by Cassandra Chowdhury

Created on: July 15, 2008

Cats. Music. Beards. Enclosed spaces. The number 13. These are all examples of things that are commonly seen or confronted in everyday life. They are all also, however, the stimulus of a deadly phobia, a phobia that will burden and cause suffering for anyone who has it. The word phobia comes from the Greek name Phobos, who was a god that instilled terror into enemies of the Greeks (Davey xiii). Phobias are considered anxiety disorders, and exist in the same group as panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder ("Anxiety Disorders"). Phobias are typically defined as inappropriate or irrational fears that are relative to a specific stimulus, and they are often incredibly difficult to live with (Davey xiii). A person with aclurophobia, the fear of cats, may faint at the mere sight of a feline, even if they simply catch of glimpse of a picture or video recording. A person afraid of music, a fear called melophobia, will never attend a concert, never play an instrument, and may never enter into stores or offices for fear that music may be playing. For people with phobias, their fears are a great disability and can imprison them for their entire lives if they go untreated. The effects that phobias and other such anxiety disorders have upon American society are far greater than one may predict. Marianne Szegedy-Maszak of the U.S. News and World Report states, "anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the United States, afflicting 13.3 percent of adults." Of those afflicted, an estimated 19.2 million of them suffer from some irrational fear or phobia ("Anxiety Disorders").

The development of fear is critical to the survival and evolution of any species. Fear manifests itself into two instinctive behaviors: fight or flight (Kreitler 1). When faced with a frightening or dangerous situation, an animal's fear will trigger one of these two responses, either making them attack and destroy the stimulus of their fear, or avoid and flee from the things they are afraid of (Kreitler 1). An animal without fear will not last very long, for they will not be able to detect and avoid dangerous situations. This is probably why fear has evolved into such a powerful force within organisms, causing both physical and emotional responses, both sensations and feelings. Sensations of fear in human beings are manifested both through somatic and autonomic responses by the body. (Kreitler 1). Somatic sensations may include trembling and weakness

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