Phobia Or Healthy Fear?
@purplealabaster (22091)
United States
October 9, 2009 10:54am CST
Recently, I did a discussion that was inspired by my finding a Black Widow Spider. Now, that lead me to thinking about phobias, because arachnophobia is defined as the fear of spiders. However, a phobia is defined as an irrational fear of something that poses little or no actual danger to the person. This confuses me, because Black Widow Spiders DO present an actual danger, since their bite can cause serious health risks and death. So how is being afraid of them irrational?
I think that some fears are natural and healthy. They keep us from doing dumb things that would cause us harm and possibly kill us. The "fight or flight" reaction that a person has is an instinct that is fear-based, but it most often saves us from harm. I would consider that a healthy fear.
On the other hand, fears can be taken to the extreme. If a person is afraid of bridges and chooses an alternate route to avoid a bridge, I don't necessarily think it is unhealthy as long as it isn't too far out of the way and doesn't increase the travel time too much. If they go 100 miles out of the way and add an extra two hours to the trip, though, I think that would be a "phobia" rather than a fear.
What do you think? Do you think that some fears are healthy or do you think that all fear is irrational? Do you think that there is a point at which a fear stops being healthy and becomes harmful to the person? Are you afraid of anything? Does your fear stop you from doing things that you want to do or does it keep you from doing things that might harm you?
2 people like this
9 responses
@babyangie27 (5176)
• United States
9 Oct 09
Well I fear being in large groups of people,I think it is irrational and I know that but my mind doesn't always agree with me.
I think if a fear stops you from living your life in a normal type way then that changes from a regular fear thing to a phobia.
@purplealabaster (22091)
• United States
9 Oct 09
I think that you are right about the fear versus phobia, Angie. I know that logic has absolutely nothing to do with how we react when we are really afraid of something. You can look at the situation objectively and logically when you are not in it, but when you are faced with the fear, emotion generally takes over.
1 person likes this
@Hatley (163776)
• Garden Grove, California
9 Oct 09
hi babyangie I sometimes get panic attacks when faced'with large
crowds but pretty much have cured myself of them so I am
not afraid any more.
@purplealabaster (22091)
• United States
9 Oct 09
I think I am semi-claustrophobic, because when there are too many people pushing and shoving in a small area, like at a concert, I start to feel like I can't breath. On the other hand, it could just be my asthma.
1 person likes this
@dawnald (85146)
• Shingle Springs, California
9 Oct 09
Well let's just take arachnophobia as an example. Being afraid of a spider bite is sensible and healthy because it can actually cause you harm or in some cases even kill you. On the other hand, screaming bloody murder at the sight of a tiny little spider on the other side of the room is irrational, imho.
All fears are not irrational. I would consider a phobia to be a rational fear that has somehow become greatly exaggerated in your mind to the point where you are incapable of or have extreme difficulty being reasonable about it.
I have fear of heights and drops and there are things I would do despite having it and others that I wouldn't. Take amusement park rides. I'd go on a roller coaster, despite the drops, but I wouldn't go on one of those rides that just drop you up and down. I enjoy roller coasters (most of them) but I don't enjoy drop rides. I wouldn't sky dive or bungee jump but I might hang glide or para sail.
Brownie?
1 person likes this
@dawnald (85146)
• Shingle Springs, California
9 Oct 09
The special brownies might make it worse, not better...
@purplealabaster (22091)
• United States
9 Oct 09
Only if I'm the one that's driving. If I'm riding, then I might not even care if we go over the edge, because then I'll probably just think we are flying, which technically would be true right up until the point that we crashed.
@purplealabaster (22091)
• United States
9 Oct 09
I will agree that screaming bloody murder about a small spider on the other side of the room is irrational, but the fear of them, especially the poisonous ones is not. I think your interpretation of a healthy fear versus a phobia is correct, and you have described it very well.
