Know Your Phobia To Understand Yourself Better

Do you ever wonder, ‘What phobia do I have’?

It is a valid question.

Fear is natural to human beings.

Nature has instilled fear within us to keep us safe and alive.

Thus, fear benefits us when optimized or kept within healthy limits.

But sometimes, due to some unfortunate circumstances, some fears become big enough to take the form of phobia within us.

A phobia is an extreme fear related to something that doesn’t allow you to do that particular activity.

It’s important to know whether you have any phobias and, if you do, what they are.

Also, remember that it is possible to have multiple phobias.

When you know what phobia(s) you have, you can successfully avoid them or at least prepare for them.

Even if you feel that you do not have any phobia, it’s fun to discover a less serious one!

Finding out what phobia you have also helps you know and understand yourself better.

So, let’s find the answer to your question, ‘What phobia do I have?’.

What Phobia Do I Have

So, how do you know what phobia you have?

We will find the answer to your question, ‘What phobia do I have?’ in 4 simple steps.

You Have One Of The Common Phobias

The first way to answer your question, ‘What phobia do I have?’ is to look at the list of some common phobias.

The most common phobias that people have are phobias of height, darkness, holes, animals like snakes, crabs, or even dogs, long words, needles, clowns, throwing up, blood, and loneliness.

So, you can check and confirm if you have any of these phobias.

If you do not have any of these phobias, let’s move forward and find your phobia.

What Phobia Isn’t

The next step in finding the answer to ‘What phobia do I have?’ is to see what your phobia cannot include.

Here, we will get closer to it by eliminating the things you do not have a phobia of.

Since phobias are related to the things we are too scared to do, they can neither be the things you are good at nor the things you have never done in life. 

So, it can’t be that you are a great trekker but have a phobia of heights.

Similarly, you cannot watch others doing something and conclude that you have a phobia of that thing.

For example, you cannot say that you have a phobia of skydiving merely by looking at a bunch of people doing it on the television.

If you have not done something, you can only have a fear of it and not a phobia.

So, eliminate all the things you are good at doing and the things you have never done.

Now, there are certain things that you are scared of doing, but if needed, you can do them.

For example, you may have a fear of spiders, but you can take it in your hands in the name of adventure or when challenged to do so.

The things for which this is true, you do not have a phobia of those things.

It’s still just your fear, which you can occasionally overcome. 

By understanding all the things your phobia isn’t, you move closer to answering, ‘What phobia do I have?’.

What Phobia Is

The next step in finding the answer to ‘What phobia do I have?’ is to understand what your phobia entails.

If you have done something in the past but can not even imagine yourself doing it again, you most likely have a phobia of that particular thing.

The agony of previously being in that situation has left a deep impact on your mind, and you don’t want to relive it in any form again.

And if you are forced into doing the things that you have a phobia of, it might trigger a panic attack or render you unconscious on the spot.

By understanding clearly what a phobia looks like, you will be closer to answering the question, ‘What phobia do I have?’

Finding Your Phobias

The final step in finding the answer to ‘What phobia do I have’ is to zero in on the phobias that you developed in your childhood and adulthood.

Most of the phobias in a person’s life develop while he is in his childhood.

During childhood, the mind is ultra-soft and receptive.

By the same logic, it’s also fragile and vulnerable.

So, it catches and absorbs not only the good things it learns, but it can also acquire and retain phobias.

So, to get an answer to the question ‘What phobia do I have?’, you need to go back to your childhood.

Try to remember and list the things you feared the most.

From this list, pick the ones you have not come across since childhood.

Then, reduce this list further to those you have intentionally avoided, even though you had the opportunity to come across them at different points in your life.

Remember, they should not be the things you don’t like, like vegetables or fruits.

They should be something you have dreaded for years, which is why you have avoided them for such a long time.

And there must be a specific reason behind why you dread those in the first place.

Finally, think of the things on the list that you still can’t do or even imagine yourself doing.

This final thing or a list of things are the ones you have a phobia of.

But childhood isn’t the only time when you can develop a phobia.

You can develop a phobia even as a grown-up.

Your mind and consciousness may not be as impressionable as when you were a child.

But suppose the degree or the intensity of negativity associated with a thing is too high for you. In that case, it can impact your mind enormously to become a phobia, even as an adult.

It can be something you encountered when you fell sick or something associated with the worst time of your life.

What you simply need to do is repeat the exercise mentioned above.

It might unravel some more of your phobias.

Adding both these lists will give you your complete list of phobias.

At this point, your question, ‘What phobia do I have?’ is answered.

Steer Clear Of Your Phobias

It’s important to ask yourself, ‘What phobia do I have?’.

Nobody wants their fears to become their phobias.

But many times, we do not have a choice.

When we are at our most vulnerable selves, our worst fears do cross the line to take the form of phobias.

The least we can do to manage these phobias is to be aware of them.

It will help us understand ourselves better, making us capable of drawing lines where we need to.

But if your phobia is hampering your life in any significant way, you should not shy away from seeking expert help.

Do not let your worst fears define who you are.

Be bold and courageous and steer clear of the phobia that is overshadowing your dreams and limiting your life.

Another big reason why you need to come out of your phobia is that it hampers your ability to love yourself.

So, take expert help as soon as possible, overcome your phobia, and start loving yourself unconditionally.

It’s time to make the question ‘What phobia do I have?’ redundant by freeing yourself of all your phobias.