The answer isn’t as easy as you might think. Fear is an emotion which develops out of uncertainty. And uncertainty itself is, basically, the perceived inability to control. Put this way it appears very simple – fear is not real, fear is just a perception. If only we could convince ourselves of that! Much is still unknown about what causes phobias. However, there may be a strong correlation between your phobias and the phobias of your parents. Children may learn phobias by observing a family member’s phobic reaction to an object or a situation. An example of a common learned phobia may be the fear of snakes. The biggest trigger of fear is the thought of the “unknown” – that is, when we are confronted or experiencing particular situations, we are not exactly sure of what will happen to us and how it will ultimately affect us. Or in some instances, we jump ahead of ourselves and imagine what the outcome of a situation will be, which is usually ten times worse than the actual reality of the situation.
Phobias often begin with a sudden trigger, a minor or major traumatic event. A phobia can begin because of an unpleasant or frightening experience involving a particular object or situation. This situation generally occurs in childhood and persists through to adult remaining with the person almost as if it’s a part of them.
While this can be – and often is – the reason for a person’s developing a phobia it isn’t the only way in which phobias begin. Often, people say that a phobia comes ‘out of the blue’ – it starts one day for no apparent reason and quickly grows into a major problem.
This is, naturally, confusing, because the individual concerned has no idea why they have become phobic. So, can this be explained? Yes it can, though not necessarily simply. Perhaps there are latent fears in the mind that aren’t in the forefront initially, but become exposed later.
As an example, let’s say in 7th grade, a boy is the popular kid in school. All the girls swoon over him, all the guys are his friends. He is teacher’s pet and a favorite with his friend’s parents.
All this overt acceptance could instill in his mind a latent fear of rejection that he isn’t cognitively aware of: sort of a “too good to last” mentality. As an adult, he finds himself avoiding social situations and even relationships in an effort to protect his feelings and fend off the rejection he thinks might be coming.
In fact, phobias don’t develop for no reason at all, they develop for no logical reason. A long period of severe stress, an unresolved childhood fear, an unrelieved frustration and an insoluble life problem can all lie behind the beginning of a phobia. What’s more, knowing the originating problem doesn’t always help because the phobia may bear little relation to it.
Some people believe that phobias develop from the body’s natural desire to protect itself.
Unconscious or emotional learning takes place to keep us safe. In primitive conditions when coming into contact with something dangerous, the mind/body would create the optimum state for survival – a panic attack.
This type of learning is not of the intellectual or rational type. If you had to think, “Yes, I think this would be a good time to have a panic attack” our species would have died out long ago.
This type of learning takes place at an emotional level so that the response can bypass the ‘thinking brain’ In the past, an immediate phobic response to a predatory or poisonous animal would have been exceedingly useful.
We therefore evolved with the ability to become phobic. In today’s complex world however, this learning mechanism often works in an inappropriate way.
Non-specific phobias can come about either through a ’spreading-out’ of panic attacks, or through a person’s levels of general anxiety becoming so high that panic is easily triggered whenever stress levels are raised even slightly. Phobias are very real to the people who are experiencing them and should not be taken lightly by those around the phobic. My own grandmother is deathly afraid of cats. We own two cats. While we might think her fear is silly – our cats are really cute – we still accommodate her when she visits by putting the cats away. Phobias have actually been around for years. Here are some interesting facts about phobias and people who suffered from them.
By: Joan ShineAbout the Author:
