Almost everyone has an irrational fear or two; for example, of mice or snake. For most people, these fears are minor. But when fears become so severe that they cause tremendous anxiety and interfere with your normal life, they are called phobias.
Phobia is an irrational fear. It is unreasonable, which means that it is like a fear on steroids. It prevents us from doing the things we want and being the persons we really are.
An everyday plain fear is good because it is there to protect us. You want to fear fire to a certain degree because you want to avoid it, so you remain safe. You want to be fearful of not doing well on your test so that you take all the steps necessary to get the grade that you want.
Some things people have phobias about
All sorts of things like dogs, spiders, snakes, clowns, ghosts, and even the dark, you name it. Most of us are afraid of snakes. They can be deadly, which is real. Is our fear of snakes a phobia?
The key word is irrational fear because if you live in a place where there aren’t many snakes and that prevents you from going outside because you are afraid of them, that’s phobia.
How to deal with phobia
First, by using your imagination because, too often, just talking about a spider will make people flip out, which means that it is not the actual spider that is making him fear, it’s their imagination, how they are thinking about it.
Imagine taking a test and you can either flip out, even though the test is two weeks away, or instead, you can imagine yourself being calm, getting the grade you want and doing all the steps in order for that to happen, which means you have created a plan. So, how you think influences how you feel.
Why live with it?
There’s no reason to live with phobias when there are plenty of professionals who can help you overcome them.
Remember, you don’t have to live with it, and if you can’t deal with it yourself, don’t create a phobia about getting help. Get help.
