A lot of people make a mistake of confusing phobia with common fear, when in reality things are much different. A phobia is an excessive fear that prevents you from functioning properly. It makes you avoid places, activities and people you would normally enjoy spending time with/at. Some phobias like arachibutyrophobia (the fear that a peanut butter will stick to the roof of your mouth) is not a difficult one to live with, but most of them are not so silly (or benign). Here are a few phobias that can significantly affect your lifestyle quality and a few ways to beat them at their own game.
Early Developing Phobia
One thing is certain – the longer you live with a phobia, the harder it is to shake it off. This is why, our first point of interest are phobias that develop during childhood. One example of this is animal phobia, which develops in children around 7 years of age, which can pose a serious problem. Through having a pet, kids learn responsibility, compassion and empathy, but also quite a bit about unconditional love and friendship.
Another (equally troublesome) phobia is the fear of blood, which usually develops in children around the age of 9. Needless to say, this rules out professions like doctor, nurse, veterinarian or even a butcher off one’s career list. This is quite a shame since having some of these options ruled out at such a young age can be quite devastating. After all, these are all professions one could be really good at if not for haemophobia.
Most Common Phobias
When it comes to the most common phobias, there is a fear of height, which can prevent you from pursuing certain career paths (construction) or even enjoying some of the world’s most beautiful sights. Agoraphobia is the fear of an open space, which can make one anxious in public, which can cause some serious problems with both their professional and personal life. When it comes to fears of wildlife most common are spiders (arachnophobia) and snakes (ophidiophobia).
Unusual Is Not Harmless
Earlier on, we spoke about an unusual fear of butter getting stuck in your mouth, but this particular phobia is something that is not that hard to avert. All it takes is for one not to eat peanut butter – problem solved. On the other hand, the fact that a phobia is unusual doesn’t make it harmless. On the contrary, some people have a phobia of a specific color, paper or even something as simple as crossing the road (agyrophobia). Therefore, it is not that difficult to imagine how inconvenient living with some of these fears may be.
Fear Is a Choice
In the end, it may not be your choice whether you develop a phobia or not, but you get to choose if you are going to let it ruin your life. The first thing you need to do is learn how to calm yourself down in a moment of panic attack. Second, you may want to learn a bit about the nature of it. Sometimes the key to beating it lies in understanding the way it works. Finally, you may want to look for professional aid. In case you are from NSW, you may want to look up psychologists in Sydney, as it is important that they are nearby so that you can visit them whenever you feel the need. Even if you just call them, it is good to know that they are in the same time zone.
Don’t kid yourself, a phobia is not just a minor inconvenience – it is a thing that can potentially ruin your life. It affects your decisions and business opportunities, and it just might be the reason you’ve decided to stay at home instead of going to a field trip with your friends. It takes a lot of courage to admit that you have a problem, but even more to decide to do something about it.