Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Fears and phobias esay
Open essay about arachnophobia
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Fears and phobias esay
A common everyday misconception is that phobias have a positive side effect on your personality, while in reality, phobias have a negative effect on you and your personality. For example, arachnophobia, the fear of spiders, causes one to have a change in personality changes, be unreasonable, and cause negative effects on your life. There have been many new discoveries made about phobias, and multiple treatments found, yet many people still find themselves facing an everyday dilemma when it comes to dealing with phobias.
Phobias usually pertain no real harm. For example, Arachnophobia (which is the fear of spiders) allows it victims to live in a world full of fear, while in reality even a black widows bite will only cause small noticeables symptoms, such as cramps and nausea in extreme cases. Death is only possible when the spiders venom interferes with other existing conditions, such as heart disease. Phobias such as arachnophobia prove themselves to be unreasonable and although some believe that fear is part of our fight-or-flight mechanism, phobias are simply unreasonable and unne...
Phobias are irrational fears that create interference within an individual’s daily routine. There are individuals who suffer from a phobia linked to pretty much any object or place imaginable. Each phobia has a specific name, for example, a fear of spiders is the phobia known as arachnophobia. There are phobias linked to flying, heights, germs and millions of things in between, each with its own name. A phobia is a category of anxiety disorders which can induce a panic attack. A panic attack is the direct result of the individual
Just imagine for a moment that you have a cynophobia or the fear of dogs, would this be how you would feel. Driving down the road the oil light comes on. "I must stop the car to add more oil or I will damage the car engine. This looks like a good place to pull over. I'll just stop in front of this house. The oil is in the trunk, so I'll pop the top first, then get the oil out of the trunk. OK, I have the oil, but what if there is a dog at this house. Hurry, I have to hurry. A dog might come running out and bark at me any minute. Just get the oil in the engine. I can't my hands are shaking. Don't worry, there is no dog. Just get the oil in the engine. I don't care if I spill it, just get some in the engine. Take another look around, is there a dog anywhere. OK, the oils in, now hurry get back in the car. I can't breath. I'm safely back in the car, now just take a minute and breath. When will my hands stop shaking." This is how a person with a phobia of dogs might feel. There is no dog around anywhere in sight, but the thought of a dog running at them barking is enough to cause a panic attack. In "Exploring Psychology" David G. Myers defines phobia as "an anxiety disorder marked by a persistent, irrational fear and avoidance of a specific object or situation" (432). This paper will explore the history, causes, effects, and treatment of Phobias.
The concept can be better understood through the example of a woman observed by researcher and psychiatrist Fraser Kent. This arachnophobic woman was so afraid of spiders that she would sweep, dust and vacuum twice a day to make sure spiders never settled in her home. She would clean, and then burn any bags coming from the grocery store to make sure that none entered the house from outside (2). This is an example of a person with OCD and a phobia. The obsessive-compulsive was birthed from her phobia. This greatly altered everyday life for her as she was fearful of leaving her house unless she knew her environment would be spider free. Unfortunately this is not an isolated case; there are many examples of the everyday lives of people worldwide that display the hardships of having a phobia and trying to lead a normal life. There are an estimated 26 million Americans alone living with a phobia. This ...
Conquering phobias is a specialty of hypnotherapists. A phobia is a compulsive fear of a specified situation or object (Knight 2). A few types of phobias are fear of open spaces, fear of snow, fear of the cold, fear of marriage, fear of insanity, fear of being alone, fear of darkness, fear of disease, fear of beards, fear of birds, fear of being stared at, fear of bein...
The ocean is the utmost amazing as well as the most mysterious place in the world, with hundreds of new species being discovered every year, in a place that takes about 70% of the earth's surface. This always makes people consider, “What else is out there?”. Thalassophobia is the fear of the ocean, a fear that countless people in the world suffer from. There is no clear number of people who suffer from thalassophobia, but there are multiple online groups dedicated to the phobia, with one of those having about 80,000 members.
