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Phobias

A phobia is an exaggerated or unrealistic idea about the harmfulness of a situation, where the feeling is intense and uncontrollable.

Over time phobias can grow to such an extent that they have a serious impact on the sufferer’s life, and they begin to lead their lives in a way which avoids the phobic trigger. It is not uncommon for sufferers to gradually limit their lifestyles and activities to avoid coming into contact with their phobia. Their freedom slowly erodes, having a serious impact on their lives and upon their families’ lives too.

Most phobias are symbolic, and although they appear to make no sense at all, they are the body's way of saving us from a potentially life threatening situation. It can happen when a child has suffered a traumatic experience, such as childhood sexual abuse, and is unable to deal with the emotions. They ‘block out’ the memory of the experience and the feelings that went with it. When this happens the feelings and emotions remain, but as there is nowhere for these feelings to go, they stay inside the person, sometimes lying dormant for many years. The next time the person experiences something they are unable to deal with, the original fear can awaken, but without the memory of it. The mind tries to make sense of the feelings and will project them onto something which is usually totally unrelated to the original cause, but is a symbol of the emotion.

There are three main types of phobia:

Specific or simple phobias

These are common in children, where they are essentially seen as normal, however some phobias continue until adult life. These specific phobias can be divided up as fears of:

Animals such as snakes, spiders, birds, mice and insects
The natural world, ie storms and heights
Blood, injections and injury
Certain situations like enclosed spaces, lifts and planes

People can sometimes develop a phobia about anything that puts them at risk of vomiting or catching illnesses. Specific phobias are more common in women, and often start in childhood. People who suffer from these phobias rarely have any other psychiatric or psychological problems.

Agoraphobia

Agoraphobia can often start in late adolescence or early adulthood. It is more common in women than men. Although it's less common than simple phobias, six out of 10 people who see a psychiatrist for help with a phobia have agoraphobia.

Agoraphobia is a fear of open space. However, it's often used to refer to a fear of being away from home and family, often due to worry about having a panic attack. During a panic attack, there are overwhelming physical symptoms of anxiety. People with agoraphobia, tend to feel worse the further they are from home. They may also have a fear of enclosed spaces (claustrophobia), public transport and main roads. People with agoraphobia can sometimes become depressed, and may use drugs or alcohol to try and help deal with their problems.

Social phobia

Social phobia occurs when there is an excessive fear of social situations, such as small groups of people at parties. People with social phobia have no confidence with people they don't know, and fear that strangers are being critical of them. They may also fear that they will behave in an embarrassing way, such as blushing or shaking in public.

In some cases, social phobia may lead to excessive drinking, as people with a social phobia may feel they need "Dutch courage" before social events. Some people can have a fear of eating in public, or of a meeting with a potential partner. This can lead to people becoming very lonely, because although they may have social skills, they try to avoid social situations outside their immediate family.

Symptoms

With a phobia you usually don’t have any symptoms until you are faced with your feared object or situation, or sometimes, if you think about, or see a picture of it. You can then develop symptoms of anxiety which can include:

Fast breathing (hyperventilation)
Being aware of a fast heart beat (palpitations)
A choking sensation
Flushing
Sweating
Feeling faint
Numbness and "pins and needles"
Tension headaches
Dizziness
Churning of the stomach
Diarrhoea

These sensations can be so unpleasant that you may change your behaviour to avoid coming into contact with the feared object