clearly visible exposure to phobic stimuli . Hum. Brain Mapp. 2017;38:2466-2481. doi:10.1002/hbm.23533

Pitkin MR, Malouff JM. Self-arranged exposure for overcoming blood-injection-injury Phobia: a case study . Health Psychology and Behavioral Medicine . 2014;2(1):665-669. doi:10.1080/21642850.2014.916219

American Psychological Association. Support group .

National Health Services. Self-help - phobias .

Bandelow B, Michaelis S, Wedekind D. Treatment of anxiety disorders . Dialogues Clin Neurosci . 2017;19(2):93-107. doi:10.31887/DCNS.2017.19.2/bbandelow

By Ashley Olivine, Ph.D., MPH Dr. Olivine is a Texas-based psychologist with over a decade of experience serving clients in the clinical setting and private practice.

Three Types Of Phobia In American Psychiatric Association (APA)

Show More Types of Phobia Everyone is afraid of something. Everyone encounter nervousness and anxiety in an unpredictable times. They find different and unnatural things frightening. These fears affect people starting from their childhood, because people cannot see the difference between real and unreal things when they are children. It is not a phobia when being scared of something like going into the water. This is because there is a real danger and there is a need for survival in the individual. Only when they possess these feelings so intense until their fear is considered irrational makes it became phobia. Generally, The American Psychiatric Association (APA) had identified three types of phobia which consist specific phobia, social phobia and agoraphobia. …show more content… It is an outrageous fear triggered by the thought of a specific object or situation that usually creates only a little or no actual danger. A quick reaction happens due to the exposure of an object or situation causing a person to endure severe anxiety or nervousness. The distress correlated with the phobia can somehow interrupt the person's ability to function. According to the APA (1994) in the fourth edition of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, specific phobia can be classified under the following categories which are animal, natural environment, situational, blood/injection/injury and other. Phobias from the animal type may include fears of any animals such as cats, dogs, frogs, lizards or insects like spiders and cockroaches. This type of phobia typically begins from childhood and tend to have an earlier age of onset than the other types . In addition, they commonly occur among women than

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Three most Common Phobias

How it works

Many human beings have things that petrify or cause them to have a nervous reaction to certain insects, places, or objects. This terrified reaction causes people to have a fear that makes it unstoppable for humans to surpass it, as a result, this is called a phobia. There are many different types of phobias that have an effect on humans. Critics have identified phobias into three different categories: agoraphobia, social phobia, and specific phobias.

Agoraphobia is a type of anxiety disorder in which one fears and avoid places or situations that might cause one to panic and feel trapped, helpless, or embarrassed (“Agoraphobia.

”) This is a fear that causes people to feel that they are not able to flee or ask for help when they feel their anxiety is escalating. People tend to develop this phobia when they feel like they have gotten this phobia in the past and they try to avoid it by not going to the same place that caused this intense fear. In addition, the symptoms of this phobia can affect a person physically, emotionally, and behaviorally. This affects a person physically because it causes them to have a rapid heartbeat, hyperventilate, feel hot and sweaty, ring sensation in the ears, etc. (“Agoraphobia”). Furthermore, this affects a person emotionally because you may lose control in public, a panic attack will make you look stupid or feel embarrassed in front of other people, people may stare, etc. (“Agoraphobia”). Lastly, this phobia affects people behaviorally because one will avoid situations that could lead to panic attacks, such as crowded places, public transport, needing to go somewhere with someone you trust and not being able to leave home (“Agoraphobia”). Consequently, these symptoms affect a person in their everyday lives because they stress on how they will appear in public. People with agoraphobia have an increased risk of panic disorder.

In addition, agoraphobia has a major effect on one’s everyday life because they are not able to do certain things or go to specific places. For example, severe agoraphobia can prevent you from keeping a job outside your home, not to mention having any semblance of normal life (“Understanding Agoraphobia”). This is an effect that one suffers in their daily life because they find it difficult for them to attend school, workplaces, or public places. As a result, one will find themselves not being able to uphold a normal life due to their fear of open spaces. However, one can find a treatment to help cure their agoraphobia, for instance, one can use cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) which is a type of psychotherapy and they could use medication. Cognitive behavioral therapy can be used as exposure therapy, it works by encouraging patients to confront the situation they fear rather than avoiding it (“Agoraphobia Treatment”). This treatment demonstrates that one can get help by receiving cognitive behavioral therapy because it helps change one’s thoughts and feelings about the agoraphobia that gives them fear. To add on, not only does psychotherapy help cure agoraphobia but medication is also available to those who are suffering. For instance, medicine that includes antidepressants and anti-anxiety drugs can be used to help manage the fear and anxiety from agoraphobia (“Agoraphobia Treatment”). This medication is used to help patients that are suffering from agoraphobia because it helps calm down their anxiety and it helps them feel more active than gloomy.

