One of the most frightening aspects of phobic behavior is the way it sometimes appears so suddenly and unexpectedly. One day you’re perfectly healthy, happy, and normal. The next day you’re phobic. The sudden onset of phobic symptoms is often more frightening than the phobias themselves. Patients wonder: Am I sick? Am I dying? Am I going crazy? Do I have a brain tumor? What is happening to me?

IT’S ALL IN YOUR EARS!

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The reported incidence of phobic behavior is at least four times greater for women than it is for men. Some estimates suggest there are ten times as many phobic women as phobic men. Yet no one has ever been able to offer a satisfactory explanation for this.

Of course many people, both professional and nonprofessional, have tried to explain these puzzling statistics. Some suggest that “women are more emotional than men,” that “women think too much,” or that “women have nothing better to do all day than worry.” Others suggest that men are less willing to admit they have a problem and that these “closet phobics” are biasing the statistics.

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So many people struggle with social phobia and may not even be aware of it. It is one of the most common psychological problems in America today, suffered by millions of people. Many people will dismiss the condition as nerves, performance anxiety or awkwardness.

Some people are just more comfortable in front of others or interacting with others. If you have trouble feeling comfortable in group situations, if you avoid interacting with new people or fear talking in situations where people are looking at you, you might be suffering from social phobia.

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Here is a list of five questions to help you assess whether the particular trait applies to you. The remainder of the article describes the characteristic in more detail and suggest how to overcome the problems.

Answer true or false:

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If fear of rejection has led you to distance yourself from people, especially groups, there are several specific things you can do.
First and foremost, you need to build a sense of your own self-worth. In addition to this, cognitive-behavioral therapy offers three specific types of interventions:

• Social skills training

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There are five basic strategies to improve:

• Enhance self-worth and self-respect.

• Develop a realistic view of other people’s approval.

• Develop assertiveness skills.

• Recognize and let go of codependency.

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Here is a list of five questions to help you assess whether the particular trait applies to you. The remainder of the article describes the characteristic in more detail.

Answer true or false:

• What others think of me is very important.

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Three factors contribute to the development of anxiety: your heredity; your personality, which is influenced strongly by your upbringing and childhood experiences; and cumulative stress, the amount of stress you experience in your adult life.

Your genes and your personality traits can predispose you toward a panic or phobic disorder, but actually developing that disorder is usually triggered either by one major stressor such as the death of a loved one or a series of life stresses over a period of time.

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AUDITORY PHOBIAS

All auditory sound information is filtered, sequenced and fine tuned by the inner-ear system. If this system is impaired, you may be hypersensitive to certain loud or piercing noises, such as: a clap of thunder, a fire alarm, a police siren, screeching brakes, a ringing telephone, a tire blowout. If any of these sounds provoke severe or uncontrollable anxiety, phobias may develop.

Notice how this mechanism is highlighted in Evan’s description of his auditory phobias:

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MOTION-RALATED PHOBIAS

The inner-ear processes all motion-related information. If it is impaired, you may be hypersensitive to horizontal motion, vertical motion, clockwise motion, counterclockwise motion, or any combination of the above.

Depending on what types of motion you are sensitive to, and your degree of sensitivity to each, the movement of a boat, plane, car, elevator, escalator, or even a rocking chair can provoke any or all of the following symptoms:

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