Awfully big needles. An angry-looking Rottweiler. Tiny, enclosed spaces. Peering out of the top-floor window of a tall building. For many of us, these things aren’t exactly pleasant, and a degree of fear when confronted with them is normal.

But for some, coming face to face with one of these situations isn’t just uncomfortable – it’s downright terrifying. Cue racing heart, a cold sweat and a sudden inability to breathe. This is what’s known as a phobia – an irrational and
extreme fear of something. And though most phobic people know the danger isn’t really real, that feeling of panic just won’t go away.

Fear or phobia?
When human beings sense danger, our bodies automatically go into ‘fight or flight’ mode; we either run away or try to face whatever it is that’s scaring us. Increased heart rate, a spike in blood pressure and a rush of adrenalin are all normal, but symptoms such as feeling like your chest is constricting, or having a hard time breathing are unique to phobia sufferers.

Coping with it
Phobic people often try simply to avoid whatever it is they fear, so there’s no need to experience and deal with those horrible panicky feelings. But this isn’t the best option. For a start, avoiding the situation doesn’t help you to deal with the problem. Secondly, it’s easier said than done – we doubt your teachers will let you off class orals simply because public speaking causes you to break out in a cold sweat. Here are a few better ways to cope:

Face it. Expose yourself to what scares you, even if in small doses. So, if you have a phobia of lifts, for example, try getting into one (with a few people if need be) and going up only a floor or two. See? You didn’t die, right? Next time, try three floors.

Create a fear ladder. If confronting your phobia head-on is just too much for you, www.helpguide.org suggests creating ‘a list of all the frightening situations related to your phobia’ and then arranging them from least to most scary.
‘The first step of the ladder should make you slightly anxious, but not so scared that you are too intimidated to try it.’ Slowly work your way up the ladder, baby step by baby step.

Try therapy. Talk your fears through with a professional. It may take only one or two sessions, and your therapist can recommend further techniques to try.

A-WHAT-A-PHOBIA?
A few unusual fears:
Allodoxaphobia A fear of voicing opinions. The sufferer is afraid of being ignored or having someone contradict what they have to say.
Nomatophobia An irrational fear of a certain name.
Telephonophobia For some, making as well as receiving phone calls is a source of fear. Thank goodness for SMS and BBM!