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Some phobias are linked to childhood events. A good
example is
cynophobia
, which means intense fear of dogs. Many
people with cynophobia had a very bad encounter with a dog
when they were young. That frightening moment causes them to
intensely fear all dogs.
Other times, there is no clear reason why people have
particular phobias. They just do.
Social Anxiety
Social anxiety is the intense fear of what doctors call a
“performance situation.” A performance situation could be as
important as a big game or test. It could also be as minor as
saying hello to a stranger.
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
A person with obsessive-compulsive disorder
(OCD) feels he or she must complete certain
actions or something terrible will happen.
Common
obsessions
and
compulsions
include hand washing, counting things or
putting them in a certain order, checking
to make sure something has been done, or
repeating specific words or phrases over and over.
Because having OCD usually involves feeling anxious a lot, OCD used to be called
an anxiety disorder. However, doctors now believe that OCD is a separate condition.
For a longer talk about OCD, please refer to another book in this set,
Obsessive-
Compulsive Disorder.