A phobia can be described as a persistent and irrational fear of an object or situation that disrupts behavior. Having phobias is very common and it is categorized as a type of anxiety disorder. When someone has a phobia they will do whatever means necessary in order to avoid that object or situation from ever presenting itself in their life again whether it is a fear of spiders, planes, or even just any social situation. If someone were to be presented with their phobia they would show signs of immediate panic and ultimately a great deal of distress.
As weird as it may sound, I have had a phobia of The Simpsons ever since I was 10 years old. I had a traumatic experience when I went to Universal in Florida with my family. My brother thought it would be funny to push me onto the Simpsons ride alone and that experience really just traumatized me. Ever since that day at Universal I experience intense distress if I see The Simpsons on my T.V or if I see a stuffed animal of any of the Simpsons characters. My phobia used to be a lot worse when I was younger; I would cry if I saw any of the characters anywhere and I would hyperventilate. Now, while I still do not like The Simpsons, I am not as distressed by their presence.
My mom used to have a serious phobia of airplanes which prevented her from being able to fly. She would feel extreme panic and distress as soon as the plane began to take off and it really limited her. She eventually learned how to handle herself when flying, but the phobia was serious. She was fine with other transportation such as cars and trains, but when it came to flying she was just too panicked. While most people can acknowledge that their phobias stem from irrational fears, it is hard for them to control their panic.
I have a friend that has a fear of elevators, he would never go on an elevator. He never told me why she does not like them, he just simply will not go on them. I have experienced him climbing up almost ten flights of stairs just so he would not take the elevator. One day I tried to make him go on one with me, I even told him I would hug him the whole ride up and down, and he agreed to do do. When he was about to step inside the elevator he started trembling and his eyes started to water. He truly seemed really afraid and uncomfortable with that situation. I ended up letting him take the stairs because I did not want to traumatize him even more.
I don’t really have a serious phobia, but I am a bit afraid of airplanes. I absolutely hate them. And it is terrible because I have to ride on one every time I go home at the end of the semester. I’m stressed the whole ride and I can’t even sleep. Sometimes I have to take sleeping pills to try and sleep and not be worried but they never seem to work because of how anxious I am whenever I’m in an airplane.
My dad is deathly afraid of dogs. He grew up in Malawi, Africa where his parents kept pitbulls as guard dogs to protect the property. One day when my dad was walking home from school the dogs mistook him for a stranger and bit him pretty hard on the arm. I remember as a kid going to friends’ house & my dad would get so stressed when the family dogs would jump on him or come up to him. Even now, he still carries that apprehension with him towards any kind of dog. I definitely find it so interesting the vice grip that phobias can have on people.
Your post was very well written. I do not have a serious phobia myself, but for a short time after being in a car accident on an icy back road, I had a slight fear of icy winter roads, especially windy country ones. My junior year of high school on the way to school with my friend, we were driving, and she lost control of the car due to black ice on a windy backroad. The car spun a few times and crashed into a telephone pole. Thankfully we were okay, but the car was completely totaled. The location we were at did not have a cell signal, and we were very scared and shaken up. The rest of the winter after that, and then again, my senior year winter, I would get anxiety on especially icy snowy mornings. If I was driving the backroads to and from my house I was driving very extra cautiously because I was very panicked that I would be in the same situation again. This phobia is seasonal, because it only comes when it is time to drive or ride in a car on a back road during the bad Pennsylvania winter weather.