Face your fear

            Everyone of us has fears-fear with snakes,spiders,bees,thunder,lightning,flowers,heights and etc. These fears maybe minor to some,but when these becomes severe, the normal life of a person could be extremely affected. An anxiety disorder characterized by extreme and irrational fear of simple things or social situations is called Phobia.

             Phobia came from the Greek word "fobos"which means fear. Phobias are classified into three categories: Specific Phobia, Social Phobia and Agoraphobia. Specific phobias or simple phobias involve a disproportionate fear about specific situations, living creatures, places, activities, or things. Examples: Dentists (dentophobia)- Bats (chiroptophobia),Dogs (cynophobia),Flying (aviophobia),Snakes (opidiophobia),Birds (ornithophobia),Frogs (ranidaphobia). Social Phobias,people with this kind of phobia find social situtations difficult and sometimes unbearable while an individual with agoraphobia is frightened of finding himself/herself in situations where there is no escape; they fear being stuck in a desperate situation with no help. Agoraphobia may include a dread of traveling on buses or trains, going into large shops or shopping malls.

              My fear belongs to specific phobia or simple phobia. I am really afraid of insects particularly with June Bugs (Salagubang). Whenever I see one flying towards me, my blood rush and I faint. I will shout loudly as if any moment I will die. Fear of Insects is called Entomophobiaor Insectophobia. An entomophobic is likely to experience enough anxiety upon viewing or otherwise coming into contact with an insect that he or she experiences a full-blown series of panic attacks. With extreme cases, the individual may lose consciousness for a short period of time. Uncontrollable weeping or a strong desire to flee from the area are also common signs that indicate an individual is suffering with this particular phobia

             

               I am an entomophobic since I was young-four years old I think. My brothers used to collect June Bugs that time,they played with it as if it was a real toy. I never liked touching and playing such bugs because their feet are so sharp and I really hate rainy season because that is time June Bugs appear. Up until now, this unwanted fear still hunts me.I tried several times before to touch and play with those bugs but I can't help but cry whenever they fly towards me.

               According to the experts, one way to avoid fear is to stay away from it and that's what I do whenever June Bugs visits me. To stay away from it makes me relax and happy. Fears and Phobias could be treated, you just have to stay strong and be brave to conquer all your fears.

References:

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/phobia

http://www.helpguide.org/mental/phobia_symptoms_types_treatment.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entomophobia

Photo Credits:

http://elainajdavidson.blogspot.com/2013/10/qindarkaphobia-and-entomophobia.html