Why do people have phobias? livescience com

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"Over time, this [learning] might cause fears to be culturally clustered around certain animals,
objects or situations," Chris Askew, a lecturer in psychology at the University of Surrey in the
U.K., told Live Science.
But it's possible that not all phobias are learned. Some psychologists have suggested that
certain concerns and worries might actually be innate — a concept called "nonassociative
account," according to a 1998 study in the journal Behaviour Research and Therapy. 

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"Proponents of this account argue that we are genetically predisposed to fear certain things
and a negative learning experience isn't necessary," Askew said.
While this idea is still debated, it does seem that people with certain traits are more likely to
develop phobias.
For example, people who are "more temperamentally fearful and emotional" tend to be more
likely to develop phobias, Rapee said. "Emotional types of people are more likely to have a
variety of fears and phobias, including fears of water," he said.
"A person's innate nature, or temperament, might be a risk factor," Kelvin Wong, a clinical
psychologist at La Trobe University in Australia, told Live Science in an email. "An example is
neuroticism, or a person's personality where they experience the world as distressing,
threatening, or unsafe. Another example is behavioral inhibition, which describes a
temperament that reacts poorly to novel situations."
According to Askew, phobias and feelings of anxiety may even run in families. "It may be that
some people are more genetically predisposed to developing a phobia," Askew noted.
Indeed, research published in 2017 in the medical journal Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience
found that generalized anxiety disorder is about 30% inherited.
There is also evidence that the "shared family environment" could be key, with Askew
suggesting "that a person's experiences are particularly important."
So, with this in mind, why do people tend to retain phobias for an extended period? And is it
possible to get rid of them? 
"Phobias probably last a long time because most people with a phobia avoid the thing they're
afraid of," Rapee said. "In other words, they do everything they can to not encounter the
object or situation and, in that way, they maintain their fear.
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"To overcome a phobia, you need to face your fear," he said. "In professional terms, this is
usually referred to as exposure therapy. That is, people need to systematically and
repeatedly face the situations and cues that are related to their fear" within a safe
environment. 

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"When this is done properly and consistently," Rapee said, "phobias respond very quickly. In
fact, there is even a 'single session' treatment for phobias these days."
The desired end goal, according to Wong, is for the "patient to gradually approach their
phobic stimulus in order to learn that what they fear will not come to pass."
Originally published on Live Science.
Joe Phelan
Live Science Contributor
Joe Phelan is a journalist based in London. His work has appeared in VICE, National
Geographic, World Soccer and The Blizzard, and has been a guest on Times Radio. He is
drawn to the weird, wonderful and under examined, as well as anything related to life in the
Arctic Circle. He holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Chester.