There are hundreds of different kinds of phobias, but only a handful are very common. One of these phobias is the fear of heights (acrophobia). People with this fear are unable to look out the window of a tall building without feeling a panic attack coming on. Another common phobia is the fear of being in confined spaces (claustrophobia). People with claustrophobia commonly feel trapped when they are in small, enclosed places like elevators, or closets, tunnels, or closets. On the other hand, people who suffer from agoraphobia fear being in large, wide-open spaces, or places where leaving would be difficult. Agoraphobics generally avoid places like shopping malls, stadiums, and other crowded places. Some people develop such intense agoraphobia that they are not able to leave their home for years.
In addition to the more common phobias, there are dozens of unusual, little-known phobias, such as the fear of clowns(coulrophobia), fear of taking a bath or shower(ablutophobia), and fear of trees of trees (dendropohobia). In fact, there is even a fear of phobias (phobophobia)!
Although no one knows for sure how phobias develop, some researchers believe that phobias are passed from parents to children in one of two ways: either by inheriting the gene for a phobia, or by observing a parent’s phobic reaction to
something and leaning to react in the same way. Another possibility is that phobias are a reaction to something frightening a person may have previously experienced. For example, John Dickson could have developed his of dogs
(cynophobia) when, as a child, he saw a dog bite another child.
Luckily, there are treatments that can help people with phobias. While some people take medication to alleviate their phobias, many others go to counseling where they learn techniques to overcome their phobias permanently. For example, learning simple relaxation exercises can help people feel more in control when confronted with feared objects and situations. People can also be taught to overcome their fear through gradual exposure to it. For example, a person with a fear of heights might be encouraged to imagine being in a tall building. Once capable of doing this without having a panic attack, the person might be brought into the ground floor of a tall building. After becoming comfortable there, the person would be brought to the second floor. Eventually, the phobic person would reach the top floor of the building and the end of their fear.
There is a Japanese proverb that says, “Fear is only as deep as the imagination allows.” People who have learned to overcome phobias understand how true this is.