Social Response

Chapter 14 – Specific Phobia

Explanation of Topic

A phobia can be defined as an irrational, persistent fear of something. This something might be an object or a situation or many involve social situations. A specific phobia is simply a fear with one clearly defined trigger, an object or situation, which causes great discomfort. Some examples of this, as given in the book, are a fear of dogs or a fear of being in small, enclosed spaces (claustrophobia). Some other phobias include trypanophobia, a fear of needles, odontophobia, a fear of dental work, hematophobia, a fear of blood, and acrophobia, a fear of heights.

Relevance in My Life

Although I might not quite label my case at such an extreme level as a phobia, I have always had an incredible fear of falling. Heights don’t both me at all, but the thought of dropping does. The biggest encounter with this has been with roller coasters. Theme parks today cover the majority of their park with roller coasters, and it always seems that that is what everyone in the group wants to do. Not me. Never did I ever want to try a roller coaster. The very thought made me curl in a tight ball and grab on to something as tight as possible so that no one could attempt to drag me on. It is the one thing I would fight and pitch a fit over, and so, I never was included in parks since I never rode anything anyone else rode. This past summer, I got on my first roller coaster. I don’t know how or why I did it, but as terrified as I was, I finally did it. I remember it being probably one of the scariest things I’ve ever done in my life as I stood in line and watched it fly past me. I almost had a panic attack in the seat when the level went down and I was officially strapped in for good. Now though, I have ridden about four different ones, and although I still am very scared, I can tolerate them, and in fact, I almost like them.

Conclusion

I encounter psychology everyday of my life, much more than I ever realized. Psychology is not just a common topic for those “on the edge of your seat” thrillers in the movies, and it’s not just those in our society would are monitored due to the fact that they are mentally unstable, but rather each person thinks of their lives and how each person reacts to their environment. Psychology is in how we feel about ourselves, how we move, what decisions we make, our goals, our dream, our aspirations… it’s all around us. Understanding psychology and how and why each individual reacts in different situations gives us each a better understanding of the world around us, as well as ourselves. We may just learn things about our own individual personalities that we never even knew existed, or why we do the things we do. Psychology is learning about who we are and what makes us each unique.