I have a fear of heights, but it doesn't stop me from doing a lot of things. I will not skydive, but I have gone for a ride in a hot-air balloon. I don't like driving on narrow, windy roads with just a small shoulder that drops off into a cliff, but I will do it in a car if I have to. I will not, however, make the same journey on a motorcycle no matter how much you pay me! (well, I might consider it for a ton of money after eating several trays of your "special brownies", but that is an entirely different story.
).
).1 person likes this
@hexeduser22 (7419)
• Philippines
10 Oct 10
Someone just happily resurrected this discussion for me. Anyway I have never really given much thought about fears and phobias. As for my fears it will only start to become unhealthy is when my mind starts to panic. For example, I have this fear of heights and sometimes when I find myself...actually I'm imagining myself right now hanging to a pole and if my mind starts panicking I would surely let go of the pole and just relax and give myself to the wind falling. that is one example of a very unhealthy kind of fear.
Basing on your definition of phobia I can say that the fear of heights cannot really be considered as a phobia because it poses an actual danger to the person. I think your example can be considered as a phobia because it pertains to generally to all spiders and not the black widow alone. Not all spiders are harmful and even black widow if not harmed wouldn't really be a threat.
Come to think of it not all heights or tall structures are dangerous too so it can be considered as a phobia...Anyway I therefore conclude that I got confused in my own analysis of things about phobias and fears
I should have never really answered this discussion because I actually made things more confusing to me and to others who might read this
I should have never really answered this discussion because I actually made things more confusing to me and to others who might read this1 person likes this
@Lightfeet (5)
• Netherlands
9 Oct 09
I myself am afraid of wasps, because I've been stung by a wasp in my childhood. They of course won't kill, but it does hurt. however this doesn't stop me from doing anything, so I wouldn't call it a phobia.
1 person likes this
@purplealabaster (22091)
• United States
9 Oct 09
Yes, I can understand being afraid of being stung by a wasp, because they do hurt a lot. Fortunately you are not allergic to them, but they can kill. In fact, young children don't even need to be allergic to them, but they can die from multiple wasp stings, so that would be a healthy fear to me.
@purplealabaster (22091)
• United States
19 Oct 09
Yes, wasp stings hurt like crazy, and one wasp can sting you multiple times. That means that even one or two wasps can cause a serious allergic reaction. Once the wasp is angry, staying still is only going to get you stung more. Also, there are some wasps and hornets that are very aggressive, so you don't have to be doing much other than invading their space to annoy them enough to sting you. Fortunately, though, most wasps are not that aggressive.
@XperImenT (117)
• Canada
12 Oct 09
well this is a relatively simple concept actually...phobia is "excessive" fear which interferes with normal routine...a criteria of "phobia" is that the person admits that his/her reaction is excessive and yet they can't stop the feeling of overwhelming anxiety that they get when they are subjected to what they have a phobia from.
obviously, fear is a normal phenomenon...if we had no fear we probably would have been extinct long long time ago...it is the amount of fear that separates something normal from abnormal
1 person likes this
@purplealabaster (22091)
• United States
20 Oct 09
Yes, I agree that it is a fairly simple concept, yet I still hear people referring to all fears as phobias. That is why I started the discussion, because I wanted to hear how other people viewed fear versus phobia. I definitely agree that without fear we would be extinct. Even animals have fear, although they do not rationalize it the same way that we do. I think that perhaps some people are brought up to believe that fear equals weakness, so that is why they believe that all fears are phobias. Fortunately, I think that most people realize that fear does not equal weakness, and that some fears help to keep us alive.
@topffer (42156)
• France
31 Aug 15
I have only one phobia, it is paraskevidekatriaphobia. As you know, it is a fear of Friday the 13th. I have had several accidents and bad things which happened to me on this day, and I try to stay at home when it is Friday the 13th
. Curiously, a friend here associates the number 13 with good events in her life
. It is not a good day for everyone : Jesus was crucified a Friday the 13th, and more recently the Spanish soccer team lost in front of a weak Holland team during the last world cup on Friday the 13th
.
