Phobias

There are three different categories of phobias:

Agoraphobia: irrational anxiety about being in places from which escape might be difficult or embarrassing.

Social Phobia: irrational anxiety elicited by exposure to certain types of social or performance situations, also leading to avoidance behavior.

Specific Phobia: persistent and irrational fear in the prescence of some specific stimulus which commonly elicits avoidance of that stimulus (i.e. Withdraw)

Subtypes: 

Animal Type: cued by animals or insects

Natural Enviroment Type: cued by objects  in the environment, such as storms, heights, or water

Blood-Injection/Injury-Type:  cued by witnessing some invasive medical procedure 

Situational Type: cued by a specific situation, such as public transportation, tunnels, bridges, elevators, flying, driving, or enclosed spaces

Other Type: cued by other stimuli than the above, such as of choking, vomiting, or contracting an illness

Phobias are irrational, meaning that they interfere with one's everyday life or daily routine. If your fears keep you from enjoying life or even preoccupy your thinking so that you are unable to work, or sleep, or do things you wish to do, then it becomes irrational.

Most Common Phobias:

• Acrophobia 
• fear of heights 
• Claustrophobia
• fear of enclosed spaces
• Nyctophobia
• fear of the dark
• Ophidiophobia
• fear of snakes
• Arachnophobia
• fear of spiders
• Trypanophobia
• fear of injection or medical needles
• Astrophobia
• fear of thunder and lighting
• Nosophobia
• fear of having a disease

What Causes Phobias?

The cause of phobias is still uncertain with researchers. However, certain factors are believed to increase the likelihood that a phobia will develop.

• Genetics: Certain phobias may run in families
• Cultural Factors: some phobias may run in families
• Life Experience: Many phobias are based on real-life events that may or may not be consciously remembered.

Each person's symptoms are a little bit different. However, some of the following symptoms will be present during a phobic reaction:

• Dizziness
• Rapid Heartbeat
• Trembling or other uncontrollable physical response
• Sensation of terror, dread, or panic
• Preoccupation of thoughts; inability to change focus from the feared situation
• Intense desire to flee the situation

I fear just about everything in the world. Now, I've never been tested for a "phobia", but I do believe I suffer from claustrophobia (fear of enclosed spaces). Being afraid of so many things can damper your time on earth; you live worrying about what you fear instead of moving forward and overcoming our fears to live life without them holding you back. We all must find what we fear, because everyone fears something... or someone, and overcome that fear. We will feel a lot better about ourselves and the world once we let our fears go. Tell your fears they can't control you anymore and go out and have fun being FEARLESS!!