Unlike the briefly anxious moments that many people experience when faced with a problem or situation, phobias are sometimes debilitating, to the point where retreat seems the only option. That can be a problem with work or life because interactions govern most situations in life.
Categories of Phobias
There are many types of phobias. Some people don’t like public speaking. Others may be nervous in a room full of strangers. They may be worried about being in large spaces, can’t stand flying or may dread seeing snakes. The categories are endless, but they are very real to the person suffering from them.
Because most of us don’t encounter snakes on a daily basis, a phobia concerning reptiles isn’t of much concern. But if the phobia involves meeting new people or public speaking, it can be a major problem and lead to job loss, relationship conflict or social ostracism.
There are three main categories of phobias:
1) Specific - As the name implies, this is an unreasonable fear of something specific, usually a situation or object that is disproportionate to its actual danger. A specific phobia can embrace more than one object or situation or work in combination (for example, if you have a fear of clowns and square dancing, square dancing clowns). Types of phobias can involve situations like flying, natural occurrences (thunder), animals (a fear of large dogs) or even a fear of injury (knives or blood).