Phobias (Short talk)

References- Robert S. Fieldman. Understanding Psichology 2009,
http://psychology.about.com/od/phobias/a/phobialist.htm

I was looking some information about phobias. I found a lot of articles about that. In this short talk I will answer to 3 questions about phobias. So, first question would be

• Types of phobias
• What are the causes of phobias
• How to treat phobias

First of all, I want to define phobia. According to the American Psychiatric Association phobia is an irrational an excessive fear of object or situation.

 In one website I found that there are 5 common phobias

• Arachnophobia. It is a phobia when people are afraid of spiders. 10% of man and 50% of woman have this phobia.
• Social phobia. It is a fear of social situation, a fear of being evaluated negatively in social situations. This type of phobia typically begins  in childhood or adolescence.
• Aerophobia. It is a fear of flying.
• Agorophobia. When people afraid of any place or situation where escape might be difficult
• Claustrophobia. Fear of being trapped in small places. For example: elevator.

The causes of phobias are not yet fully understood. However, researchers found several possible factors.

·         Genetics. For example twins who are raised separately, may develop the same phobias

·         Cultural factors

·         Life experience (for example: phobia of dogs)