What makes us afraid of the dark? Is it the unknown of what could be lurking in the shadows? Why do some of us fear clowns and dolls? Why are others afraid of spiders and rats? I've always pondered these questions and wondered if there is a deeper reason for these fears. I'm going to try and answer these questions with the information I gathered.
Let's start by understanding what a phobia is exactly. According to psychologists a phobia is an intense persistent fear of a specific object or situation. Phobias can also occur with various types of anxiety disorders, which a phobia technically is a form of anxiety. There are specific categories for phobias. These include, situations, nature, animals/insects, blood/needles, and others. The situation category includes fears of going to school, enclosed spaces, and airplanes. Nature category is specific to thunderstorms, heights, water (oceans, lakes). The category animals and insects includes dogs, spiders, sharks, rats, bees, ect. Blood/needles section includes medical procedures, injections or accidents. The last section incorporates, chocking, vomiting, loud noises, clowns, dolls, the dark, ect.
How do you know you have a phobia? Well typical reactions when faced with any of these is an immediate feeling of intense fear, panic or anxiety when exposed to or thinking about the source of the fear. The fears are irrational, exaggerated, or unreasonable however the individual feels powerless to control it. The anxiety becomes worse when the object gets closer or if the individual is in the situation for an extended period of time. An individual with a phobia will tend to avoid the object or situation. A person with a phobia also tends to have difficulty functioning a normal life because of the fear. Physical reactions include, sweating, rapid heartbeat, tight chest, and difficulty breathing. A person may also feel dizzy, faint, or nauseated. Children tend to have tantrums, cry, or refuse to leave their parents side by clinging.
There isn't enough known about why we have fears of things, but there are three possible reasons. One possibility is a malfunction to a certain part of the brain, a second possibility is genetics and the final is past trauma. The amygdala is being studied to understand the reasons behind fears. The chance that phobias are caused by genetics range between 25% and 65%. Some phobias are minor whereas some can become more severe. Which is believed to be caused by traumatic experiences.
The most common phobias include:
Acrophobia, which is the fear of heights
Aerophobia which is the fear of flying
Arachnophobia, which of course is the fear of spiders,
Astraphobia is the fear of thunder and lightning
Autophobia is the fear of being alone
Claustrophobia is the fear of confined or crowded spaces
Hemophobia is the fear of blood
Hydrophobia is the fear of water
Ophidiophobia is the fear of snakes
Zoophobia is the fear of animals
What are some things you are afraid of? Do you have a non-common phobia? I have a few minor phobias, that include, the fear of spiders, clowns, dolls, confined spaces, and seeing my own blood. If you feel brave enough share your fears in the comments, never know someone else might share the same fear.
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