A phobia is an intense fear of a particular situation or object that is generally unreasonable in nature and which often has a direct impact on a person’s life. As a psychological consideration, the impact this fear has on the life of a person is typically a major factor in determining if a particular fear is mild and common or severe enough to constitute a form of mental illness. A phobia is typically considered to be a specific aspect of anxiety disorder, as the reaction caused when confronted with the object or source of fear is similar to anxiety.
The key components of a phobia are typically the fact that it is unreasonable and that it has a direct impact on a person’s quality of life. Someone who feels fear and panic when confronted by a person holding a weapon in a threatening way is not experiencing a phobia. This response of anxiety is perfectly reasonable, since the person is encountering a situation that may result in bodily harm or death. Someone experiencing a similar level of anxiety, perhaps accompanied by quickened breathing and heartbeat and a general sense of panic, when confronted by a common spider is experiencing a phobia, as this reaction is fairly unreasonable.
A phobia also has a direct and negative impact on a person’s life and ability to function. If someone suffers a severe fear of the word “heliotrope,” this would likely not be diagnosed as a mental illness since it is unlikely that this fear would directly impact that person’s well-being. An intense fear of water, on the other hand, may be grounds for a diagnosis, as this can impact a person’s ability to bathe, go outside during a rainstorm, and even enjoy a glass of water.
There are generally three basic types of fears that are the grounds for a number of different types of fears. Social phobia is an intense fear of social situations and other people. It usually manifests in either generalized or specific forms. The generalized form is a basic fear of social situations and meeting new people, while specific forms often indicate one particular aspect of social interaction that triggers the panic response.
Agoraphobia is a basic type of fear that incorporates a number of different triggers that cause anxiety and panic. These different triggers create a composite fear of leaving the home or going outside. This can include certain aspects of social phobia and fear responses to other stimuli, but ultimately results in a person’s inability to leave his or her home or other place he or she feels safe.
There are also specific phobias that all refer to individual fears of different things. Hydrophobia, for example, is a fear of water, often tied to a traumatic experience such as nearly drowning as a child, while arachnophobia is an intense fear of spiders. These different phobias can affect people in different ways, but are generally tied to a particular stimulus that triggers the panic or fear response.