Fear Or Phobia?

We all have fears. They're a normal part of living. They help us get out of harm's way.

Sometimes though, fears cross the line and become phobias, explains Anxiety Disorder Association of America President and CEO Jerilyn Ross, as part of The Early Show series, Facing Our Fears.

That's when fears become irrational and inappropriate for situations, and interfere with daily routines, such as driving or going to work. Perhaps a fear of flying means you miss out on a promotion.

A phobia is irrational and sufferers know that but can't control it, notes Ross, a licensed clinical social worker and clinical psychotherapist who specializes in treating people with phobias and other anxieties. It's really the fear of the fear: the fear of being in a situation or place, or around an object, where the person is afraid of becoming overwhelmed by the horrible fear, and how they will respond. The key components of a phobia are its irrational nature, and the intensity of the fear.

Ross, who is also director of the Ross Center for Anxiety, says you should seek professional help if the phobia interferes with your life and you find yourself doing things to accommodate the anxiety, such as manipulating people or situations, turning down jobs, not going on vacation, or taking a longer route to work because you won't go through a tunnel or cross a bridge.

Some of the most common phobias include those involving heights, insects, flying, driving, public speaking, crossing bridges and going through tunnels, Ross notes. Heights is a real big one, she adds.

Sometimes, Ross points out, direct exposure to objects or situations related to phobias results in panic attacks. That's when you feel like you're going to lose control and when you become overwhelmed by a sudden rush of panic. All of a sudden, you might feel your heart pounding, or you're going crazy, you're going to die, or have a heart attack; you're sweating, and you think you're going to pass out.

Ross says the most effective treatment for phobias is cognitive behavioral therapy: identifying or modifying the thoughts and behaviors that are keeping you stuck and reinforcing the fear.

The behavioral part is the crux of the treatment. It involves going with a sufferer into the feared situation in gradual steps and getting him or her to stay in the situation long enough for the anxiety to be extinguished. Most people, when they get anxious, want to bolt, and think the only reason something didn't happen is because they got out of there, so the fear is reinforced.

During the Facing Our Fears series, personal fears were revealed by The Early Show co-anchors Hannah Storm (heights), Rene Syler (enclosed places) and Julie Chen (bugs).

Ross gave her thoughts on whether Storm, Syler and Chen used the right approach in facing their fears.

For the record, a phobia of bugs is called entomophobia, a phobia of heights is called acrophobia, and a phobia of enclosed spaces or entrapment is called claustrophobia.