WHAT GIVES YOU THE WILLIE?
By Deepa Sampat dsampat@kansan.com
My friend Ashleigh's hands were clutching the arm rests of her airplane seat, her head was resting on the seat's back, her eyes were closed and her face was pale. While I was counting down the minutes until we arrived in Las Vegas for spring break, Ashleigh was counting down the minutes until the plane landed so the flight would be over with. The only other time she had flown, her flight was so turbulent she developed a phobia to flying.
She's not alone. Aerophobia, or a fear of flying, affects about 25 million Americans, and, according to the National Institute of Mental Health, about 9 percent of Americans suffer from some kind of phobia. Phobias are the most common psychological disorder in women of all age groups, and the second-most common psychological disorder in men over age 25.
Here's a further examination of the causes and consequences of some of our fears.
What's the difference?
Though the terms are commonly used interchangeably, fears and phobias are different things. Thompson Davis, clinical psychologist and assistant professor at Louisiana State University specializing in the treatment of anxiety disorders and specific phobias, says the difference between the two has to do with the degree of fear. Phobias are intense fears associated with psychological arousal, distress and avoidance. "Phobias are not like when you watch a scary movie and get scared," Davis says. "A
person who has a fear of dogs will see a dog and get scared and walk quickly past it. But someone who has a phobia is going to go to great lengths to avoid dogs,
like turn around and walk another way."
Many people have fears, but phobias are characterized as being irrational fears that are persistent and excessive, directed at something considered relatively harmless. "Fear is healthy. Fear is what protects us. It's why people don't run out in front of cars on the street." Davis says. "What becomes an issue is when fears become too intense and debilitating."
Megan King, Omaha, Neb., sophomore, says she has a phobia of talking to strangers. She says this most commonly happens when she goes to a party with one friend and then they get separated. "I feel really awkward and nervous. I always get really flushed and really hot. I feel like my face is beet red. It also makes me nervous when I do talk to someone, and so I'll stutter or mess up what I'm saying." King says.
Specific phobias are intense and irrational fears toward a particular object or situation. These phobias include things and situations such as heights or spiders. Furthermore, specific phobias are divided into five groups: animal phobias, natural environment phobias, blood/injection/injury phobias, such as a fear of needles or getting hurt, situational phobias, like a fear of flying or claustrophobia, and other phobias.
Phobias can be put into three groups. People with social phobias have an intense fear of being embarrassed in social settings. Public speaking is the most common social phobia, but it also includes things such as going to parties, going on dates or talking to authority figures.
Alex Rarick, Gardner freshman, has a specific situational phobia. She says her phobia is of someone breaking into her house at night. "When I am going to bed, I get scared someone is walking around my house, going to murder my family. If I hear any noises I can't go to bed," she says.
Agoraphobia is a fear of being someplace in which
phobias
Arachnophobia - fear of spiders Social Phobia - fear of social situations, most commonly public speaking Aerophobia - fear of flying
Agoraphobia - fear of being someplace in which getting help or escaping would be difficult if a panic attack were to occur
Claustrophobia - fear of being trapped in small spaces
Acrophobia - fear of heights
Emetophobia - fear of vomit
Carcinophobia - fear of cancer
Brontophobia - fear of lightening and/or thunder
Necrophobia - fear of death or dead things
getting help or escaping would be difficult if a panic attack were to occur. People with agoraphobia generally avoid crowded places, being in traffic or flying.
Where they come from
The specific causes of phobias are largely unknown. Todd Bowman, a counseling psychology intern at the University's Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS), says many times people with phobias will attribute them to a bad experience they had during childhood."When you ask people why they have a fear of something, a lot of them will say that they've just never liked it." Bowman says.
This is true for Gillian Armstrong, Manhattan junior. Armstrong has a fear of heights and can't describe the root of her fear, but says she has been afraid of heights ever since she was a young child.
Generally, people acquire phobias in four different ways. Davis says phobias do have some genetic basis. The other three ways phobias develop are through associative methods. First is when someone has a bad
experience with an object or a situation,
12 04.24.2008 VOL.5 ISS.29
for more information: www.phobiaguide.com