Fear sometimes feels like a whirlwind that can be triggered at any moment and escalate within seconds.
Sudden panic, anxiety, sweat, muscle tension, increased heart-rate, inability to breathe, followed by numbness, perhaps a steady flow of hysterical tears, hyperventilation and a trip to the emergency room – this is the downward-spiraling, death-drop rollercoaster that phobic individuals go through when they are exposed to the source of their fear.
This goes far beyond feelings of dislike that people without a phobia may feel toward snakes or spiders. A phobia is a medical condition that can cause severe psychological reactions with physical manifestations and an inability to function normally in educational, work or social settings.
According to a 2014 statistical report by the National Institute of Mental Health, 6.3 million Americans suffer from a diagnosed phobia. This does not include the number of individuals who have not sought or do not meet the criteria for a medical diagnosis as defined in the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.
Life can become very difficult for many individuals who suffer from a phobia. I suffer from ornithophobia, or the phobia of birds, so I know firsthand that it requires incredible control garnered by years of breathing exercises and overall avoidance.
Unfortunately, in addition to having to deal with my fear alongside my daily responsibilities, I also have to deal with the many individuals who are unsympathetic to the traumatic world in which I live.
To provide you with a better understanding of what I mean, here are some of the questions I have been asked:
“Are you just scared of [insert fear here], or do you really have a phobia?”
Anyone who has irrational physical and emotional symptoms after thinking about or being exposed to the source of his or her fear has a phobia, whether it is diagnosed or simply understood.
“So what would happen if I brought you to a place where there are [insert fear here]?”
Read the beginning of this article where I list all of the things that you would put me through by doing that. But I prefer to answer this question with another question: Why would you feel the need to test my fear?
“Have you tried looking for medical help?”
Yes, but receiving a medical diagnosis and treatment is not as simple as walking into a medical center and bearing your arm for a flu shot.
Diagnosis requires a series of psychological exams that are not always covered by insurance. Additionally, some individuals do not have the luxury of time or money in order to undergo the exams. If you are lucky enough to have the opportunity to seek help, your fate is also decided by a strict set of criteria set by the American Psychiatric Association.
According to the UK National Health Service, treatments include medication and psychotherapy. The most common medications include antidepressants, sedatives and beta-blockers.
Therapeutic treatments include cognitive behavioral and desensitization therapy, both of which require some aspect of phobic exposure. This means undergoing constant and regular exposure to the source of all your troubles. The thought of this treatment alone makes me begin to panic.
I personally prefer not to drown my body in unnecessary drugs or therapies that may or may not work. So, although I have sought medical attention for my abnormal fear of birds, I have yet to be medically diagnosed.
Phobias are complicated and hard to understand if you don’t have one yourself. But that doesn’t mean that they should be turned into a punch line. Everyone is afraid of something. The difference is, we can cope with fear.
Kids these days are so soft.