Phobias A fear and a phobia are often used interchangeably, but they do not mean the same thing. A fear is a normal response to danger, whereas a phobia is an excessive, irrational, and exaggerated fear ("Phobias: Specific Phobias Types and Symptoms." 1). People who have phobias often fear certain things or ideas that are harmless. Phobias can affect people from all ages, no matter their background, ethnicity, or gender. There are three categories of phobias: agoraphobias, social phobias, and specific phobias. Agoraphobia is the fear of being alone in any place or situation where escape would be difficult or help would be unavailable if a problem would arise. Some people with agoraphobia become so disabled that they will not leave their homes. A person with social phobia fears being watched or humiliated while doing something in front of others. The most common social phobia is the fear of public speaking. Many people have a form of social phobia, in which they fear and avoid interpersonal interactions. This makes it difficult for them to go to work or school or to socialize at all. People with a specific phobia generally have an irrational fear of specific objects or situations. Specific phobias most commonly involve animals (dogs, snakes, insects, etc.) ("Phobias: "Specific Phobias Types and Symptoms." 1).
Some symptoms of having a phobia are: feelings of panic, dread, or horror, recognition that the fear goes beyond normal boundaries and the actual danger, reactions that are automatic and uncontrollable, rapid heartbeat, shortness of breath, trembling, and an overwhelming desire to flee the situation (“Phobias” 1). Phobic individuals take extreme measures to avoid a situation pertaining the feared object or idea. Effective relief of phobias can usually be increased through cognitive behavior therapy, prescription(s), or a combination of both. In cognitive behavior therapy, the troubles individual meets with a skilled therapist and confronts the feared object or idea in a carefully planned series of steps and learns to regulate and control the mental and physical reactions to the fear at hand (“Phobias” 1). By doing this continuously will allow the patient to become accustom to the object and their feeling of dread and terror will gradually diminish. A method that is often used by therapists is