Phobias are an exaggerated fear of something. People who have a phobia, life will be hampered. The fear of a person with a phobia is hard to understand. According to the American Psychiatric Association, a phobia is an irrational and exaggerated fear of an object or situation. In most cases, the phobia involves a sense of harm or fear of harm. For example, those suffering from agoraphobia are afraid of being stuck in an inevitable place or situation.
Symptoms of phobias can occur through exposure to an object's fears or situations, or sometimes just thinking about an object feared may cause a response. Some of the common symptoms associated with phobias are dizziness, shortness of breath, nausea, feeling of unreality, and fear of dying.
In some cases, these symptoms may increase to a full-scale anxiety attack. As a consequence of these symptoms, some individuals begin to isolate themselves, causing severe difficulty in everyday life. In other cases, individuals may seek medical care because of constant concerns with imagining illness or death.
