The 7 differences between phobia and normal fear

Summary of the differences between normal fear and phobia, two phenomena linked to fear.

Everyone has felt fear more than once, and it is normal. It is an emotion that has guaranteed the survival not only of the human species, but of all animals with brains.

Knowing how to identify a situation that may involve danger for the individual is something necessary to be able to move away from it and, thus, avoid its harmful consequences. However, sometimes the response to a stimulus seen as threatening can be exaggerated, and this is when we speak of phobia.

What are the differences between phobia and normal fear? Let's discover it a few lines below.

Phobia and fear: aren't they the same thing?

Before going into more detail on the main differences between the concepts of fear and phobia, it is necessary to describe both terms briefly.

In the first place, fear is understood as the emotion that manifests itself when faced with a situation that may be threatening to the individual.. Normally, in most cases in which it appears, it does so almost innately, without the need for prior learning of the threatening situation. Others, on the other hand, through experience, it is learned which situations should be feared, since they can put the integrity of the person at risk.

Fear, like all the emotions that make up the broad human emotional spectrum, has a very important adaptive function, its purpose being to to guarantee the survival of the individual.

Phobias, on the other hand, are considered as non-adjusted behavioral patterns. They involve a very high degree of fear, too much in relation to the stimulus that is feared. What causes this phobia can be anything and is usually acquired, either through trauma or vicarious learning.

There are many psychologists who consider, from the perspective of psychoanalysis, that the origin of phobias occurs during childhood, especially during the phallic stage (from 2 to 5 years of age). At this stage, the child develops a strong anguish in the face of the experience of an unpleasant eventThis causes the child to apply a very strong self-defense mechanism, which will eventually lead to the phobic disorder.

Differences between phobia and normal fear

In the following we will see the fundamental differences between phobia and fear, as well as the factors that may be behind them, their importance at the psychopathological level and the associated responses.

Degree of control

Fear is not an emotion that facilitates rational thinking, however, it is still a survival mechanism, which allows us to act quickly and decide what to do to ensure that the harmful stimulus is avoided.

In cases where there is no psychopathology, emotions are our responsibility, i.e., we can learn to control them, they can be learned to control. Fear is no exception.

It is possible to have a certain degree of control over this emotion, without ceasing to be aware that we are facing something that can be harmful, but bearing in mind that the more clearly we think about it, the more efficient we will be in dealing with it.

On the other hand, phobias, as psychopathological that they are, imply an enormous difficulty to control both their emotional intensity and the person's capacity to think coldly. of the person.

Whether in front of the feared stimulus or just thinking about it, the person completely loses control over his or her thinking, seeing truly terrifying ideas invade his or her mind.

2. Physiological signs

It is normal to show some physiological signs after a fright, such as tachycardia, sweating or even trembling. However, the signs shown by people with a phobia of a specific stimulus are very intense..

The physiological reaction in these cases can become overwhelming, with Gastrointestinal problems such as nausea and dry mouth being very common, as well as excessive sweating, chest pain, dizziness and even headache.

It should be noted that the signs that cause fear are given before the feared situation, while in the case of phobia, just thinking about the phobic stimulus or talking about it favors all the symptomatology described here.

3. Intensity of the response

When faced with a real threat, the normal thing to do is to prepare to flee or to prevent the factor that could be harmful to us from escalating.

For example, if we are being chased by a dog in the street, a clearly feared situation, the most logical and proportional option to the threat is either to escape or to attack the animal before it does it to us.

In contrast, in the case of phobia, the response to the stimulus is totally disproportionate.The phobia is a phobia, regardless of whether it is really something that can damage the physical and psychological integrity of the person or, on the contrary, something harmless.

The person can scream, cry, completely lose his rationality, attack the people around him... the behaviors performed by the person with a phobia can be of all kinds and almost none of them can be considered adaptive.

4. Interference in daily life

Everyone is afraid of something, but normally this emotion does not imply a serious degree of affectation in the routine, since in most of the cases the phobia can be considered adaptive.In most cases the feared situations are not common.

For example, everyone is afraid of being eaten by a shark, but, really, how likely is it that we will come across a shark swimming on the beach?

In case there is a possibility of finding oneself in a dangerous situation, most human beings take the necessary precautions to avoid such a situation, and life goes on as normal.

In the case of phobia, the fear of encountering the feared situation is such that the person may initiate a series of comprehensive changes in the whole may initiate a series of comprehensive changes in his or her entire routine, causing the person toThis may cause damage to their well-being, just to avoid encountering the phobic stimulus.

For example, a person with arachnophobia may avoid passing through a park on the way to work, even though it is the shortest route, or enjoy outings with friends simply because he or she fears encountering a single spider.

Thus, the person develops a wide repertoire of strategies that give him or her a certain sense of security, but at the expense of his or her standard of living and development as a person.

5. Individual differences

Normally, everyone is afraid of practically the same stimuli. To give a few examples, it would be to be in front of a lion, to go at night in a slum, to be in front of violent-looking people...

There are many situations in which the vast majority of the human population would not like to find themselves. On the other hand, in the case of specific phobias, there is a greater degree of individual differences.. There are phobias for everything: cockroaches, snakes, sex, glass....

It is in this type of anxiety disorders where it can be seen more clearly how there are stimuli that are practically harmless for the majority but a small group of the population has a dread of them that is neither adaptive nor proportionate.

6. Recollection of the feared situation

Normally, when remembering a situation or stimulus that generates adaptive fear, the person is able to recall the memory intact, without distortion or exaggeration, even if it involves a certain degree of emotionality, such as anxiety.

In the case of phobia, however, since the person feels a high physiological and psychological activation, he/she prefers to avoid evoking the memory, he/she prefers to avoid evoking the memory. He/she blocks the part of the memory where the feared situation is located.

7. Psychopathology

Last but not least, the fundamental difference between normal fear and phobias must be clarified.

Fear, as we have already indicated throughout this article, implies a response pattern that would be within the normal range, and has an adaptive function: to guarantee the survival of the person in the face of a threat.

On the other hand, phobias are considered disorders within the group of anxiety disorders.. Phobias usually occur in situations that are not very real or that really involve a negligible degree of threat and, therefore, are not adaptive.

As disorders they involve a series of symptoms at a psychological level that normal fear does not manifest, the main one being distorted thinking about the phobic stimulus, in addition to not facing it or thinking rationally about its degree of real danger.

Bibliographical references:

• Antony, M.A. and Barlow, D.H. (1997). Specific phobia. In V.E. Caballo (Dir.), Manual para el tratamiento cognitivo-conductual de los trastornos psicológicos (Vol. 1, pp. 3-24). Madrid: Siglo XXI.
• Bados, A. (1998). Specific phobias. In Vallejo, M.A. (Ed.), Manual de terapia de conducta, (Vol I, pp. 169-218). Madrid: Dykinson.
• Capafons Bonet, J. I. (2001). Effective psychological treatments for specific phobias. Psicothema, 13, 447-452.
• Marks, I. M. (1991). Miedos, fobias y rituales 1: Los mecanismos de la ansiedad. Barcelona: Martínez Roca.
• Pelechano, V. (1984). Psychological intervention programs in childhood: Fears. Análisis y Modificación de Conducta, 10, 1-220.