Fears and PhobiasWhat is a phobia Special fear of flying section Common phobias How to deal with phobias Our Phobia Poll Fears and phobias limit our ability to get the most from life. In some cases they can prevent us living even a relatively normal life. In all cases we can overcome them - not necessarily with 'treatment' but through learning how to manage our own thoughts and feelings. What is fear? We feel fearful when we believe we do not have the ability to cope with something. This fear may be grounded in reality, as when we fear being knocked down by a car when trying to cross a busy road. Or the fear may be irrational as when we fear a tiny harmless spider. Many of our fears are a mix of reality and misinterpretation of our ability to cope. When there is a large degree of of misinterpretation it is likely that it is a phobia rather than a fear. What is a phobia? The essential ingredient of a phobia is that it has significant degree of irrationality. The person experiencing the phobic feelings is usually well aware that their fear is irrational but they are unable to overcome the fear. Other related pages What is a phobia? How to deal with phobias Information about individual phobias Questions and Answers about fears and phobias
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