Arachnophobia - 1

Arachnophobia—this is irrational fear is one of the most common in the world. Indeed, this phobia can plague the minds and psyche of just about anyone, regardless of race, gender, or age. In fact, arachnophobia is one of the most copious of the specific phobias and it afflicts people across regardless of their geographical and cultural boundaries, (Graham C.L. Davery 2014). People who suffer from this phobia tend to feel uneasy in any area they believe could harbor spiders or that has visible signs of their presence, such as webs. If an arachnophobic sees a spider they may not enter the general vicinity until they have overcome the panic attack that is often associated with their phobia (Princeton 2014). Additionally, it is estimated that as

My interest is not in humankind's common condition, but, rather, in the cases of alethophobia in U City, which are characterized by a state of rigid fervor which is increasingly unhealthy for the sufferers and for those who must co-exist with

Known as a mental disorder a phobia is a persistent fear of a specific object, activity, or situation that leads to compelling desire to avoid it. Phobias tend to affect the way people live their lives, for example, their working and social environments, considering that they last for a very long time and are capable to cause intense psychological physical stress. It is considered today the most common mental and anxiety disorder in the United States (Matig Mavissakalian & David H. Barlow 1981 pp 2). There are many phobias such as: the fear of aging, fear of changing, fear of clowns, fear of getting fat, fear of being in closed spaces, etc.

When we think about phobias today we are less inclined to think of the greek god of fear but of an intense fear of something or situation.

Though the experience of phobias is relatively common and their physical characteristics are generally well understood, there is no real consensus on the neurobiological basis of phobias. Instead, there are currently several different models and theories that work to try to understand how and why phobias occur in the human brain. Most hypotheses regarding phobias take a different approach, from biological to psychoanalytic to evolutionary. Is there one model that seems "less wrong" or more satisfying in our efforts to understand the biology of phobias? Using the various models, how do phobias seem to come about? How does thinking about phobias add to our understanding of the brain and behavior?

Phobias, an extreme fear of something, can best be understood through use of the psychodynamic perspective. Oftentimes, childhood traumas or exposure to the object of the fear at an early age can lead to the phobia to manifest itself when the patient is an adult.

Introduction: Almost everyone has an irrational fear or two—of mice, for example, or your annual dental checkup. For most people, these fears are minor. But when fears become so severe that they cause tremendous anxiety and interfere with your normal life, they’re called phobias. A phobia is an intense fear of something that, in reality, poses little or no actual danger. Common phobias and fears include closed-in places, heights, highway driving, flying insects, snakes, and needles. However, we can develop phobias of virtually anything. Most phobias develop in childhood, but they can also develop in adults. If you

“A phobia is essentially a human being's irrational fear of something. It could be an object, an animal, a situation or an environment. These fears are persistent, intense, excessive and unrealistic, which is primarily why phobias are deemed irrational. A clinically phobic person's reaction to what scares him/her may seem extreme and the fright may not appear to be justified.” (Grenier et al., 2011) A specific phobia is known by a deep and persistent fear of an object or situation which becomes anxiety. The anticipations of the stimulus may make the symptoms arise. Many individuals who suffer with this disease will avoid the stimuli. They will take extra steps and precaution to have no contact. The main characteristics that the DSM-5 describes for this disorder includes “the individual suffering from a persistent fear that is either unreasonable or excessive, caused by the presence or anticipation of a specific object or situation, exposure to the stimulus usually results in an anxiety response, the sufferer recognizes that their fear is disproportionate to the perceived threat or danger, individuals take steps to avoid the object or situation they fear, and the phobic reaction, anticipation or avoidance interferes with the individual’s normal routine and relationships, or causes significant distress. At last, the phobia that the person has to be constant for a period of six months or longer.” (American Psychiatric Association,

of this world; there is fear of heights, fear of spiders, fear of ants, fear of airplanes, fear of

Arachnophobia is an extreme or irrational fear of spiders. Someone is arachnophobic when their fear of spiders reaches a level that it is irrational, illogical and unhelpful. Arachnophobia is an everyday fear, it changes what people might do with their day depending on the likeliness of seeing a spider. As with all phobias the cause or causes can be unknown, and can vary from person to person. Some people do have a very real experience that causes initial fear, which can then stay with them, and, as they avoid the object they are scared of, they reinforce the negative experience, and over time develop a phobia. The traditional old-fashioned way to treat arachnophobia is via systematic desensitization link to phobias and fears. Systematic desensitization

A Phobia is a persistent, abnormal or irrational fear of a specific thing or situation that compels one to avoid the feared stimulus. Phobias are largely underreported. An estimated 6 million people

Phobias are a type of anxiety disorder that causes people to persistently become extremely irrational and strongly avoid/object a particular thing or situation when in their presence. The causes of phobias are still largely unknown, but what we do know is we all have fears in some shape or form; whether it be a common phobia such as: animals, insects, reptiles, the dark, acrophobia (heights), drowning, micro-phobia (germs), claustrophobia (closed spaces); or something less common such as: fear of rain or fear of beards.

Phobia is an acquired fear whenever we sense danger or when we are confronted with something new or unknown that seems potentially dangerous. It can be social anxiety disorder which characterized by excessive fear or anxiety about one or more social situations or specific phobia that developed when a person has an encounter with an object or situation that involves or provokes fear. Phobias vary in severity among individuals. Although phobias are common, they do not necessarily cause significant disruption of everyday activities.

In this paper I will be describing phobias and fear, but more specifically coulrophobia (the fear of clowns) and Monophobia (the fear of being alone). I also will describe possible causes of phobias, the history of phobias, how fear is helpful in small amounts, what fear does to someone and how to defeat it. Fear is present in all people but some more than others and I would like to know why. The definition of a phobia is “an extreme or irrational fear of or aversion to something”. Phobias are never simple and often do not have a simple answers or cures, but there are ways of dealing with phobias. There are some treatments that can help you get over your fears. Phobias are not easy to get into without getting into very

However, phobia can even cause people to risk their health. For example, the fear of dentists can leave people suffering from it willing to risk the health of their teeth in order to avoid having to go through an exam or procedure ( MacKay). When one knows about an upcoming confrontation, it can be the reason why one can not sleep or finds it hard to focus on important tasks. Due the change in daily routine, this unrealistic fear can interfere with the ability to socialize, work, or go about everyday life, brought on by and object, event or situation. But even animals have anxieties and phobias just as every human being (www.phobia-help.de). A phobia is an irrational fear, one knows that the object or situation, one is scared off, can not hurt one, but one is still afraid. A reason for this is that the human mind can not distinguish what is real and imaginary. When one has uncontrollable anxiety attacks, he loses rational judgement, leading to complicated problems. However, anyone can develop a phobia, men and women, teens and young adults, and elderly lady or a one-year-old boy (MacKay).