1. Nikki Vallor and Courtney Brucker

2.  An anxiety disorder in which a person has a persistent, irrational fear and avoidance of a specific object of situation.  Phobias are directly related to anxiety disorders.  Phobias are stimulated by irrational fears due to a situation where anxiety is a mental disorder.

3.  Symptoms of phobias are both emotional and physical.  The closer a person is to their fear the greater the anxiety will be.

4.  Common symptoms are : › Shortness of breath › Accelerated heart rate › Chest pain › Trembling or shaking › Feeling of chocking › Sweating › Nausea or stomach pain › Feeling lightheaded or faint › Hot or cold flashes › Feelings of detachment from yourself

5.  The actual cause of phobias is undecided  Some purists believe there is an organic base for phobias and this is supported by the fact that phobias occur more commonly in the first generation of siblings.  Others believe that people learn phobias by observing others or their parents.

6.  Phobias cannot be diagnosed in children under the age of 18 unless they have been consistent in symptoms for longer then six months.  There are no laboratory tests for phobias  The diagnosis of phobias is based off of the patients experiences.  Phobias are hard to diagnose because they very for each individual.

7.  Behavior modification and desensitization are the most effective treatments for phobias.  Medicine can be used to decrease the effects of anxiety but does cure the phobia.  Therapy is used to pinpoint the reasons for the phobia can help to elevate anxiety but therapy is not beneficial in all cases.

8.  The goal of treatments is to make the individual feel as if they are in control of the situation that causes their anxiety.  The multi - treatment approach to overcoming phobias is always beneficial.  Desensitization has the highest cure rate and is the quickest treatment for phobias.

9.  A well respected anxiety and phobia center is the Anxiety and Phobia Treatment Center in White Plains, New York.  This center was established in 1971 and was the first hospital - based clinic in the country.  The goal of this center is to increase functioning and reduce symptoms of those dealing with phobias.

10.  One branch of phobias is social phobias. › Social phobias are fears of situations in which embarrassment may occur. › They provoke an immediate anxiety response.  Another branch of phobias are commitment Phobias › Commitment phobias are people who have fears of committing in any type of relationships.

11.  There are approximately 530 phobias in today ’ s society  Top ten common phobias are : › Arachnophobia : Fear of spiders › Social phobia : Fear of social situations › Aerophobia : Fear of flying › Agoraphobia : Fear of not being able to escape a situation or event

12. › Claustrophobia : Fear of small spaces › Acrophobia : Fear of heights › Emetophobia : Fear of vomit › Carcinophobia : Fear of cancer › Brontophobia : Fear of thunderstorms › Necrophobia : Fear of death or dead things

13.  George Washington : He had a fear of being buried alive.  Richard Nixon : He had a fear of hospitals.  Alfred Hitchcock : He had a fear of eggs.  Sigmund Freud : He had a fear of weapons and ferns.

14.  Heering, J. (2010, November 8). Top ten most common phobias. Retrieved from http :// www. phobia - fear - release. com / top - ten - most - common - phobias. html http :// www. phobia - fear - release. com / top -  LastCulbertson, F. (2000). The phobia list faq ' s. Retrieved from http :// www. phobialist. com / phobia_faq s. html  The anxiety & phobia treatment center. (2009). Retrieved from http :// www. phobia - anxiety. org / index. htm  Myers, David. (2007). Psychological Disorders. Musick, Andrea & Moscatelli, Bianca ( Eds.), Psychology Eighth Edition ( pp. 639-683). Michigan : Worth Publishers.

15.  Phobias. (2010). Retrieved from http :// www. peaceandhealing. com / psy chology / phobias  Phobias and fears. (2010). Retrieved from http :// helpguide. org / mental / phobia _symptoms_types_treatment  Phobia diagnosis. (2010). Retrieved from http :// www. mentalhealthchannel. net / phobias / diagnosis. shtml  Vidican, S. (2010, November 4). Famous people and their phobias. Retrieved from http :// www. metrolic. com / famous - people - and - their - phobias -143713 / http :// www. metrolic. com / famous - people - and - their -