A phobia is an intense fear or feeling of anxiety that occurs only in a particular situation that frightens you.
This
might be something as seemingly logical as a fear of heights, or as
illogical as a fear of the colour green. At other times you don't feel
anxious. For example, if you have a phobia of spiders (as millions of
people do), you only feel anxious when there's a spider around,
otherwise you feel fine.
About one in ten people has a significant phobia, although few people seek treatment.
People develop phobias to all sorts of things. Each phobia has its own name. Some (of a very long list) include:
- Musophobia - fear of mice
- Peladophobia - fear of bald people
- Amathophobia - fear of dust
- Pnigophobia - fear of choking or smothering
- Maieusiophobia - fear of childbirth
- Homichlophobia - fear of fog
- Arachibutyrophobia - fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of the mouth
Phobias make people avoid situations they know will make them
anxious, but this can make the phobia worse. A person's life can become
increasingly dominated by the precautions they take to avoid a situation
they fear. You may know there's no real danger and you may feel
embarrassed by your fear, but you're still unable to control it. It's
better to confront your fears, even if it's in a very careful way or
with the help of a trained therapist.
A phobia is more likely to go away if it began after a distressing or traumatic event.
What's the treatment?
Cognitive behavioural therapy - a 'talking treatment' where you
learn all about the thing or situation you are scared of and how to
change your behaviour - has a high success rate in phobias. Your GP can
refer you.
Antidepressant medications may also be used even if you aren't depressed.
They work by interfering with brain chemicals (neurotransmitters) such
as serotonin which may be involved in causing anxiety symptoms.
Anti-anxiety medication such as diazepam are rarely used, as they can be
addictive, but may be offerred on ‘one-off’ occasions such as for
people with flying phobias who have to take a flight for work or
holiday.
