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Emotional HealthPhobiasPhobias occur in several forms. A specific phobia is a fear of a particular object or situation. Many people experience specific phobias, intense irrational fears of certain things or situations -- dogs, closed-in places, heights, escalators, tunnels, highway driving, water, flying, and injuries involving blood are a few of the more common ones. Phobias aren’t just extreme fear; they are irrational fear. Adults with phobias realize their fears are irrational but often facing, or even thinking about facing, the feared object or situation brings on a panic attack or severe anxiety. Social phobia is a fear of being painfully embarrassed in a social setting. And agoraphobia, which often accompanies panic disorder, is a fear of being in any situation that might provoke a panic attack, or from which escape might be difficult if one occurred.Specific phobias strike more than 1 in 10 people. No one knows just what causes these strong reactions, but female gender and heredity may be risk factors. Phobias usually first appear in adolescence or adulthood. They start suddenly and tend to be more persistent than childhood phobias; only about 20% of adult phobias vanish on their own. When children have specific phobias -- for example, a fear of animals -- those fears usually disappear over time, though they may continue into adulthood. No one knows why these symptoms hang on in some people and disappear in others. If the object of the fear is easy to avoid, people with phobias may not feel the need to seek treatment. Sometimes, though, they may make important career or personal decisions to avoid a phobic situation.
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