(fourth article; CAStimes official publication)
Screamed so hard because of flying cockroaches, fast running filthy rats and mice, and spiders? How about standing on very high places? Like on top of the mountain or near the edge of some towering places? How about being upset while near the pool, or river, or any part of water?
I’m sure that most of us can relate to this kind of scenarios, some people are scared of dogs, cats, lizards, dark places, empty rooms, standing in front of the crowd, you can name all things you could think of and there would be those people afraid to/of it. But have you ever seriously thought of these fears? Are they still typical? Or can they be already classified as disorders?
Phobia weren’t new to us, it’s just that we don’t pay much attention to it unless we are psych majors or we are in a field were phobia is something that should be mastered or at least be/get familiarized.
Wikipedia defines phobia as an irrational, intense and persistent fear of certain situations, activities, things, animals, or people. However, phobia is not mere fear of certain objects, but, it is something which is beyond one’s control, and is interfering with the person’s daily life. Fear can be categorized as a disorder or a phobia when there’s already excessive and unreasonable desire to avoid the feared stimulus.
To name some common phobias are: Arachnophobia (fear of spiders), Ophidiophobia (fear of snakes), Acrophobia (fear of heights), Claustrophobia (Fear of being trapped in small confined spaces), and Hydrophobia (fear of water).
But have you ever heard of someone who’s afraid of chopsticks (Consecotaleophobia)? How about someone afraid of being tickled by feathers (Pteronophobia)? Try to imagine these fears: Fear of long words (Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia); Fear of objects at the right side of the body (Dextrophobia); Fear of things to the left side of the body (Levophobia); Fear of words(Logophobia); Fear of walking (Ambulophobia); Fear of gold (Aurophobia); Fear of everything (Panophobia or Pantophobia); They all belong to what they call unusual or weird phobias.
Suppose a Chinese is diagnosed with fear of chopsticks (consecotaleophobia), will he be questioned or worst condemned because using chopsticks is a must in their culture? Try to think of someone who is suffering from Dextrophobia (fear of objects at the right side of the body), what would his home look like? What if he’s partnered by someone who has Levophobia (fear of things to the left side of the body)? Will they be afraid of each other?
Another that’s just fun to know are these fears: Ereuthrophobia- Fear of blushing; Geliophobia- Fear of laughter; Dendrophobia- Fear of trees; and Euphobia- Fear of hearing good news. However, I come up with some rational explanations regarding these fears; thus, I find these fears not to be so strange.
Quite mouth-full right? But sometimes, we tend to develop these fears because of our negative perspectives.
Talking about phobia which is more serious and must be given attention to, I’ll share with you 5 simple ways to gradually lessen your anxiousness towards your fears to prevent it to becoming a phobia:
1. SAY HI TO YOUR FEARS
- Recognize these fears. What is it that scares you so much? Look at your fears closely and be honest in doing this. Scrutinize these fears!
- For instance, a person who is suffering from Ereuthrophobia (fear of blushing) might have been suffering from it because he’s afraid that people will know that he’s shy or embarrassed. He might not want to show his emotions to others. I also infer that since shyness is a sign that the person lack confidence, he would not want others to see that he is weak. Thus the fear of blushing could be a manifestation that his real fear is actually showing his emotion, or his weakness, etc. So the root cause of his fear was actually being seen by others as such.
2. BE BRANIER THAN YOUR FEARS
- Defeat those fears through learning. Learn more about what makes you fearful of these situations. Educate yourself on these fears. Knowing a lot about them can lessen your anxiousness and makes you more prepared on what will happen next.
- Dendrophobia (fear of trees) maybe common to children, or to some adults whose imaginations were wide enough to let those things roll in their minds. People suffering from this might have acquainted a tree and saw it differently. Mostly in provinces, there are big trees almost everywhere, and when you try to look outside from a window, the dark surrounding will help you build different species from a tree, like a monster for instance. We can also add to this the stories about, Kapre and Nunos living in a tree. As a result, people began to fear trees believing that a tree is not a mere living thing that helps us in many ways, but also, something mysterious that could visit our imaginations reaching even our dreams.
3. REMEMBER MY NAME... FAITH!
- Kidding aside, you got to have faith to face fears. You got to believe in something. Find faith in something, religion for instance. It's somewhat an assurance in some way that can make you feel as if nothing can go wrong. Knowing that you have something you can hold on to increases your confidence in facing your fears.
4. LIST THE WORST THINGS THAT CAN HAPPEN FROM FACING YOUR FEARS
- Come on, we’re good at this, imagine yourself facing these fears and write down everything that can go wrong. Your knowledge on the things that might happen prepare you somehow with good tactics to overcome things.
5. EMBRACE/TRY A NEW OUTLOOK
- Yes the past is important but too much dwelling on the past won’t make you get over what has happened. It’ll only give you fear and you’ll never gain the courage to face them.
- Say Geliophobia (fear of laughter), who do you think in this world would hate being happy? Or doesn’t like laughing? An individual who is suffering from this fear possibly have this thought that every laughter is equal to tears. Perhaps he thought that if he’ll be so happy at a particular moment, he’ll be so miserable later on. In this way, he detested laughter. His real fear could have not been the laughter itself, but the tears, or the loneliness. Likewise, the fear of hearing good news or Euphobia could also depend on the next event that will happen. In connection to Geliophobia, a person suffering from Euphobia possibly acquired this fear because he also has the kind of thought that every good news has its corresponding bad news. Therefore, he is afraid to hear good news because of the preceding bad news
- See? You are conditioned to attach a negative ending to what you’ll be doing. Learn from your past but don’t let the past hinder you from achieving a better now. Trust me, it's the impressions you make now that matters. Be more positive and open-minded. Believe in yourself, sure you can make it.
My interpretations or inferences are not absolute explanations of some mentioned fears. They’re not reliable enough to use in different instances. They’re plain rational conclusions from my researches and they can always be corrected by experts.
-Krista
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