There’s a monster under your bed, and there are ghosts in the attic. The Bogey man is in your closet and ravens await your death so they can pick from your rotting flesh. Flowers are ready to strangle you, as pickles prepare to choke you in the night. It’s almost funny to hear of people who actually fear flowers and pickles. But these people have real legit fears of even the nicest of things. Although these fears are horrible, and should not be feared; I think the more we know about them, the more we can be prepared. There must be a deeper meaning of these weird phobias. Is it nature? Or inherited traits of the human body? Maybe they come from past experiences? Even as these fears are quite interesting, but unwanted, I want to know why people acquire these ridiculous fears and how we could stop them.
Almost everyone alive has a fear of something whether it be heights, spiders or even clowns. Some people however have more serious issues with their fears, fears that follow them almost everywhere they go, these fears are called phobias. It is estimated that 4 to 5 percent of Americans have some type of phobia, which is an irrational fear of situations and certain objects. There are over 500 known phobias; a very common phobia is social phobia.
Fears can be formed in absence of prior experiences. These fears may have a biological factor the is explained by the evolutionary theory. This may account for an individual who has had the phobia for as long as they can remember. These internal fears, from an evolutionary perspective, may have formed to protect the individual. Etiologically, development of specific phobias during childhood are proposed to be from learning experiences that are consistent with normal developmental fears. Biological behavioral patterns, that result from persistent fears, turn into a distinguished phobia. These then are often maintained thereafter by cognitive bias
Standing at six foot one, and weighing three-hundred and twenty pounds, Malcom Reynolds is infamous for having won multiple weightlifting champions across the United States. At 14-years of age, after reining as champion in an international weightlifting competition in Iceland, Reynolds was declared “Strongest Youth in the Northern Hemisphere.” Looking at this man, most would not hesitate to assume that he fears nothing. But even as the gallant Bruce Wayne fears bats, the goliath Reynolds fears of another winged and benign creature: birds. Much to the pleasure of irony, the massive Reynolds has, for his whole life, dealt with severe ornithophobia, the irrational fear of birds.
Phobias are considered a part of anxiety disorders, a phobia is an intense and irrational fear of a certain thing or situation. Some examples of phobias include fear of heights, insects, and even talking in front of a large crowd. The intensity of phobias differ from patient to patient but the severity of phobia...
In conclusion, phobias are a big part of many people’s lives these days and a growing medical condition. People do not realize how badly phobias can affect their lives so they don’t receive medical attention. There are no cures for phobias but there are treatments which will help the phobic get 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.
One of the characteristics of a phobia is a feeling that is greater than the fear of a situation or object with an exaggeration of the danger associated with the said situation or even object. This persistent fear often leads to an anxiety disorder that leads an individual to develop mechanisms that ensure one avoids the object or situation that triggers the occurrence of the phobia. Phobias can have highly debilitating effects on an individual including the development of depression, isolation, substance abuse, and even suicide. Many people take phobia for granted however, it is clear that it has the potential to impair the quality of life for both the affected and the people around them. The fact that many of the phobias are manageable using
According to Klasco (2011), psychological disorders "are abnormalities of the mind that result in persistent behavior patterns" that can have an impact on daily tasks and life in general. There are many different groups of psychological disorders, one of those being anxiety disorders, which King (2013) states features "motor tension, hyperactivity, and apprehensive expectations and thoughts" (p. 448). There are also many subgroups of anxiety disorders, including phobic disorders, in which agoraphobia is included in. Agoraphobia is considered a panic disorder because its’ ability to limit people from doing their daily activities.
As time progresses, many changes develop in society. For instance, fashions change, tastes change, habits change, and norms change as well. One of the biggest changes that has taken place over the years is the increase in dependency on technology and cell phones. According to an article, dated from from 2000 to 2004, there has been a 50% increase in the use of cell phones, ranging from 40 million to 60 million (Shuvra Mahmud). That was ten years ago, so the changes now must have increased even more. Similar to the increase in cell phone usage, there has also been an increase in the belief and diagnosis of nomophobia, the fear of being without a person’s cell phone. Although some scholars have argued that nomophobia is merely a high engagement of cell phone usage, various studies suggests that nomophobia is an actual phobia and that company advertisements are a probable cause for it.
We all have our fears, rather it be flying or driving. However, when a phobia is present the individual has extreme irrational fears that interfere with their quality of life. For example a fear of heights may limit an individuals living or employment choices. If this individual is offered the job of a lifetime, however, the office is located on the twentieth floor; they will refuse the job due to the fear of heights.