Blog Post 08: The PHOBIAS: Part 01
"FEAR" and "ANGER", both are involuntary reactions. A feeling that makes a human being beware of accidents and to help avoid crisis. That is why existence of fear and anger are justified in the mind to some extent. In both the cases a hormone called Andrenaline generates these emotion.When one gets scared or angry, the Andrenaline level increases in the body, due to which the heart beats increase, the blood starts flowing rapidly in the body, the eye pupil gets bigger and the vision becomes sharp. One gets goose bumps. All these changes make the human mind alert to face the situation. As soon as the crisis is averted, all these forces have a reverse effect on the body. As a result of which, breathing starts heavily, body starts sweating, heart beats start fluttering, throat gets dry etc. Well, there would be definitely an attempt to give more information regarding panic attacks caused due to anger in forthcoming blogs but as of now lets focus on information about FEAR & PHOBIAS.
Like any emotion, FEAR is also an emotion. If we start leading a carefree life then there won’t be any control on life activities. Hence a fear of uncertainty in the mind to some extent helps to lead a stable life. But as excess of any good feeling in mind can be fatal, in same manner too much fear in the mind can also prove harmful. This can affect the day-to-day activity of any human being and slowly also the people around him/her. So it is in our hands to control this fear at proper time. And if it is not done, then the unrealistic fear residing in the mind gets converted into something which in psychology is termed as PHOBIA. Thus PHOBIA is actually just an unrealistic fear residing or arising in the mind.
Fear is not just about the uncertainty in life, one’s job, taking care of family, good upbringing of children but fear can be of anything, of a thing, of an experience or an event in the past, of any situation, of the behaviour of any person, of any news heard from any source. The fear associated with all these things gets settled in the human mind or we can say the subconscious mind. And in present, when any similar situation or experience or the person or the thing related to that fear reoccurs, then the fear from the past connected to it which is settled in the subconscious mind of the person gets triggered. These fears may reside for just a moment or two. In such a state, he/she tries to escape or get rid of that situation. As soon as he/she gets rid of that person or situation or incident, they start behaving normal. For example, a person inadvertently, becomes a little inattentive while locking his house or his car or properly placing cash or credit cards in his valet. Now, after realizing that such a negligence could have been fatal, a criminal guilt feeling gets developed in his/her mind. As a result, to avoid this feeling, the person hesitates to take such responsibility in future. And in case he encounters such a situation then he/she become anxious and keep on checking the locked door again and again. Also after paying using a credit or debit card in some place, he/she keeps checking repeatedly whether the card is kept properly in the valet. This restlessness can exhaust them mentally as well as physically.
Now like any other disorder, there is a possibility that the seeds of some fears get sown in a person's mind since childhood. Under the pretext of teaching discipline, most of the parents or relatives scare their children by describing or portraying a scary image of policemen, doctors, a dark place with some demon, objects like injections etc. Some fears are inherently related to human beings. Like when kids go to school for the first time, they are afraid to leave their mother and adapt a new environment. They try to avoid going to school by making excuses like abdominal pain etc. But slowly, as they get used to that environment, the fear developed in the mind also disappears.
1) CYNOPHOBIA: Normally while walking on a road, suddenly if a dog starts barking, one will obviously prefer to change his/her path out of fear. In such a situation, fear works as a defence mechanism alerting his/her mind. But if due to such a situation, the fear of dogs settles permanently in the mind, and further whenever after seeing any dog, he/she gets afraid, then that condition falls under the category of PHOBIA. Such PHOBIA is called CYNOPHOBIA.
2) AGOROPHOBIA: Sometimes one experiences some terrible crowd in a public place. He/she experiences this in their mind in such a way that they later stop going to any crowded place. Such PHOBIA is called AGOROPHOBIA.
3) ACROPHOBIA: Fear of Altitudes.
4) CLAUSTROPHOBIA: Sometimes if one gets stuck in lift for an hour due to the shut down of the lift. Now such an experience or event can develop a PHOBIA of being stuck alone in closed, small enclosed places or with a crowd in small places. Such a PHOBIA is called CLAUSTROPHOBIA.
5) MYSOPHOBIA | GERMOPHOBIA: Feeling of having germs or dirt at any place and trying to clean it by washing it repeatedly or wiping it with a cloth. In such a situation, humans wash their hands frequently or bath 3-4 times a day with the intention of keeping themselves clean.
6) SOCIAL PHOBIA: A PHOBIA in which human are afraid to attend any social occasion. Such situations make him/her feel restless.
7) ACROPHOBIA: PHOBIA of a fly, cockroaches or any such insect. Mostly it is found in women.
8) NYCTOPHOBIA: Due to the experience of some accident in dark places, the fear of darkness settles in the mind.
9) NOSOPHOBIA: Fear of sickness. After meeting a sick person or after coming in contact with some patient, the worry or fear of getting infected. People having heart related ailments generally suffer from this PHOBIA. A slight chest pain (which can also be caused by acidity) makes them restless with the thought of having a heart attack. This PHOBIA must have been certainly developed in many people due to the epidemic of COVID-19 these days.
10) ERGOPHOBIA: PHOBIA of work. Sometimes a silly mistake at workplace is committed which can be a minor mistake but he/she gets reprimanded for it by his/her boss or the blame of someone else's mistake comes on that person. As a result, a bitter memory of that work experience resides in his/her mind. If in future, same nature of work comes to them, then the fear or the bitter experience pops up or triggers in the mind making them restless. In such a situation, they may try to avoid doing it.
In order to treat any mental condition, it is necessary for the patient to accept it. In the same manner, it is necessary that a person having any kind of PHOBIA should realise it, then accept it, only then he/she can be treated to come out of it.
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Next blog The PHOBIAS: Part 02 will be an attempt to give information and creating awareness regarding treatment techniques for PHOBIAS. So keep reading.Till then stay safe and healthy, MENTALLY & PHYSICALLY.
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