Phobias

             The book "Phobias" by Judy Monroe gives a very good definition of phobias, discussing every subject behind them, different types of phobias, and what is done to treat them. A phobia is an irrational, abnormal, or exaggerated fear. With phobias, the emotional and physical reactions are intensified. Phobics become abnormally terrified of threat of danger. Their bodies will react to fear in various ways such as sweating, shaking or trembling, or quick, shallow breathing. The National Institutes of Mental Health and the Anxiety Disorders Association of America found that up to 12% of Americans have phobias, and phobias strike more women than men.
             There are three types of phobias: specific phobia, social phobia, and agoraphobia. Someone with specific phobia has an unreasonable, persistent fear of a specific object or situation, like closed spaces, heights, and animals for example. Someone with social phobia fear situations that involve people, like speaking in public or eating in a public restaurant. Someone with agoraphobia fear one of the following: being alone, leaving home, or being caught somewhere where leaving is almost impossible.
             The word phobia is derived from the Greek word phobos which means fear, terror, panic, and flight. Phobias have been described throughout ancient and modern history, and people including Hippocrates, Robert Burton, John Bunyan, and Benjamin Rush all studied phobias and might have been phobics themselves. Although more than two hundred phobias have been named, researchers have found that about one hundred phobias account for most people's fears. A person's fears can range from their fear of being buried alive, taphophobia, to being afraid of nosebleeds, epistaxiophobia.
             Nobody knows for sure what causes phobias, but scientists have come up with many theories. Some researchers say that phobias arise when people ignore unresolved problems and conflicts. Other researchers say that ...

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Phobias. (1969, December 31). In MegaEssays.com. Retrieved 18:32, March 28, 2024, from https://www.megaessays.com/viewpaper/72562.html