Types of phobias consist of different classes of irrational and intense fears that a person might consider to be very distressing to them. These obsessive fears focus on particular objects, people, situations, or activities and may result in extreme anxiety and panic attacks. For the people involved, this anxiety can be very distressing and life-disabling.
All the different classes of phobias were originally categorized into three types. Agoraphobia, social phobia or simple phobia. At the present time, these are known to be the common types of phobias.
The 3 Main Types of Phobias
Agoraphobia can be described as a general fear of leaving a ‘safe’ place like home. Sufferers are afraid to leave their houses unless they are with their trusted companions. The word ‘Agoraphobia’ is primarily derived from the Greek word “fear of open marketplace”. Individuals with agoraphobia, are subject to occurrences of severe, illogical fear when placed in a situation that one can’t escape from. The fear result in panic attacks which manifest symptoms like hyperventilation, perspiration, rapid heart rate, and shortness of breath.
Social phobia is one of the types of phobias in which the individual displays severe anxiety when socializing in a crowd and is scared of being criticized and evaluated. People with this phobia have difficulty in interrelating with other people, remembering facts, and thinking clearly. The anxiety levels would correlate with the perceived significance of the social environment i.e. the more significant the sufferer believes it is to impress others the higher the anxiety levels the sufferer experiences. It might seem that agoraphobia and social phobia disorder are the same thing, since leaving the security of one’s home often results in the entry into a social environment. However, agoraphobia and social phobia disorder are different from each other, although, a lot of individuals who have social phobia disorder frequently experience agoraphobia and vice versa.
Aside from the above mentioned types of phobias, simple phobias or the fear of certain things and
situations is also included in the list of common phobias. Examples of simple phobias would include fear of strings, heights and insects.
On the other hand, there are a lot of therapies and medications for the management of these different phobias. For proper care and treatment for the problems of phobias, it is advised to seek professional medical help.
Leave a reply to Types of Phobias