What are Phobias?

Specific phobia is a mental health issue related to Anxiety Disorders.  It involves an irrational fear of a specific object or situation.  While a fear response to certain situations is an important survival instinct, someone with a specific phobia has a powerful response to something that doesn’t (in most cases) pose a real threat of danger to the individual.

While many people admit to having fears, such as a fear of spiders; for someone with a specific phobia to spiders, coming in contact with one may cause them to have a reaction as intense as a full-blown panic attack.  A person struggling with a specific phobia will go to great lengths to avoid encountering the object or situation that causes the intense feeling of fear and anxiety; so much so that this avoidance has a negative effect on his or her daily life. Specific phobias usually develop in childhood and can endure into adulthood.

Common Phobias:

• Fear of Animals- (Arachnophobia- fear of spiders, Ophidiophobia- fear of snakes)

• Fear of Situations- (Pteromerhanophobia- fear of flying, Claustrophobia-fear of enclosed places)

• Fear of Natural Environment- (Astraphobia- fear of storms, Acrophobia- fear of heights)

• Blood/Injection-Injury Phobia- (fear of having blood drawn, seeing the blood of others)

Many people who struggle with a specific phobia never actually seek out treatment, however, those who do find behavioral therapy extremely beneficial in decreasing their symptoms; for some a near-complete removal of fear and anxiety they experienced because of their phobia. Don’t hesitate to seek out the guidance of a counselor at Avenues of Counseling and Mediation’s Medina and Akron, Ohio offices if you are struggling with a phobia.