The difference between phobia and fear, two things that are often mistaken for the same

Many people think that fear and phobia are the same condition. In fact, there is a difference between phobia and fear. What are the differences?

Difference between phobia and fear

Fear is a natural thing and a part of human being. Meanwhile, phobia is a higher level of fear. In fact, phobias are categorized as anxiety disorders.

One of the most visible differences from phobias and fear is how you respond and how fears and phobias can arise in you.

A person's response to fear

One of the differences between fear and phobia is the response that occurs when dealing with a feared object.

As reported from the page Verywell Mind , every human being must have fear. Fear usually arises from negative experiences.

However, not everyone experiences fear due to the same causes. For example, you may be afraid of water because you have drowned while swimming, but some are not.

It is different from a child who is afraid of lizards because he sees people around him who are also afraid. Yes, fear can arise because of personal experience or seeing the closest person being scared.

The response that comes when you are close to the feared object will also be different from a phobia. When faced with a fearful object, your psychological state will be less affected.

Usually, you tend to be able to overcome fear. For example, if you are afraid of lizards but have to go through it. You will keep trying to get through it by not looking at it.

Phobias greatly affect a person's life

As previously stated, the difference between phobia and fear lies in the responses shown.

Generally, you can put your fear aside and work on it so that it doesn't affect your life as a whole. However, phobias are different.

Phobias are often referred to as "fear of something", but that does not mean that this anxiety disorder can be equated with ordinary fear.

This is because people who suffer from phobias will be overly anxious when dealing with objects that become phobic. Not only psychologically, this condition even affects him physically.

For example, if you are afraid of spiders, you may only feel disgusted when you see them. However, if you have a phobia, there will be a psychological response that is quite serious and can interfere with your health, such as:

• Showing a look of disgust
• Increased and irregular heartbeat
• Interfering with daily activities, for example, so you don't want to go out at night because you can't detect the spider.

Therapy to overcome phobias

After knowing the difference between fear and phobia, of course, you also need to know how to deal with it.

Yes, excessive fear or phobia can be overcome by undergoing cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). This therapy is carried out to identify, understand, and change the mindset and behavior of people with phobias.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is usually combined with methods that can make the phobic sufferer face his fear. This is so that the sufferer understands the extent to which they can face their fear.

This method can also be a clue that the object is not as creepy as they think.

Although the results are not instantaneous, people who suffer from phobias and undergo CBT usually benefit about 12-16 weeks later.