Understanding Phobias and Obsessions

“Phobias and Obsessions”

     Phobias and obsessions not only affect a person psychologically, but also physically. These types of difficulties range from small fears to overwhelming thoughts that causes hallucinations, perfuse sweating, difficulty breathing, compulsive acts, etc… Most times when the average person thinks of certain controllable fear, it’s usually just a passing thought and nothing comes of it. However; when a person with a phobia thinks of the same fears, their psyche seems to escalate the fear, making it difficult for the person to live comfortable in or around certain circumstances.

     “Friedman (1959) stated that, “A phobia is a fear that becomes attached to objects or situations, which objectively are not a danger or a source of danger.” Although, I realize that there are quite a few unreasonable seeming phobias that plague people, I disagreed with Friedman, as did A.T. Beck, author of "Cognitive Therapy and Emotional Disorders". Dr. Beck stated that when examining the contents of the phobias, He realizes that the fear is rarely bizarre or irrational because most phobias do have some undeniable risk and many of these phobias stem from childhood fears.