Everyone deals with different types of problems or conflicts, such as school grades, family dilemmas, and relationship issues, etc. However, something that most people deal with are phobias. No matter how small or big, we all have had our fair share of phobias. For those who don't know, a phobia is defined as a "persistent, excessive, unrealistic fear of an object, person, animal, activity, or situation. It is a type of anxiety disorder. A person with a phobia either tries to avoid the thing that triggers the fear or endures it with great anxiety and distress" (Phobia - Harvard Health). The people who coined the word "phobia" can be traced back to Greek times, with "phobia" being a Latin root suffix. Many psychologists believe that phobias have expanded and developed over thousands of years because when a child is exposed to dangers or threats, the child starts to experience fear, and that's how it develops.
Furthermore, I wanted to interview some students and teachers to see how they developed their fears. Some developed their fear from past experiences, having dreams of that fear, or simply not liking the idea of that fear. The different types of phobias that I discovered that they have include pyrophobia (fear of fires), veloxrotaphobia (fear of roller coasters), claustrophobia (fear of small cramped spaces), anthropophobia (fear of people), thanatophobia (fear of a loved one dying), trypanophobia (fear of needles), and emetophobia (fear of vomiting). I'm aware that everyone experiences their fears differently; some shudder at the mere thought of their fear, while others may scoff at it. So, I decided to ask if they would ever overcome their phobias. Most of them believed that they would possibly get over it in a couple of years by seeking professional medical help, while others believe that this will probably haunt them for the rest of their lives. But not to worry, we can all overcome these fears; you just have to give it time to adjust.
For example, many have overcome the fear of spiders, the dark, and snakes. For those who were afraid of spiders, they came to the realization that most spiders are harmless. Of course, there are some house spiders that could bite you, but they are generally harmless. As I mentioned earlier, everyone deals with fear differently. Personally, I'm afraid of needles, whether it's getting a vaccine or having my blood drawn. Others may think it's a simple vaccine that they need to protect themselves (which is true, you must protect yourself and others). But for me, I start panicking, crying, and trembling. However, I try to tell myself that it's just a little shot, and what harm could it do? It's just a slight pinch. This method helps me relax a bit and remind myself to breathe and think about my happy place. I hope that this method could help others dealing with a phobia they can't necessarily control. For those dealing with extreme phobias, just remember that you are not alone; you have people who care about you, such as friends and family. You can also seek a professional therapist to help you control your phobia.
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Photo by MART PRODUCTION: https://www.pexels.com/photo/a-person-holding-a-sign-of-phobia-8459027/
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