Another common phobia is social phobia but it is also known as anxiety disorder, this is notable as the third major mental health issue. Social phobia is intense anxiety or fear of being judged, negatively evaluated, or rejected in a social or performance situation (“Social Anxiety Disorder”). The evidence shows that some people tend to develop this phobia due to their traumatic experiences in the past where they had to speak in front of a public. Also, people who grow up being criticized or disapproved by their surroundings will most likely develop this phobia. The symptoms of social phobia appear in a person physically, emotionally, and behaviorally and this can affect a person’s daily life and relationships. This phobia affects a person physically because one starts to experience rapid heartbeat, dizziness, muscle tension or twitches, stomach trouble etc. (Shelton). Furthermore, this affects a person emotionally because one will start to feel high levels of anxiety and fear, nervousness, panic attacks, negative emotional cycles (Shelton). Lastly, this affects a person behaviorally because they will try to avoid situations where the individual thinks they may be the center of attention, refraining from certain activities because of a fear of embarrassment, excessive drinking, or substance abuse (Shelton). As a result, the idea of large social gatherings is terrifying for someone with social anxiety because they will most likely experience each of these symptoms without having full control of them. This will gradually affect one’s life because they will suddenly become isolated and the individual will feel the need to quit their job or drop out of school.

However, treatments for social anxiety disorder depend on the severity of your emotional and physical symptoms and how well you function daily. For instance, there are several types of medications to help cure this phobia and there are also many methods for one to cure their treatment by therapy. Some medications that help cure this phobia are Ativan (lorazepam), Valium (diazepam), Xanax (alprazolam), Klonopin (clonazepam). These types of medications are known as benzodiazepines which are mild tranquilizers that alleviate the symptoms of anxiety by slowing down the central nervous system (“Treatments for Social Anxiety”). Another way one can help cure social phobia is by having therapy known as cognitive behavioral therapy, which helps one to influence their emotions. For example, under cognitive behavioral therapy one can gain social skill training and cognitive restructuring. Social skills training involves various exercises such as modeling, rehearsal, and role-playing designed to help people learn appropriate behaviors and decrease anxiety in social situations (“Treatments for Social Anxiety”). Furthermore, cognitive restructuring involves a series of exercises designed to identify negative thoughts, evaluate how true they are, and construct alternative thoughts to challenge original thoughts (“Treatments for Social Anxiety”). As a result, these treatments can help diminish the individuals’ fears because they will provide them to face their fears with therapy.

Lastly, an extremely common phobia is a specific phobia that is described as a concern or fear about certain situations, activities, animals or objects is not uncommon (“Specific Phobias”). Many specific phobias tend to be developed as a result of a negative impact or in a traumatic experience. People with specific phobias are often well aware that their fears are exaggerated or irrational, but feel that their anxious reaction is automatic or uncontrollable. For example, one common specific phobia is acrophobia which is defined as someone who is afraid of heights. Acrophobia affects an approximation of twenty-three million individuals, those who suffer from this phobia may go to great lengths to avoid high places such as bridges, towers, or tall buildings (“Common Phobia”). In that event, an individual will find it difficult to cope with the severe fear that can lead to a panic attack and evitable of behaviors. In addition, specific phobias cause individuals to have emotional and physical symptoms. For example, an individual who suffers from specific phobias will most like have emotional symptoms which result in feeling overwhelmed, knowing that your fear is irrational but feel powerless to overcome it, and fear of losing control (Sheldon). An individual will also experience physical symptoms such as rapid heart beating, difficulty breathing, trembling or shaking, sweating, nausea, dry mouth, and chest pain or tightness (Sheldon).

As a result, specific phobias can affect a person’s everyday life because the impact of a phobia on a person’s life depends on how easy it is to avoid the feared object, place, or situation. Phobias can disrupt daily routines, limit work efficiency, reduce self-esteem, and place a strain on relationships. An individual is able to receive treatment to cure their specific phobia. For example, a medication an individual can use is called beta-blockers which is a drug that blocks the stimulating effects of adrenaline, such as increased heart rate, elevated blood pressure, pounding heart, and shaking voice and limbs that are caused by anxiety (“Specific Phobia”). Another method to help cure specific phobia is cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) which involves exposure combined with other techniques to learn ways to view and cope with the feared object or situation differently (“Specific Phobia”). In this event, this treatment will be effective for the individual because it will help the individual face their fears to the specific phobia by taking medication or having cognitive behavioral therapy.

Agoraphobia is described as someone who fears trapped or helpless places where one is unable to escape, Social Phobia is the fear of being judged or fear of public speaking, and Specific Phobia is having the fear of a specific situation or object. Thus, each phobia appears to be different but usually has the same symptoms and treatments to cure the phobia. Although there are innumerable types of phobias that exist in the world, the three most common phobias are agoraphobia, social phobia, and specific phobias.

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Three Common Fears and Phobias and The Way to Overcome Them

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