. Curiously, a friend here associates the number 13 with good events in her life. It is not a good day for everyone : Jesus was crucified a Friday the 13th, and more recently the Spanish soccer team lost in front of a weak Holland team during the last world cup on Friday the 13th.1 person likes this
@purplealabaster (22091)
• United States
31 Aug 15
Don't worry, I will take care of you and make sure that nothing bad happens to you on Friday the 13th.
And who is this mystery girl that associates 13 with good things in her life?
And who is this mystery girl that associates 13 with good things in her life?1 person likes this
@topffer (42156)
• France
31 Aug 15
@purplealabaster I believe you would come inadvertently with a black widow spider that would bite me if you were here for a Friday the 13th
.
It is not a mystery girl, it is my Mexican friend @dayny1313. I would like to see her coming back at myLot more often, and I am sure she receives notifications
.
.
It is not a mystery girl, it is my Mexican friend @dayny1313. I would like to see her coming back at myLot more often, and I am sure she receives notifications.1 person likes this
@Hatley (163776)
• Garden Grove, California
9 Oct 09
hi purplealabaster yes to me fear of poisonous snakes
is logical as their bites are often deadly and fear of'rattlers is just plain common senses.However my fear of heights
is almost a phobia in that it makes me often avoid two
and three story malls and limits my shopping unless I
really force myself to face my fear and go up to the
second or third floor and know I will be okay.
1 person likes this
@purplealabaster (22091)
• United States
9 Oct 09
Thank you, Hatley. That is exactly what I was talking about with phobia versus healthy fear. I think your fear of poisonous snakes is perfectly logical as is your fear of heights. When your fear of heights prevents you from doing something that you obviously enjoy doing, though, then I think it falls into the phobia category. I do not mean that as in insult, so please do not take it that way. I just get annoyed when some people say that any fear that you have is a phobia, but you just perfectly illustrated how a fear can be totally logical and healthy, because your fear of poisonous snakes makes you more cautious and aware, so hopefully you won't get bit.
@thea09 (18305)
• Greece
10 Oct 09
Hi purplealabaster, it seems to me that phobias are out of control fear. Fear is rational and normal. If someone is driving a car dangerously fast you are right to be fearful as it may crash, the dangerous looking rides at a fairgrounc may collapse, the parachute may well fail. My rational fear would prevent me doing something foolhardy but its probably also something I would see no point in doing in the first place. Thus I have no wish to ever bunjy jump and I would be fearful that the rope may break or the operatives not pay proper attention, and the fear of that is not phobic but rational as these things happen.
1 person likes this
@purplealabaster (22091)
• United States
20 Oct 09
Thank you, Thea. That is exactly what I was trying to get at. Some people classify all fear as phobia, but I think that some fears are normal, healthy, and totally rational. If the consequences that you are afraid of are a very real and possible outcome of the action, then I do not think that the fear is a phobia. On the other hand, I do believe that if a fear negatively affects how you live your life, then it is a phobia. I think you have summed it up well when you said that it is about how rational the fear is, because all fears are not irrational.
@amyson (3498)
• Philippines
10 Oct 09
well phobia is a manifestation that one who is haunt him until present.a healthy fear is a subjective.ive read also fight and flight theory.the brain signal who treats us.in case of fire we have increase our adrenaline we can carry than is more then our weight.healthy fear is just fine.phobia is need to carry on first.there are many phobias and also have different management of it.just deal it slowly might need someone who is expert on dealing with it.have a nice day.
@purplealabaster (22091)
• United States
19 Oct 09
Yes, I think that there are some fears that are completely healthy and natural. I think that someone with a healthy fear doesn't have to try to overcome it, because they have that fear for a reason, usually to protect themselves from harm. I think that if somebody has a phobia that negatively affects their lives, however, they should probably try to overcome the phobia. You are right that it will take time and might also require the help of a professional or expert on dealing with that particular phobia.
