Phobias and Fears

Fear is a basic human emotion. Fear helps protect us, it makes us alert to danger and prepares us to deal with it. When you sense danger, your brain reacts instantly and the signals cause physical responses, such as a faster heartbeat, rapid breathing and increased blood pressure. Sometimes fear is triggered by something that is unexpected, even if it is not dangerous.

Almost everyone has an irrational fear of something. Some get nervous at the thought of spiders and other insects. Others shriek at the sight of a mouse. Still others get woozy when they look down from tall buildings. For most people, these fears are minor. But for some, these fears are so severe that they cause tremendous anxiety and interfere with normal day-to-day life.

When fears are irrational and disabling, they are called phobias. A phobia is an intense fear of something that, in reality, poses little or no actual danger. Common phobias and fears include closed-in places (claustrophobia), heights (agoraphobia), highway driving, spiders (arachnophobia), snakes (ophidiophobia), and needles (trypanophobia). However, we can develop phobias of virtually anything. Having a phobia can interfere with normal activities. A person with a phobia of cats might feel afraid to walk down the street in case he or she sees a cat on the way. Someone with an elevator phobia might avoid a trip or a chore if it involves going on an elevator. It can be exhausting and upsetting to feel the intense fear that goes with having a phobia.

Some phobias, such as fear of flying or driving, are so common that there are therapists who specialize in their treatment. The number of treatments you will need depends on the severity of your phobia, but exposure-based therapy is typically brief. Phobias that are limited can often be treated in as little as two to four sessions. Sometimes a single, long session is all that is needed.

Besides the more common phobias there are many that affect only a small number of people. Fear of long words, fear of the number 13, fear of puppets, fear of objects with holes are some of these rare phobias that can be equally severe and life-altering for those suffering from them.

to be alert to something – éberen tudatában lenni valaminek
to deal with – megbirkózni valamivel
to trigger – kiváltani, okozni
insect – rovar
to get woozy – elszédülni, elgyengülni
tremendous anxiety – erős szorongás, aggodalom
to interfere with – zavarni valamit
disabling – bénító
to pose danger – veszélyt jelenteni
highway driving – autópályán vezetés
upsetting – felkavaró
treatment – kezelés
severity – súlyosság
life-altering – az életet megváltoztató

Common types of phobias and fears

There are four general types of common phobias and fears:

Animal phobias: Animal phobias are fears caused by an animal or an insect. Examples include fear of snakes, fear of spiders, fear of rodents, and fear of dogs.

Natural environment phobias: Natural environment phobias are fears caused by objects found in nature. Examples include fear of heights, fear of storms, fear of water, and fear of the dark.

Situational phobias: Situational phobias are fears triggered by a specific situation. Examples include fear of enclosed spaces (claustrophobia), fear of elevators, fear of flying, fear of dentists, fear of driving, fear of tunnels, and fear of bridges.

Blood – Injection – Injury phobia: Blood-injection-injury phobia involves fear of blood or injury, or fear of shots or another medical procedure.

Some phobias don’t fall into one of the four common categories. Such phobias include fear of choking, fear of getting a disease such as cancer, and fear of clowns.

Signs and symptoms of phobias and fear

People with phobias experience many anxiety-related symptoms when they’re exposed to the object or situation they fear. The symptoms are both emotional and physical. The symptoms of anxiety and fear can range from mild feelings of apprehension to a full-blown panic attack. Typically, the closer you are to the thing you’re afraid of, the greater your fear will be. Your fear will also be higher if escape from it is difficult. Phobia is not the only thing that can provoke fear. Having nightmares can be very stressful, too! 

to be caused by – valami által okozva lenni
insect – rovar
to include – magába foglalni
rodent – rágcsáló
environment – környezet
to be triggered by – valami által kiváltva lenni
enclosed – zárt, körülzárt
medical procedure – orvosi beavatkozás
to fall into a category – valamilyen kategóriába tartozni
choking – fulladás
anxiety-related – szorongással kapcsolatos
symptom – tünet
to be exposed to something – valaminek kitéve lenni
to range from – terjed, kiterjed
apprehension – itt: nyugtalanság
full-blown – kifejlett, kész, teljes
panic attack – pánikroham

Common phobia signs and symptoms:

FOCUS ON WORDS

AFRAID, SCARED, FRIGHTENED: Nagyjából mindhárom melléknév ugyanazt jelenti: félni valamitől, ettől függetlenül mininális különbségek vannak a jelentések között, ezeket nézzük meg. Mielőtt nekifognánk ennek, nézzünk meg néhány nyelvtani szabályt is ezekkel a szavakkal kapcsolatban:

Ha azt akarjuk mondani, hogy valaki fél valamitől, akkor a következő szerkezetet kell használnunk:

afraid/scared/frightened + OF + FŐNÉV

He is afraid of/scared of/frightened of spiders. – Fél a pókoktól.

Ha nem „sima” főnevet, hanem igéből képzett főnevet akarunk használni (repülni-repülés, enni-evés, tanulni-tanulás), akkor ezt angolul úgy tesszük, hogy az igéhez teszünk egy „ING” végződést, ennek lesz a neve a

GERUND (nagyon fontos, hogy a gerund nem ige, hanem egy igéből képzett névszó)!

He is afraid of/scared of/frightened of flying. – Fél a repüléstől.
Ha azt akarjuk mondani, hogy valaki fél valamit csinálni, akkor pedig a következő szerkezetet használjuk:

afraid/scared/frightened + TO+INFINITIVE (magyarul főnévi igenév)

I’m too scared to swim in the sea. – Túlságosan félek attól, hogy a tengerben ússzak.

I was too frightened to open the door. – Túlságosan meg voltam ijedve ahhoz, hogy kinyissam az ajtót.