Fears and phobias

Each one of us has a set of dreaded objects, real or imaginary. Someone may fear dogs or cats or rats or snakes or spiders; others may be consciously troubled by the thought of a natural calamity earthquake or flood or volcano; and yet others may quiver and faint at the sight or even the mention of blood. Some people are afraid of closed spaces while others may fear going to open marketplaces alone. All these apprehensions are irrational and uncalled for. They interfere with the way one normally thinks, feels behaves. They hinder one from living a so-called ‘normal’ life.

Fear vs. Phobia

People who harbor uncertainties about these dreaded objects usually endorse them. They see no purpose in hiding them from the world because they would do anything to stay far form them. It is natural to fear an earthquake or volcano; likewise it’s normal to dread a snake in your backyard. Few people love spiders or cockroaches or lizards; and dripping blood is not something ordinarily exciting to anyone (unless we believe in vampires of course!) Fear of 90% of these objects is natural. However, when this fear reaches generous proportions and begins to interfere with everyday functioning, it qualifies as a phobia.

Avoidance of the feared object

People try their level best to avoid situations that they fear. Someone who fears closed spaces prefers to spend 24 long hours on a train rather than take a flight to the desired destination and chooses to walk up 12 floors instead of taking the ‘enclosed’ elevator. One who fears blood would never step into a hospital, ever donate blood or even go for annual blood tests! People with phobias manage to maintain normal lives if they can avoid the phobic object. This occasionally becomes routine and one can live a usual life for as long as one assures avoidance of those feared situations and objects.

When catastrophe strikes

A real earthquake doesn't generate as much turmoil for a phobic individual as does confrontation with their feared object. It may be a small spider within an enclosed box or even a video of it on television; which can generate the reaction. The fear is so intense that even the thought of a facing the object can generate a bout of anxiety. It may comprise extreme unease, trembling, dry mouth, perspiring, shaking; progressing often to a panic attack. Some such responses simulate a heart attack and may be misdiagnosed. In blood injection type of phobia, the response is usually initial anxiety and restlessness followed by transient, short lived fainting spell. Needless to say:

phobic individual + their feared object = a recipe for disaster

The best option is to stay away from the feared object but this is not always possible or plausible. Life will be normal as long as there is sufficient distance between the two. But one cannot be sure of that, hence the person always lives in fear.

Why phobias occur

Specific phobias may be genetically transmitted. Also, the applied learning theory states that a previous negative experience with an object or situation, allows the individual to repeatedly reduce anxiety by avoiding that situation, hence the accompanying phobia becomes doubly strong. Some phobias may be learned by simple observation, like a child fearing thunder when he sees his mother looking scared during a storm. Needless to say, once learned, these lose rational base and continue to irk the conscious and subconscious mind of the sufferer and make the anxiety and avoidance behavior troublesome.

There is hope

Phobias require restructuring of the faulty learning principles so the feared behavior is unlearned. There are therapy techniques such as relaxation training, situational exposure, exposure with cognitive restructuring, and social skills training for management of phobias. Medication helps assist the management of depression and/or anxiety that usually co-exist due to the negative cognitive structuring of the specific phobia. It's not worth fearing that which is unknown. The real life is here and now. Live it to the fullest!