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Fear
Paranoia, Phobia

Why Do We Feel Fear?

Fear is a vital response to physical and emotional danger that has been
pivotal throughout evolution. If people didn’t feel fear, they wouldn’t be able to
protect themselves from legitimate threats—which often had life-or-death
consequences in the ancestral world.

In the modern world, the stakes are lower. Although public speaking,

elevators, and spiders generally don’t present immediately dire
consequences, some individuals still develop extreme fight-flight-or-freeze
responses to specific objects or scenarios.

Many people experience occasional bouts of fear, such as when giving a high-
stakes presentation, or feelings of "nerves," such as going on a first date. But
when a fear is persistent, specific to certain threat, and impairs one’s life or
growth, that person might have what’s called a specific phobia.

When Does Fear Become a Disorder?

 A phobia is a distinct fear or anxiety about a specific object or situation,
according to the DSM-5. It consistently provokes fear or causes distress, and
the sufferer endures it with discomfort or avoids it entirely, such as taking the
stairs to avoid an elevator. The fear is also disproportionate to the true danger
the object or event poses.

Phobias fall into five broad categories:

 Animals, such as a fear of spiders, dogs, or bugs

 The natural environment, such as a fear of heights or storms
 Blood, injury, and injection, such as a fear of needles or medical
procedures
 Situational, such as a fear of flying or riding in elevators
 Others, such as a fear of vomiting or choking
Seven to 9 percent of Americans experience a specific phobia in a given year,
according to the DSM-5, and women experience phobias twice as often as
men do. It’s also common to have multiple fears: three-quarters of those
diagnosed with specific phobia have more than one.

Some people can pin the origin of a phobia to a specific event, like news of a
terrible plane crash or being attacked by a dog as a child. But many cannot
identify a particular incident that prompted their fear.

Read More
The Things We Get Spooked About
Where Do Fears and Phobias Come From?
Where Did My Phobia of Heights Come From?
3 Strategies to Manage Anxiety
What Are Social Anxiety Disorder and
Agoraphobia?

Fear can take forms other than specific phobias. One such fear is social
anxiety. In contrast to shyness—a normal trait that varies
by personality and culture—social anxiety disorder encompasses a deeper
fear of judgment, evaluation, and rejection by other people. When the root of
the fear is social judgment, whether being introduced to someone new or
eating in front of others, an individual may have social anxiety disorder, also
called social phobia.

Agoraphobia refers not to fear of a specific threat but to any situation that
would be difficult to escape or get help, such as in a movie theater or subway
car. Rather than a specific scenario, people with agoraphobia fear broad
categories including public transportation, open spaces, enclosed spaces,
crowds, and being away from home.

Post-traumatic stress disorder may develop after surviving severe stress or

danger, such as a car accident, earthquake, assault, or combat.

Read More
The Difference Between Social Phobia and Shyness
How to Overcome Your Social Anxiety
An Overview of Agoraphobia
How to Treat Panic Disorder and Agoraphobia

How to Overcome Fear

If fear is disrupting or overtaking an individual's life, seeking therapy can
help. A qualified therapist can identify ways to develop coping mechanisms
and release the fear.

One primary treatment for fears is exposure therapy. A therapist guides the
patient to gradually and repeatedly engage with the phobia in a safe
environment to strip away the threat associated with it. For example, someone
with a fear of flying may be prompted to think about planes, view pictures of
planes, visit the airport, step onto a plane, and eventually complete a flight.

Virtual reality has become a useful delivery tool for exposure therapy.
Evidence suggests that the modality is particularly effective for specific
phobias and anxiety disorders, and the treatment outcomes appear to be
no different in virtual and real settings. Virtual reality may also offer an
opportunity to reach more people with accessible and affordable care.

Another key treatment is cognitive-behavioral therapy, often practiced in

conjunction with exposure therapy. CBT helps people challenge and reframe
the harmful beliefs they hold about their fears.

Medication may be a component of treatment for the short-term or specific

incidents, like a medical procedure. Clinicians may prescribe beta-blockers,
which block adrenaline and lower heart rate and blood pressure, or
benzodiazepines, which act on receptors in the brain to induce relaxation.

Read More
Virtual Reality Graduated Exposure Therapy for Anxiety
3 Ways To Face Your Phobia
Should You Feel the Fear?
Becoming Panic-Free

Essential Reads
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How can I become more resilient during a crisis?
 The Unethical Damage Done by Forcing People to Die
Alone
Dying alone is psychologically damaging to the dying, families, and doctors. It is not
required to prevent spread of Covid-19. We need to change it.

What Fear and Anxiety Can and Cannot Do for (and

With) You
In trying to protect you, anxiety and fear tell a lot of lies. You don’t always need to listen.
 When Loved Ones Handle COVID Uncertainty in
Different Ways
Does someone around you talk about the pandemic too much? Or, do you wish they'd
discuss it more? We all have different approaches to uncertainty.

Recent Posts
The Fear of Not Measuring Up (in Times of Social
Distancing)
Val Walker MS on April 30, 2020 in 400 Friends but Who Can I Call?

In these uncertain times, we might find ourselves sensitive to social judgment

and more prone to fear of rejection.

Love in the Time of COVID-19

Andrea F. Polard Psy.D. on April 30, 2020 in A Unified Theory of Happiness

The right mindset allows us to love even under stressful circumstances.

The Stages of Coping with the COVID-19 Pandemic

Ana Nogales, Ph.D. on April 30, 2020 in Family Secrets

Adapting to this new way of life has been difficult.

An Ancient Prescription for COVID-19 Fear and

Loneliness
Donald Altman on April 30, 2020 in Practical Mindfulness

Mindfulness uses everything around you as a teacher. Even fear of COVID-19

gives you the opportunity for cultivating feelings that are incompatible with
fear.

Do You Have "Post-Isolation Syndrome"?

Susan Albers Psy.D. on April 30, 2020 in Comfort Cravings
Here are some tips for coping with the anxiety you might be experiencing as
you come out of isolation. 

The Sweet Smell of Success: Fighting and Body

Odor Appeal
Robert P Burriss Ph.D. on April 30, 2020 in Attraction, Evolved

Can you smell a winner? Scientists have investigated the links between
victory in physical combat and body odor attractiveness.

Pandemic Emotions: Stage 2 (and 9 Ways to Deal

with Them)
Melissa Orlov on April 29, 2020 in May I Have Your Attention
In the first weeks, there was anxiety, but also a sense of purpose. Now the
emotions are different and, for many, darker.

Dr. Phil and Dr. Drew: Discussing Covid-19

Expertise
Arash Emamzadeh on April 28, 2020 in Finding a New Home

Was it appropriate for Dr. Phil and Dr. Drew, health professionals and media
personalities with large followings, to have said what they did regarding Covid-
19?

A Brief History of Conversational Firesides

Judith E. Glaser on April 28, 2020 in Conversational Intelligence
In resurgent fashion, individuals and families alike are taking a daily seat at
the conversational fireside.

So, You Want to Be Perfect

Shoba Sreenivasan, Ph.D., and Linda E. Weinberger, Ph.D. on April 28, 2020 in Emotional Nourishment

How one defines perfection and the cost to achieve it is critical in relation to
physical and mental health.
More Recent Posts

Fear Resources

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Connected Topics
 Anxiety
 Therapy
 Evolutionary Psychology
 Trauma
Diagnosis
 Agoraphobia
 Generalized Anxiety Disorder
 Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
 Panic Attack
 Panic Disorder
 Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
 Social Anxiety Disorder (Social Phobia)
Test Yourself
 Anxiety
 Does Worrying Affect Your Health?

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