You may believe that detecting a phobia by yourself is easy, but many people are not aware of their condition until they are unable to function normally in their daily lives. Just in North America, around 40 million grown-ups have some kind of anxiety or fear which will not allow them to have a normal life.

A phobia is not only having fear of certain situation, but it is a mental disease classified as an anxiety disorder.

Description of a phobia

When someone experiences this anxiety disorder, he or she will feel overwhelmed by fear whenever they are exposed to a specific situation. This condition is so serious that someone suffering from phobia can have an anxiety response just by thinking about the object or situation which causes them fear.

Most of the times, the anxiety response is linked to one specific condition, and a person suffering from a phobia can even disrupt their daily lives in order to avoid the situation which triggers the anxiety.

There are several types of phobias, and we are going to talk about them in the next paragraphs.

This phobia is the most common of all, and the person suffering from this condition begins to feel a lot of anxiety whenever they have to face a social situation, like going to a wedding or even a party. The dark side of this anxiety disorder is that the sufferer is unable to make new acquaintances and usually feels extremely alone.Social Phobia

Specific Phobia

This type of phobia is linked to a particular object. For example, some people are terrified when they have to see or touch a dog. Some people are afraid of knives, and can even go to the extent of hiding all of them away from sight, or covering them with some kind of cloth. This may sound strange at first, but these are common types of phobia.

Situational Phobia

This phobia is triggered when a person suffering from this condition has to face a particular situation, like having to get on an airplane, or having to stay in place where they feel trapped, such as an elevator. Sometimes, a person may even have a panic attack if they need to take a long trip inside a car. Many people are fearful of having to drive in a highway or even crossing a bridge.

Do you have a phobia?

We are going to present some questions that may help you know if you are suffering from a phobia:

1. Do you feel extreme anxiety and fear linked to a specific situation or object?
2. Do you avoid those situations or objects regardless of the consequences?
3. Is the fear and anxiety interrupting your normal life?

Feeling anxiety and fear is a normal situation for any human being, but the problem happens when the person tries to avoid the cause of the anxiety at any cost, even if this will interrupt their normal lives.

If you believe that you suffer from this condition, it would be a good idea to contact a professional. You can get in touch with a psychologist, psychiatrist, or any mental health counselor.