Phobia is an extreme fear about something, object or situation posing little or no actual danger. Common specific phobias are closed-in places, heights, escalators, tunnels, highway driving, water, flying, dogs, and blood. These phobias are not only tremendous fear but absurd fear about a particular object or situation. In general, a phobia is extreme fear and anxiety about a particular situation or object. Sometime a person suffering with phobia may realize that the anxiety is unreasonable but he / she cannot take control over it. The life of such person becomes extremely difficult to live. A phobia can develop in response to any number of different specific objects or situations.

Phobias can be classified into three general types:

Specific phobia is an unnecessary extreme fear of a specific situation or object. There are 5 types of specific phobias:
- Phobias of particular animals such as dogs, cats, spiders, or snakes
- Natural environment phobias such as dirt, storms, water, darkness, or thunderstorms
- Situational phobias such as closed spaces (claustrophobia), elevators, flying, tunnels
- Blood, injections, and injury phobias
- Other phobias such as illness and death
Social phobia sometime also called social anxiety disorder is irresistible fear of scrutiny, embarrassment, or humiliation in everyday social situations.
Agoraphobia is the fear about being in such places where you think that getaway or help is not possible. This phobia might be experienced in a crowd or standing in line, traveling on a train, or in an automobile. People with agoraphobia often try to avoid these potentially triggering situations, to the point where it affects their daily lives. At an extreme, an agoraphobic might only feel safe at home.

Symptoms

A person suffering with phobia is bound to show the physiological responses as one shows in actual situation of fear or threat.

Some common phobia symptoms are

Anxiety reactions, for example; sweating, trembling, nausea, worry or terror
Intense fear of the object or situation, beyond an actual threat of danger
Intense fear of being watched or judged (social phobia)
Automatic, uncontrollable reactions that consume the mind and body
Extreme avoidance of the object or situation that is feared, sometimes to the point of isolation
Alcohol or substance use in an attempt to quell feelings of anxiety

Treatments

A person affected with any kind of phobia requires professional consultation and treatment. The treatment may be done through medications or therapies. In some cases the affected person may require medication and therapy both to minimize the rigorousness of the reactions. The commonly used form of therapy for treatment of phobia is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) sometime also called systematic desensitization or exposure. In this form of treatment, the person is brought to feared situation first in imagination and then in real, until he / she decreases reactivity and can tolerate the situation or object without extensive symptoms.

Some phobias are so common (such as fear of flying or driving) that there are therapists who specialize in helping with them.

Other treatments include:

Relaxation and stress relief techniques,
Alternative approaches such as EMDR Therapy, Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT), and acupuncture,
Support groups, and / or
Combination of psychotherapy and medication.

So, if you are worry about something or situation without actually facing the circumstances, then you might be a phobic. If you are feeling the heat, must go for professional help.

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