Almost everyone has an irrational fear or two. For example, spiders or an annual dental checkup. But when fears become so severe that they cause tremendous anxiety and interfere with your normal life, they’re called phobias.
A phobia is an intense fear of something that, in reality, poses little or no actual danger. There are four general types of phobias and fears:
1. Animal phobias such as the fear of snakes
2. Natural environment phobias such as a fear of heights
3. Situational phobias, fears triggered by a specific situation
4. Blood-Injection-Injury phobia, the fear of blood, injury, or
illness