What is a Fobia?

A phobia is defined as an excessive and irrational behavior of any sort. Generally, people consider the word phobia to be associated with some sort of fear. This is not at all true, as phobias can be completely free of fears may also be so insignificant that they are hardly noticed, except perhaps for the people who are around the phobic person at all times. There are literally thousands and thousands of types of phobias that have been recorded and studied. It is certainly not possible to provide a list of them all, but they can be looked up in any reliable encyclopedia of medical science. In all likelihood, phobias of almost any sort can be attributed to a few reasons. The primary of these is learned behavior. A lot of phobias can be picked up during early childhood from what an individual sees or experiences around them. These small fears and disturbances then continue later on in adult life but with larger than life proportions, and can thus be called phobias. Another cause for phobias is also considered to be social conditioning. A lot of times, people are so influenced by what they see in society that they may tend to pick up on something and adopt or reject it so powerfully that it takes on the extreme proportions of phobic behavior. Research has also revealed that phobias can also be linked to neurological causes. However, this is still a work in progress and cannot be cited as a cause except in rare and established cases.

Symptoms of Phobias

Symptoms of phobic behavior are extremely clear. The first is a feeling of panic, dread, horror, fear and/ or extreme discomfort, which can take on unrealistic as well as mammoth proportions. Beyond normal proportions would mean that this fear goes beyond what is considered to be normal and becomes an actual threat to the person who is phobic. After a point, all behavior related to the phobia becomes completely involuntary. A person can no longer control their actions and reactions. When this stage is arrived at, this also becomes a medical problem, apart from being just a psychological issue. This can then also manifest into other health issues like heart trouble or asthma or any other illness related directly to high stress. If someone you know is heading in this direction but this has not become a physical and medical problem for them, you should seek help.