How scared of something do you have to be for you to have a phobia?

4 Comments

1. Bad Grammar Makes Me [Sic] says:

   July 14, 2009 at 1:20 am

   Well, people consider spiders a phobia. And most people that do, have watched all the cool hot girls in the movies scream at spiders and stupid stuff and think it’s cool, so they set it into their brains that it’ll guaranteed make you funny or something when people see you scream and jump on a table. So they make it a habit to scream at first in their stupid high-pitched voice and complain to the nearest hot guy because it’s what all the cool people do. Fucking hell.

   Anyway, my point is, if that’s considered a phobia, I’m sure your cockroach fear is one too.
2. Vera Gabriele says:

   July 14, 2009 at 1:05 pm

   Well it’s usually something one has an irrational fear of when it’s called a phobia.. if you are phobic to be face to face with a polar bear .. then I believe your fear is realistic as he is likely to tear you to pieces.. if you are unable to be in the same room with something.. which is harmless.. can’t really hurt you .. and you freak out and have to leave that room.. like I have to when I see a moth.. then it’s a real phobia.. the moth is not threatening me.. but I freak out.. I can’t bear to be in the same room.. if it flies around.. then I have a problem and my fear is irrealistic as the moth can buzz around and land on my hand or my face.. that’s not nice but a person without a phobia would not freak out like I do.. so if I see one and it moves and I have to leave the room and wait for ”rescue” from my cat or from someone else to ”kill it” then I suffer from a phobia.. if you see a cockroach you may be disgusted by it.. as they are disgusting creatures.. if you can’t look at it.. or can’t even look at a picture of a cockroach then you are phobic.. if you can’t pick it up.. then I guess you may just be disgusted by it.. which is different..if your heart goes beating really fast if you just see one.. then yes I think it’s a phobia.. the cockroaches are not nice but they won’t harm you.. so it’s a phobia but there are worse phobias than one of a cockroach..
3. Candy A says:

   July 15, 2009 at 11:32 am

   I have a phobia………..anything that flies, I used to walk to school everyday with an umbrella.
   Faint if a bird came near me.
   But phobia or fears can take on all sorts of symptoms.
   Having a phobia may produce the following signs and symptoms:

   A persistent, irrational fear of a specific object, activity or situation
   An immediate response of uncontrollable anxiety when exposed to the object of fear
   A compelling desire to avoid what you fear and taking unusual measures to stay away from what you fear
   An impaired ability to function at normal tasks because of the fear
   Often, the knowledge that these fears are out of proportion with the stimulus
   When facing the object of your phobia, an experience of panicky feelings, such as sweating, rapid heartbeat, avoidance behavior, difficulty breathing and intense anxiety
   In some cases, anxious feelings when merely anticipating an encounter with what you fear
   Children may develop symptoms of specific phobia as young as age 5, especially phobias related to the natural environment — such as storms or animals — or to bodily injury. Social phobia and situational phobias, such as fear of heights or of closed-in spaces, typically appear by the mid-20s.
4. Shakespear says:

   July 16, 2009 at 10:20 am

   Whether it’s technically a diagnosible phobia does not matter so much. What matters is the level of impairment or discomfort you experience in your daily life. If it disrupts your daily life enough for you to be really unhappy about it, its worth seeking help. Good luck.