Phobias Essay -- essays research papers

Phobias     Phobias be a very common disorder in the United States these days. The definition for phobic neurosis is "an abnormal or morbid fear or aversion" ("Oxford" 655). To be considered a phobia, a fear must cause great distress or interfere with a person&8217s life in a major way. The word phobia is Greek, therefore, any word that proceeds it should be Greek too. To coin a new phobia name, it is proper and only accepted to follow this rule. The rule has been broken galore(postnominal) times in the past, especially by the medical profession. The medical profession is steeped in Latin and many times when forming a name for phobia, they use Latin. There are three kinds of phobias simple phobia, social phobia, and panic attacks. Simple phobias, also called particular proposition phobias, are fears of a specific thing, such as spiders or being in a closed place. Most simple phobias develop during childhood and eventually disappear. Speci fic phobia is a marked fear of a specific object or situation. It is a category for any phobias other than agoraphobia and social phobia. The categories of specific phobias are 1. situational phobias such as fear of elevators, airplanes, enclosed places, public transportation, tunnels, or bridges 2. fear of the natural environment such as storms, water, or senior high 3. animal phobias such as fear of dogs, snakes, insects, or mice 4. blood-injection-injury phobia such as fear of seeing blood or an injury, or of receiving an injection. (Wood 520). Social phobias are fears of being in situations where your activities can be watched and judged by others. People with social phobias try to avoid social functions at all costs and find excuses non to go to parties or out on dates. This avoidance is the difference between having a social phobia and simply just being shy.Panic attacks are the third kind of phobia. They can change the quality of a person&8217s life. Someone with a phobi a this bad may be shopping at the supermarket and suddenly experience dizziness and a feeling of being out of control. At that moment, the person experiences a fear of dying, with no adept place to go. When this happens more than once, the person might think they are going crazy. Someone with panic attacks soon won&8217t leave the tolerate because of fear of a panic attack happening outside the house. Soon, depression s... ...6. Generalization from the original phobic stimulus to stimuli of a similar nature leave occur 7. Noxious experiences which occur under conditions of excessive confinement are more likely to produce phobic reactions 8. Neutral stimuli which are associated with a vesicatory experience, may develop motivating properties. This acquired drive is termed the fear drive 9. Responses (such as avoidance) which reduce the fear drive are reinforced 10. Phobic reactions can be acquired vicariously (Rachman 31). These theories are used to identify how people obtain phobias and other situations that may occur with phobias.      In conclusion, phobias are a big part of many people&8217s lives these days and a growing medical condition. People do not realize how badly phobias can affect their lives so they don&8217t receive medical attention. There are no cures for phobias but there are treatments which will help the phobic abridge over their fear. I personally believe that if people care enough about their lives, they will treat their phobias. Phobias can totally alter your life so if you have any of the symptoms I have listed above, please go and get treatment.