Phobias

A fear is an unpleasant reaction we feel when confronted with real danger… it is an essential 'fight or flight' instinct, which makes us prepare to either run away from that danger, or stick around and fight it out.

A phobia on the other hand (while still a very strong and unpleasant reaction), is an irrational fear which has been ‘symbolically attached’ to an object, or situation, which causes little or no real danger.

There will usually be strong avoidance behaviour connected with the phobia, which will run alongside intense feelings of anxiety, loss of control and panic.