Phobias: Things That Go Bump in the Mind

Introduction Phobias aren't just extreme fears. They are irrational fears of a particular thing. For instance, you may be able to ski the world's tallest mountains with ease but be unable to go above the 5th floor of an office building. (NIMH, 1995) Even though adults with phobias realize that these fears are irrational, they often find that facing or even thinking about the feared object or situation brings on a panic attack or severe anxiety. Affecting an estimated 6.3 million adult Americans(Lefton, L. A., 1997), phobias are twice as common in women as in men. The causes of specific phobias are not well understood, though there is some evidence that these phobias may run in families. Specific phobias usually first appear during childhood or adolescence and tend to persist into adulthood.
Definition of Disorder By definition, phobias are "irrational fears," that interfere with one's everyday life or daily routine. If your fear of high places prevents you from crossing necessary bridges to get to work, that fear is irrational. If your fears keep you from enjoying life or even preoccupy your thinking so that you're unable to work, sleep or do things you wish to do, then it becomes irrational.A phobia is something a person fears to the point that they feel they have to change how they behave.(Lefton, L. A., 1997)
The Wikipedia encyclopedia gave this as a definition of phobias. " Phobias are psychological and physiological conditions that can range from serious disabilities to common fears to minor quirks. In addition, a number of neologisms have appeared with the suffix -phobia, which are not phobias in clinical sense, but rather describe a negative attitude towards something, see section Non-clinical uses of the term below. Phobias (in the clinical meaning of the term) are the most common form of anxiety disorder. An American study by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH, 1995) found that between 5.1% and 21.5% of Americans suffer from