A phobia is an exaggerated and irrational fear.
The term‘phobia’It is often used to refer to the fear of a particular trigger. However, there are three types of phobia recognized by the American Psychiatric Association (APA). They include:
Specific phobia: an intense and irrational fear of a specific trigger.
Social phobia, or social anxiety:a deep fear of public humiliation and of being individualized or judged by others in a social situation. The idea of large social gatherings is terrifying for someone with social anxiety. It is not the same as shyness.
Agorafobia:This is a fear of situations that would be difficult to escape from if a person were to experience extreme panic, such as being in an elevator or out of the house. It’s often misunderstood as a fear of open spaces, but it could also apply to being confined to a small space, like an elevator, or being on public transportation. People with agoraphobia are at increased risk for panic disorder.
Specific phobias are known as simple phobias as they can be linked to an identifiable cause that may not occur frequently in an individual’s everyday life, such as fear of snakes. Therefore, it is likely that they do not affect daily life in any significant way.
Social anxiety and agoraphobia are known as complex phobias, as their triggers are less easily recognized. People with complex phobias may also find it harder to avoid triggers, such as avoiding leaving the house or not being in a large crowd.
A phobia becomes diagnosable when a person begins to organize his life to avoid the cause of his fear. It is more serious than a normal fear reaction. People with a phobia have an overwhelming need to avoid anything that triggers their anxiety.
Symptoms
These symptoms are common in most phobias:
-Sense of uncontrollable anxiety when exposed to the source of fear
-The feeling that the source of that fear should be avoided at all costs
-Not being able to function properly when exposed to the phobia
-Recognition that fear is irrational, unreasonable and exaggerated, combined with an inability to control feelings.
The physical effects of those sensations can include:
-perspiration
abnormal breathing
fast heartbeat
-shaking
hot flashes or chills
-feeling of suffocation
-chest pains or tightness
-butterflies in the stomach
-tingle
-dry mouth
-confusion and disorientation
-nausea
-dizziness
-headache
