rder. Phobic disorders are characterized by excessive and irrational fear of, and consequent attempted avoidance of, specific objects or situations. People with this disorder exhibit avoidance and escape behaviors, show increased heart rate and irregular breathing patterns, report thoughts of disaster, severe embarrassment, or both. There are three basic kinds of phobias, which are agoraphobia, social phobia, and specific phobia. Agoraphobia is characterized by marked fear and avoidance of being alone in a place from which escape might be difficult or embarrassing. This can eventually interfere with normal activities. Those with severe cases may never leave their home, fearing they will lose control, panic, or cause a scene in public. Symptoms of agoraphobia are hyperventilation, extreme tension, and even cognitive disorganization. It can occur alone, but most people suffer from severe panic attacks, which are characterized as acute anxiety, accompanied by sharp increases in autonomic nervous system arousal, that is not triggered by a specific event. Social phobia is characterized by fear of, and desire to avoid, situations in which the person might be exposed to scrutiny by others and might behave in an embarrassing or humiliating way. A person with social phobia avoids eating in public, speaking before somebody, avoids situations that will cause evaluation and lowers self esteem. Specific phobia is characterized by irrational and persistent fear of a particular object or situation, along with a compelling desire to avoid it. Some specific phobias are claustrophobia- fear of closed spaces, hematophobia- fear of blood, and acrophobia- fear of heights. Obsessive-compulsive disorder is characterized by persistent and uncontrollable thoughts and irrational beliefs that cause the performance of compulsive rituals that interfere with daily life. Those with this disorder feel they have to do something and their thoughts have ext...