“Phobia” originates from the Greek word for “fear”. It is a strong continual fear of situations, activities, objects or persons. Phobias are linked to our subconscious mind and because they are irrational fears, they respond well to therapy and can be dealt with effectively. When a fear is out of one’s control or the fear interferes with everyday life, a diagnosis of one of the anxiety disorders can be considered. Phobias are a kind of anxiety disorder, used in a non-medical sense for aversions of all kinds.
A phobia is a learned behaviour, often learned from a bad experience or other people such as friends and family. It affects about one in 10 people in the UK. When a phobic stimulus is encountered, a strong anxiety reaction is triggered producing fear and often physical reactions. Most people have lived with their phobia for as long as they can remember and just accept it. No one is born with a phobia, they can develop over years becoming increasingly stronger or result from one particular incident, usually occurring when the person was a young child.
