Anxiety and fear never lead to anything good happening to our lives. Phobias are not mental disorders or their predecessors: normally, most people on the planet have some type of phobia. Linked to a certain object or situation, phobias do not bother people every time, unlike anxiety disorder, for example. However, people who suffer from various phobias can frequently feel that quality of their life reduced considerably due to these little stressors.
To the most common phobias belong fear of height, fear of the dark, fear of enclosed spaces, fear of animals (dogs, snakes), fear of spiders and insects, fear of flying and many others. These are specific phobias which involve the irrational fear of a particular object or situation. Usually, people experience more than one specific phobia. Another common type is social phobia in which people fear to be humiliated and negatively evaluated in interaction with peers.
Irrespective of the type of phobia, all of them have common emotional impacts. People with phobias find it difficult to do their everyday activities and spend leisure time with friends. As they try to ensure safety and diminish the impact of objects which cause fear, people isolate themselves from their social environment which makes coping with stress even more difficult. Individuals feel that there is no other choice than to withdraw from the social life when phobias make them trap in awkward situations. Isolation is especially characteristic of people with social phobia. It is also important that people feel helpless with their phobias. Understanding that they cannot control this irrational feeling causes devastation.