Phobias Pt. One
Ever been on a roller coaster that was just a little too old and rickety? (Coney Island’s Cyclone, I’m looking at you!) Or when was the last time you saw a really freaky spider that made you jump from out of your seat? Is a “Daddy Longlegs” really going to do that much damage? But if you are taken aback enough, you might find that you are sweating, anxious, and jittery. These natural “flight or fight” responses are triggered by events that we find troubling.
It’s my personal theory that everyone struggles with some sort of irrational fear, but a phobia is a persistent and powerful fear of something like a situation, activity, thing, animal, or clown. If you have an excessive and unreasonable need to avoid what you fear, chances are you have a phobia. When what you fear spirals beyond your control, and if your fear is interfering with your daily life, a therapist should be called in to mediate and help you regain any control about what you have lost.
According to the National Institute of Mental Health, 8.7% – 18.1% of American’s have a phobia. Did you know that phobia’s are the most common mental illness among women in all types of age groups and the second most common among men that are older than twenty five? Phobias are not generally diagnosed if they aren’t encountered on a regular basis, or if they are not too distressing to the person with the phobia. Take a moment to consider public speaking. It makes most people nervous, but how often do you have to speak in front of an arena of people?
From a psychological perspective, phobias can be seen as an emotional response – they occur when the fear that was produced by the first dangerous situation is transferred to other situations that are similar, while the original fear might be repressed or forgotten. From a biological perspective, an event that happens to trigger a fear response will be recorded by the amygdala and hippocampus and will be labeled as dangerous. Phobias are considered to be closely linked to the amygdala, an area of the brain that secretes hormones that control fear and aggression.
To Be Continued, Pt. 1
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