Page 156 - Encyclopedia of the Unusual and Unexplained Vol. 3

Mysteries of the Mind 137

a spider, one’s father went into a frenzy at the Because of a keen development of the fear
sight of a rat, or one’s aunt fainted at the sight and flight response of humankind’s ancient
of blood, the child who perceives such dra- ancestors over many centuries, millions of
matic demonstrations of fear is likely to contemporary men and women have inherited
remember them forever and to enact them in fears that may no longer be as valid and as life-
his or her own life experiences. threatening as they once were. The common
fear of snakes is an example of survival learn-
Other experts state that childhood trau-
ing that has been passed on from generation
mas, such as being bitten by a cat, being stung
to generation. Although the number of mod-
by a bee, or becoming lost for a time in a dark,
ern people who live in an environment
wooded area, create more than enough memo-
threatened by poisonous reptiles has been
ries of fears to be lodged in the brain as phobic
vastly reduced, millions of individuals retain
responses to cats, bees, and forests. Individual
an unreasoning fear of snakes.
sensitivity may also play an important role in
the development of a trauma. Two individuals
may experience a similar trauma as children,
but only the more emotionally sensitive person
will develop a phobia because of the incident. A phobia is a persistent irrational fear that causes a
Most experts identify phobias as falling person to feel extreme anxiety.
into one of three basic kinds of fears: social
phobias, in which the individual suffers from a
paralyzing dread of social or professional Of those who suffer from a specific phobia,
encounters; panic disorders, in which the suf- researchers state that as many as 90 percent
ferer is periodically assailed by a sudden over- are women. According to the National Insti-
whelming fear for no apparent reason; and tute of Mental Health, phobias were the most
specific phobias, in which the person has a common psychiatric illness among women in
horror of a single thing, such as spiders, all age groups and the second most common
snakes, air travel, and so forth. Of the three, illness among men over 25. Perhaps more
psychologists generally agree that specific women than men admit to having a phobia
phobias are the easiest to treat because they because of hormones, genes, and being reared
are the easiest to comprehend. In addition, in a culture in which men are not encouraged
there are understandable reasons why individ- to acknowledge mental or physical problems.
uals might not wish to encounter a poisonous
snake or spider or why they might be fearful of Psychologists have made great strides in
flying after the media has publicized a number understanding the nature of phobias and help-
of airline crashes. Because some phobias have ing those vulnerable to such fears to overcome
developed out of an appropriate response to a them. There are depressant or stimulant med-
legitimate fear, it is sometimes difficult to ications that phobics can take to help over-
draw clear distinctions between phobic reac- come their fears, and there are many kinds of
tions and normal responses to danger that may treatment programs. There are exposure ther-
have become exaggerated by imagination. apies that habituate phobic individuals to
become nonresponsive to the thing that once
Many experts believe that it is no coinci- terrorized them; virtual-reality programs that
dence that specific phobias most often fall simulate the thing the phobic person most
into one of four categories: fear of insects and fears in a safe environment; and various drugs
animals; fear of the natural environment, such to treat anxiety that have been approved by
as dreading what lies in the dark; fear of dan- the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
gerous situations, such as being trapped in a
There are a number of other phobias that
tight place or falling from a high place; and
are quite common:
fear of blood or being injured. Each of these
categories reflect fears that have enabled the Acrophobia, a fear of heights, may have
human species to survive. developed in an individual because of a child-

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