by Jan Wright

Created on: October 01, 2009   Last Updated: October 03, 2009

Phobias and anxiety disorders are the most prominent mental health problems in the United States. Women report more phobias than men. However, men are less likely to seek mental health assistance, so this statistic is a bit flawed and more research needs to be done in evaluating the correlation between gender and phobias. Phobias have gotten some serious attention with the desire to find more information about agoraphobia, which is the fear of leaving a safe place.

A true phobia is an overwhelming, persistent and unreasonable debilitating fear of an object or situation that poses little risk to the average person. This phobia is irrational and exhibits itself quite prominently. This fear causes much physical and emotional stress. Many times the phobia can even inhibit
your daily activities. Sometimes the fears can be explained, such as a person who is immensely afraid of dogs after they have been bitten by a dog. In this situation, the phobia is quite understandable, yet, can be quite acute. However, many fears are not grounded in rationality and have no basis for their existence. Some people are afraid of certain objects such as hydrophobia (the fear of water), Aichmophobia (the fear of needles or pointed objects) or Ophidiophobia (the fear of snakes). Other people are afraid of "doing" certain things; such as Phalacrophobia (the fear of becoming bald) or Glossophobia (the fear of speaking in public).

Fear is an emotion that is built into our system to warn us about dangerous objects and events. Fear, itself, is helpful for our survival. It is when that fear is irrational or hinders our daily routine and/or success, does it manifest as a phobia. A fear is only a phobia when it disrupts your daily activities in such a way that it renders you incapable of functioning. While you might have a fear of heights, if you can successfully avoid or withstand it without going through major physical and psychological changes, then, you are experiencing a "fear," and not a "phobia. "Not all phobias require treatment. And, not all people want treatment for their phobias. No matter what type of phobia you have, in order for it to truly be called as such, you must exhibit some of the following reactions when the fear is present: A feeling of uncontrollable anxiety, elevated breathing and heart rate, The feeling that you must do everything possible to avoid what you fear, the inability to think clearly about your phobia or anything else while the object of your phobia is present

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