What is a phobia?
Phobias are persistent and intense fears of a particular:
object
person (like a doctor or clown)
situation
activity
If you have a phobia, you may experience severe anxiety and panic attacks when you’re:
exposed to the object or situation you’re fearful of
thinking about the thing you’re afraid of
anticipating an encounter with the item you’re scared of
My car is currently parked on the street instead of in my driveway because it’s officially “spiders fall on your car with the leaves” season up here in New England. So yeah, arachnophobia.
I’ve done a lot of self-directed deconditioning work over the years though, and it’s much better now than when I was a kid. I don’t jump and run away anymore. Still don’t want them in spaces I occupy though lol