Phobias—The Fears of Millions
“I stepped into the telephone booth. Suddenly a terrifying fear swept over me. I had to get out. I pushed the door, but mistakenly the wrong way, so it didn’t budge. I went berserk. I clawed, I kicked, and I screamed. I lost all control. I was shaking. My legs felt weak. I was trapped in there. It seemed like an eternity—yet in reality it was barely five minutes.
“As soon as a passerby released me, I went to my doctor. After tests, he eventually diagnosed claustrophobia, fear of confined spaces. He called my experience a typical panic attack. Four years later I am still learning how to cope with my phobia. It is a fear that lives with me now.”
Phobia: An excessive fear of a specific object or situation. Phobias “are divided into common phobias, or exaggerated fears of things most people are afraid of, such as death; and specific phobias, or fears of things that aren’t in themselves frightening, such as open fields or elevators. Phobias are usually rooted in anxiety, in the fear that, having been ‘bad,’ something is bound to ‘get you.’ The phobic person projects anxiety onto some external situation which he or she then feels has to be avoided.”—The Complete Medical Guide, by B. F. Miller.
THE fear and panic generated by a phobia can be terrifying, as Helen, the woman who had the experience related above, testifies. In the United States, where this took place, nearly one in 10—about 22 million people—suffer from phobias. In Britain the figure given is about four million. But not all cases—even severe ones—are reported or are under medical scrutiny. Many people just live with their phobias and keep them to themselves. Maybe you are one of these.
How many different phobias are there? About 300 are classified, but the list may be endless. Some cause mild distress or are just a nuisance. Others can completely change the lives of those plagued by them, calling for much understanding and loving care from family members, friends, and associates.
What is the cause of phobias? Can anything be done to prevent them? For those gripped by a phobia, what hope is there of a cure?