What is a Phobia?

You must have come across who was afraid of high places, or someone who was afraid of closed places? there are persons who are afraid of crowds or of being touched by others. Such a behavior is called “Phobic reaction” and the person is said to have a “Phobia”. Such persons are not sick in any way but they suffer from some emotional disturbance and are trying to deal with this “emotional disturbance and are trying to deal with this “emotional pain” just as you would try to deal with physical pain.

When we are emotionally upset, we cry, we blush or we might even break out in a sweat. But sense people deal with this emotional stress in an unnatural way. This kind of reaction is called “neurotic”. One such reaction is to develop a Phobia an unreasonable fear of specific things or situations which he can avoid. Why should a particular person be afraid of, for example, high places. The truth is, h is really afraid of something else, or perhaps felt afraid of something else when he was a child. It might have been his father or elder brother whom he loved and feared at the same time. He didn’t want to admit that he was afraid of his father or brother, so he substituted a fear of high places, which is symbol of his father or brother.