Fear has many faces! It can make a person go mad, distressed, or ill in the form of Phobias! Phobias are irrational fear towards any specific object, person, or surroundings, that is persistent and panicking to the person suffering from it. Phobia is a form of anxiety disorder mixed with a sense of haunting feelings and it is a psychological mental illness that needs proper treatment because in the absence of treatment phobias can make a person or a child insane. Phobias are commonly seen in children and youngsters. The specific reasons why fear and phobias affect a person’s mental condition is still unknown, many things in life is a mystery.
Why does the human mind experience all set of emotions, from happiness to sadness, from anxiety to phobias, from love to lust, and so on? There are more than a hundred kinds of phobias experienced by teenagers and youngsters, some phobic conditions get suppressed with time, while some may panic you for a lifetime. Phobias are often associated with panic attacks, nausea, trembling, screaming, shouting, and shivering.
The list of some common phobias experienced by children and youngsters:-
1. Hydrophobia (Fear Of Water and Water Bodies)
Hydrophobia is a very common phobia seen in children. The children suffering from hydrophobia are scared of large water bodies like sea, lakes, or even swimming pools. They get quite fussy and cry a lot when asked to go near to the water bodies. Not only this, they continuously feel that the water bodies will drown and kill them. Even a glass of water feels scary to swallow in extreme hydrophobic conditions! it is very concerning as, without water intake, the children are bound to suffer. The problem is purely psychological and irrational. They should be immediately taken for medical checkups and can be cured by medicines and proper counselling.
Also, read The amazing tips for Raising healthy Children.
2. Claustrophobia (Fear Of Closed Spaces)
A person suffering from claustrophobia is scared of closed spaces like a room or a classroom or any place where he is alone. These types of youngsters suffer from depression and lower self-esteem problems as they fear that some kind of ghost or monster will end their lives. It is a very panic condition as they hardly tell about their mental condition to others as a result of extreme depressive conditions may commit suicide too! It should be made aware of the youngsters that nothing can harm you if you don’t fear the unknown! These patients will make up stories of somebody coming and watching them, and so they should not be left all alone. Acute mental disorder needs proper treatment as the psychological problems are getting more day by day.
3. Agoraphobia (Fear of Public Places)
A person suffering from agoraphobia has a fear of public places like streets and parks or any crowded place of public domain. In such a case, the individual wants to be at his or her own house and gets suffocating or impulsive at public places. Agoraphobia is seen in many people as they get stressed and frustrated with people or crowds and want to remain secluded and alone at their homes. Such types of people virtually have no friends and they like loneliness.
4. Atychiphobia (Fear of Failure)
Young age is susceptible to much emotional trauma knowing or unknowingly and some children tend to develop a constant, irrational feeling of failure and cannot get over it. Small failures in life are taken as a shock and a feeling of negativity envelops into the young developing, juvenile minds and they may get into a phobic condition called Atychiphobia or the feeling of not good enough or failure. The constant competition between siblings and competitions at school or among friends can generate a self-deteriorating attitude due to mental illness. Such children should be boosted with moral values and should be treated equally like another normal child and should be taken care of, in order to develop confidence, so that they can get over the phobia. These are not general, sound conditions and should not be taken for granted. The behaviours of these children should be studied and they should be provided proper treatment with gentleness and care.
5. Hemophobia (Fear of Blood)
Anybody suffering from hemophobia gets panic attacks and shivering of the body by the onset of seeing blood anywhere. This type of psychological disorder is very common in growing children and teenagers. The onsight of blood is in itself dreading and most people don’t like watching the blood. But when a person suffers from hemophobia, a single drop of blood may give him or her convulsions and attacks. Such patients are hard to control as they get violent at times too.
6. Acrophobia (fear of Heights)
Acrophobia is the constant fear of falling from heights. Such type of people usually fears to see tall buildings or are afraid to go to the terrace alone and they start nauseating and sweating when on a mountain or at top of any building. Acrophobia is seen in youngsters and the reason what triggers the brain of such youngsters to get so much afraid is really a subject of deep study. The way a phobic brain reacts to the symptoms is a question left to solve. The human brain can be very productive but at the same time, illness and disorders may make weak, negative, and self-destructive! Why do these patients don’t realize they are suffering from the disorder and need treatment. Well, in case of severe phobic situations that are abnormal, it is the duty of parents to seek proper medical help for their children.
7. Cacophobia (Fear of Ugliness)
Cacophobia is the intense fear and allergy towards anything ugly. It can be anything, from people’s faces to dirt or a depilated old building to dirty sewage or poor people or even small traces of ugliness can create deep restlessness and a longing to get away soon from ugly things. It is very confusing because sometimes the patient sees dirt or ugliness imagining which is not in real. So, it is also a type of phobia, the person continuously wants to clean himself or herself and fear to touch things assuming they are ugly and dirty. The human mind is full of so many mysteries and it is a really interesting topic for research why these phobias occur?
8. Philophobia (Fear of Falling in Love)
A young man or a lady suffering from philophobia is afraid of falling in intense love and is equally a medical condition and a psychological as there is no emotional attachment even if the person is in a relationship or a marriage because of his or her mental incapabilities of fulfilling the emotional needs and requirements of love. Such kinds of people can be very dangerous since due to lack of emotional attachment to the person they are in love, they may willingly harm the other person or be devoid of well-balanced family life. One can watch a movie called “Philophobia, The fear of falling in Love”, to know the psychological in incapabilities of such phobic patients. Emotional attachment is the major key force that binds any relationship. The reasons for the lack of emotional attachment can be lack of love, breakups, any unpleasant memory of childhood, etc.
9. Glossophobia (Fear of Speaking in public or stage)
In patients suffering from glossophobia or severe stage fear, the person cannot face the stage or any form of public speaking. He or she feels dryness of mouth and twitching of neck muscle and also swirling of head. His or her legs get weakens, body shivering and nervous breakdown symptoms occur. It may be a genetic condition or maybe an acquired condition. But this type of phobia can never make him a good actor or a good speaker as his brain start deviating and stop giving proper, positive nerve signals to the body.
There are many kinds of other phobias like arachnophobia (fear of spiders), astrophobia (fear of lightning and thundering), autophobia (fear of being alone), etc. There is a huge number of patients increasing every year and phobias should be taken very seriously. The reasons of why the human brain acts differently in some of these people and the reasons are unknown. Mental health is a serious issue and is very challenging as it is a complex social issue too which needs to be brought up so that more people can get aware of, and can be benefitted.
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