UNDERSTANDING PHOBIAS

Phobias and phobia disorders can come in many different forms, but they often involve similar parts of the brain. Studies show that:

• Specific phobias affect between 7% and 9% of the population. 

• Twice as many women as men report experiencing a phobia, and women are more likely to experience phobias related to the environment, a situation, or animals. 

• Phobias related to blood, injection, or injury are experienced almost equally by all individuals. 

• Phobias may occur in higher rates in children with ADHD. 

• Older people are more likely to have a phobia related to inanimate objects, while younger people may be more likely to have an animal-related phobia.

 

People who experience one phobia are more susceptible to experience multiple phobias. About 75% of individuals with a phobia fear more than one situation, object, or event.

​

The difference between FEAR and PHOBIAS

Most people have a particular fear, several particular fears, or experience fear in certain situations that are generally considered to be dangerous. A phobia, however, goes beyond ordinary fear and may often feature an object or situation that is not typically threatening, such as a ringing telephone.  

Fear, the emotion often experienced when safety or well-being is threatened, is generally considered to be a rational response to something that is threatening. A person with a phobia may recognise that the thing or situation feared carries little or no threat and is unlikely to cause harm but still be unable to overcome the fear without help. For example, most people will experience fear when encountering a dog that is growling, barking, or foaming at the mouth. But a person who is afraid to approach any dog—even one leashed, behind a fence, or sleeping—and experiences fear at the sound of dogs barking in the distance likely has a phobia of dogs.

 

PHOBIA SYMPTOMS

Phobias are listed in the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-5) under anxiety disorders. They are not considered to be a form of psychosis, as the person experiencing the phobia typically recognises the object of the phobia is unlikely to cause harm. Yet people still often cannot help the terror and panic that may result upon exposure.

Symptoms of a phobic reaction may include:

• Dizziness, a faint feeling, or shortness of breath

• Nausea or vomiting

• Trembling, shaking, numbness, or tingling

• Sweating, chills

• Chest pain, shortness of breath, or heart palpitations

• A fear of losing control, dying, or fainting

• A feeling that one is detached from one’s body

A fainting or near-fainting response, heart rate acceleration, and blood pressure elevation typically characterise phobias specifically related to blood, injections, or injuries. 

Symptoms can trigger panic attacks when they occur at high intensity, and fear linked to phobic reactions may also lead to the development of anxiety, stress, and depression. Often, the fear of experiencing a phobic reaction will lead individuals to avoid all possibility of encountering the object of the phobia, and this avoidance may have a negative impact on well-being and a person’s ability to function.

Phobias generally first appear in childhood and may also develop after a traumatic experience. In the majority of cases, the phobia develops before age 10. Phobias may wax and wane during childhood and adolescence, but if they continue into adulthood, they are likely to persist throughout life.
 

PHOBIA CAUSES

While a phobia may seem to have no apparent cause, addressing the phobia with the help of a trained professional may reveal a phobia’s roots. Often, a phobia develops following some childhood experience and may sometimes be associated with deeper fears or a traumatic experience.

A part of the brain called the amygdala, which controls many of our emotional responses including the fear response, may also contribute to many phobias. People who are more sensitive to fear could be more likely to develop a phobia. Genetics and upbringing also contribute to how strongly people react to fear, meaning these factors may also influence a person’s likelihood of developing a phobia.

With the help of a trained professional, it is often possible to overcome or at least significantly reduce the impact of a phobia.

 

COMPLEX AND SPECIFIC PHOBIAS

There are two main types of phobias: complex and specific. Both can severely impact a person’s daily life and may be improved with the help of a trained professional, but some key distinctions set each type apart.

• Complex phobias, such as agoraphobia or social phobia (social anxiety), are more likely to have a significant impact on a person’s function. Adult onset is also more likely with these phobias, which may develop as a result of life experiences, brain chemistry, genetic causes, or some combination of the above. Social phobia in particular may often develop following a stressful social experience. As with specific phobias, these complex phobias generally improve with treatment.

• Specific phobias most often develop in childhood and may be triggered by an unpleasant or traumatic experience. For example, the experience of nearly choking to death may lead to the development of a phobia of choking. Common specific phobias include the fear of blood, dentists, enclosed spaces, germs, heights, and flying. Phobias may also be learned; a child who witnesses the phobia of a family member may be more likely to develop the same phobia.

 

TYPES OF PHOBIAS

Certain phobias may be more common, while other phobias may be much rarer. Some research on phobias categorises them into several groups, including situational phobias, animal phobias, and mutilation phobias.

You may be familiar with some of the most common phobias, like social phobias or anxiety. Some other common phobias include:

Complex Phobias

• Social phobias: This include social anxiety. Social anxiety causes fear of many kinds of social situations and may be generalized or non-generalized. 

• Agoraphobia: Typically characterized by fear of open or crowded spaces, agoraphobia may also include the fear of having a panic attack in public or fear of leaving one’s home.

​

Specific Phobias

Specific phobias can be separated into several subcategories:

​

Situational Phobias

• Acrophobia: fear of falling and heights

• Claustrophobia: fear of enclosed spaces

• Aerophobia: fear of flying

• Glossophobia: fear of public speaking

​

Animal Phobias

• Ophidiophobia: fear of snakes

• Arachnophobia: fear of spiders

• Entomophobia: fear of insects

• Cynophobia: fear of dogs

• Musophobia: fear of mice

• Ailurophobia: fear of cats

• Melissaphobia: fear of bees

• Zoophobia: fear of animals

 

Body/Mutilation Phobias

• Odontophobia: fear of the dentist

• Iatrophobia: fear of going to the doctor

• Erythrophobia: fear of blushing

• Mysophobia: fear of germs

• Trypanophobia: fear of needles and injections

• Hemophobia: fear of blood

• Aichmophobia: fear of knives and sharp objects

 

Other Phobias

• Panophobia: fear of everything

• Aquaphobia: fear of water

• Genophobia: fear of sex

• Trypophobia: fear of holes

• Coulrophobia: fear of clowns

• hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia: fear of long words

 

Some phobias may be less common, but they can still greatly impact day-to-day life for many. With the help of a trained professional, it is possible to overcome even the most uncommon form of phobia.

 

PHOBIAS IN CHILDREN

Phobias typically first appear in childhood, and most cases of specific phobias develop by age 10. However, because excessive fear—which may involve a variety of objects, situations, places, or people—is common in childhood, a trained professional will generally consider the severity of the fear, the degree to which it affects the child’s life, and whether or not the fear is appropriate to the child’s developmental stage. Often, childhood fears may be experienced intensely but fade rapidly or have little to no harmful impact on the child’s daily activity. In this case, a phobia would likely not be diagnosed.

Fear may be expressed in children through tantrums, crying, freezing, neediness, and unexplained pain, such as stomach or head pain. Children may also find it difficult to understand the concept of avoidance, so a trained professional may rely on information from parents, teachers, and other adults.

​

It can be frustrating to be afraid of something, especially when it’s difficult to explain why. Talking about phobias with an empathic trained professional may help you learn how to manage and reduce the fear caused by a phobia.

​

​