How Do We Develop Phobias?
By Nate Brinatte
Have you ever been extremely scared or have intense anxiety towards a specific object or situation? An example might be you being close to a normal house spider that is not venomous but still being anxious or extremely scared of the spider. This reaction could indicate you have a phobia to that situation or object. Phobias are defined as an unreasonable fear of situations or an object that does not provide much danger, but you still have anxiety about it. Some examples could include having a lot of anxiety towards spiders, or you could experience anxiety with heights like me. You may experience some of these reactions regardless of the phobia:
Immediate feeling of intense fear, anxiety and panic when exposed to or thinking about the source of fear.
Awareness that your fears are exaggerated but not being able to control that feeling.
Worsening anxiety whenever you get closer to that object in time or in physical proximity.
Physical responses like sweating, faster heartbeat, or difficulty breathing.
While experts do not know for sure why these phobias develop in us, there are several theories. One cause of phobias can be negative experiences that had happened to you from a specific object or situation. Maybe you had a bad experience the first time you flew in an airplane when you were younger and since then have developed an intense fear of flying. Another potential cause of a specific phobia could be your genetics and your environment. It is thought that there is a link between you and your parent’s phobias due to either your genetics or learning the type of behavior from them. Personally, my father is also afraid of heights and flying. Observing his reactions may be one reason why I also developed a fear of heights. As a family we avoided flying because of this fear and instead took road trips whenever we went on vacation. I have flown on a plane as an adult, but still feel somewhat apprehensive. I rarely go on roller coasters and part of that could be my father not wanting to do these types of activities as well.
There are factors that can increase the risk of developing a specific phobia.
Your age. Phobias can appear in childhood, typically around 10 years-old, but phobias can still develop later in life.
Your personality. If you are more sensitive or more negative than most people you may be at an increased risk at developing a phobia.
Your relatives. Someone in your family having a specific phobia can make it more likely to develop the same phobia.
A negative experience or learning about negative experience. Either having a negative experience towards a situation or learning about an experience that someone else had can develop a phobia.
Luckily, there are ways to help deal with phobias. Some phobias can be handled by actively avoiding a certain object or situation. However, there are certain objects and situations that cannot be avoided. Instead of avoidance, coping with a phobia could lead to a happier life.
Here are some ways you can cope with your phobia:
Talking treatments, such as counseling, mindfulness, or cognitive behavioral therapy can all help treat phobias.
Medication used to treat the short term affects of phobias like anxiety. The recommended types of medications to use for treating a phobia include antidepressants, tranquilizers, and beta-blockers.
Certain lifestyle changes like regular exercise or getting enough sleep may be able to reduce the symptoms of a phobia.
Phobias are quite common and can cause unwanted stress and anxiety. Phobias can even prevent you from doing certain things in your life. It is important to learn about your own specific phobia and try to understand how to cope with it. If you want to seek mental health treatment for a phobia, you can find tips for finding a therapist here.
References
Fritscher, L. (2020, October 12). Theories on How People Develop Phobias. VeryWellMind. https://www.verywellmind.com/theories-on-the-development-of-phobias-2671514
Fritscher, L. (2020, February 12). Finding a Therapist to Treat Your Phobia. VeryWellMind. https://www.verywellmind.com/find-a-therapist-to-treat-a-phobia-2672013
Phobias. (2018, October 26). NHS. https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/phobias/
Smith, M., Robinson, L., Segal, R., & Segal, J. (2020, September). Phobias and Irrational Fears. HelpGuide. https://www.helpguide.org/articles/anxiety/phobias-and-irrational-fears.htm
Specific phobias. (2016, October 19). Mayo Clinic. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/specific-phobias/symptoms-causes/syc-20355156#:~:text=Many%20phobias%20develop%20as%20a,Brain%20function.