Have you had to be afraid of anything in early childhood, say, darkness, Baba Yaga, aliens or a policeman? Was there a deal? And now? Can you name at least a few things that scare you so much that the emerging fear prevents you from enjoying life peacefully?
For example, I can say about myself with full confidence: I am very uncomfortable when a dog suddenly appears at a fairly close distance from me. And, by the way, it doesn’t matter if it’s big or small, home or roving. In addition, a shiver runs through the body at the sight of a spider. But I still learned to control my emotions.
But there are people who simply do not know how to get rid of a phobia, and therefore are forced to live with it. What does such a life look like? Does she remind you of a horror movie episode or a long nightmare?
1. Human phobias: what is it?
In psychiatry, namely this science is engaged in the study of various kinds of phobias, it is customary to classify this condition as uncontrolled fear and an excessively increased reaction to a certain stimulus. This kind of fear does not lend itself to any logical explanation and is exacerbated in certain situations, which a person tries to unconsciously or completely consciously avoid. For example, those suffering from herpetophobia, or simply people who are afraid of snakes, prefer to visit the forest as little as possible. And patients with claustrophobia almost never use the elevator, as they feel very uncomfortable in a closed room.
However, experts do not recommend calling any strong fear a phobia. To identify this kind of disorder, a person will need to undergo a special anxiety test in a special institution.
2. Types of phobias
Perhaps all human phobias can be divided into two main types: common and very unusual.
Frequently encountered include:
- sociophobia, which implies a fear of any kind of social action. Its common types are anthropophobia (fear of strangers) and peyraphobia (fear of an exam or speaking);
- acrophobia (fear of heights);
- verminophobia (panic fear of the possibility of getting some dangerous disease);
- zoophobia (fear experienced at the sight of any one, certain type of animal);
- claustrophobia (discomfort caused by an enclosed space or premises);
- nifophobia is the fear that primarily affects children who are afraid of the dark. Although some adults, including well-known, suffer from nymphophobia. For example, Jennifer Lopez, Keanu Reeves, Anna Semenovich;
- fear of flying or pteromerhanophobia.
Sometimes I have to come across articles titled “The Funniest Phobias”. Honestly, I never realized that such a funny thing could be in the psychological suffering of another person. What is there to laugh at? Unusual phobias of a person, say, fear of sharp objects (Aichmophobia), gravidophobia (fear of meeting a pregnant woman) ,oulophobia (horror at the sight of clowns) and others are quite rare, but, nevertheless, they exist.
3. Human phobias - is it possible to get rid of them
Psychiatrists unanimously argue that at an early stage of the disease, you can get rid of this problem yourself. In this case, the help of a specialist will not be needed at all. And only with time, if the fear of something is fixed in the psyche and begins to increase significantly, can a person be diagnosed with a “panic” disorder.
Phobia can be safely attributed to the category of acquired or so-called “learned” fears. Why? Imagine a very young child. He was born completely fearless, he is not wary of, say, fire or depth, he is not afraid to stumble, fall or get hurt. All this happens later, and with really useful fears that will help prevent troubles in the future, useless ones are also acquired, which can subsequently intensify and turn into a real phobia.
Here a completely logical question arises: “If you can learn to be afraid, then you can learn the same way and not be afraid?” The answer sounds very optimistic: “Well, of course you can!” True, in order to achieve this, you will need to make some efforts and spend a certain amount of time.
According to experts, a total of about 10 million people are affected by phobias on Earth. But in order to get rid of fear, you need to adhere to the following rules:
- establish the exact cause of your fear;
- never focus on the sensations experienced;
- try to block your fear with positive associations. For example, if you are afraid of dogs, caress a neighbor's puppy, feed it from your hand, take it for a walk;
- allow yourself to be afraid. Perhaps this point can be considered the most important. Recognize that sometimes you are scared, because fear is a completely normal reaction of any living creature in response to danger.
If you carefully adhere to the above rules, then after some time you will find that the intensity of fear has significantly decreased.