Are phobias based on some childhood incident, or can something else trigger them?

Answer 1

In a couple of months I graduate with a psychology degree.... Plus I have a phobia so trust me...

... When you say childhood incident, take it away from the Freudian ideas of phobias and childhood and think more logically.

Children are unneccesarily afraid of things. If something bad happened to you when you were younger you will have been much more afraid of whatever it was then than you would be now. So basically your fear is magnified. No matter what, you don't forget that fear and that association with the feared situation, so you become avoidant. This overemphasised degree of fear becomes associated with the scary situation and a phobia can occur...

I don't believe people can only develop phobias in early years however, people can develop them in adulthood to particularly traumatising stimuli...

But make no mistake phobias are a direct result of a fear association to a situation, whether it was something that happened to them, somehting they heard about happening to others, something they saw on tv etc...

Answer 2

Any traumatic event can trigger phobias. Usually this occurs during childhood when the mind is still developing and is most vulnerable, however they can develop later on.
Phobias can also be caused by irrational fears instilled by bad education on a certain subject. Lots of people have phobias of needles, for example, because of all the bad stories they have heard about them or because they don't fully understand what they are about.
Finally some phobias are caused by sensory discomfort. Many people have fears of spiders because they dislike the thought of the hairs on their legs and consider in unnatural in feeling.

Answer 3

There are probably as many reasons for phobias as there are phobias. There are childhood phobias you retain all your life and some you overcome. There are ones you develop over time either by accident (a trauma can bring them on) or by turning something you merely disliked as a Child into an adult hatred! There are unexplainable phobia's that some people seem to be born with. My mum can't remember me not showing fear of some kind of confinement, from as early as my cot and pram days I've always been happier with space around me! I've been a life long claustrophobe who just refuses to let it rule me. No-one understands why I have my fear least of all me! I've also heard of people who are frightened of an animal or insect because their parents have been phobic and reacted to the animal negatively, The stronger the reaction the more likely it is to trigger the phobia in the child. Perhaps they are even inherited along with our genes, a survival instinct left over from our cave-man days?

Answer 4

Contrary to Freud's philosophy, not every phobia or dislike is rooted in childhood. Any seriously traumatic experience can create a phobia, at any time of life. Other phobias can develop over time. I didn't become agoraphobic until I was past 40 and there isn't a single incident I can point at and say, "It started there." Simply over time I felt less inclined to go out, and greater dislike of crowded places like stations, superstores etc...until the time came it was near impossible for me to go anywhere there would be large crowds.

Answer 5

I would definately say they can be triggered by anything. But i also believe that it does start in childhood. As that is when the brain is still growing.. so if something ' traumatic ' happens... it tends to stick with you ... and just get stronger..

On the other hand phobias like spiders are just there... because!

Answer 6

I have a 'phobia' of clowns and those dummies where you put the hand up and operate their mouths - no idea where it comes from, they just creep me out. I also don't like those victorian china dolls - and i loved dolls as a kid- so again no idea why they freak me.
I'm lucky i just pull faces and move away from these things - so most people don't notice.
But there is no incident, movie, story or anything that would have triggered this.

Now having a spider run across your face while in bed at night as a kid - thats one I can rationalise with

Answer 7

Very good Q...I wouldn't say I have a phobia but I'm extremely freaked out by moths. This dates back to a huge one in my bedroom as a child, it flew up from behind the headboard and couldn't find it's way out (it prob wasn't that huge) but I still cannot tolerate them to this day. But butterflies are OK? Maybe the nicer colours? and smaller
Spiders I think I was taught to fear by every other female I know...then I got my own place and had to deal with them.
I got over it and now do the glass and paper to get them out of the bath when my 18 yr old 6ft son is freaking out
Plus they're good for catching flies which I hate the most (disease ridden pests)

Answer 8

It can work two ways I believe... 1. It can happen from a past tense or yes childhood incident. 2. It can be something we gain later on in life or when we grew up with it.

We all have likes and dislikes and certain dislikes can be very effective to our mind and feelings. There might be a certain thing of a phobia we don't like e.g spiders - their web or crawly legs...

Answer 9

Not necessarily a childhood incident, but something in one's past usually begins the process of developing a phobia.

Answer 10

I have a phobia of Thunder, i have been told that when i was 2 years old, i saw my nan put her fingers in her ears because of a storm... as kids of that age copy others, thats what i did and it started from there really.

Now i dont put my fingers in my ears but listen to music on headphones whenever possible, but my phobia isnt going away. I am constantly checking the weather forecasts on tv and on the net, from about this time of year till october i will be on edge most of the time wondering if we will be geting a storm.
Some would say that i dont have a phobia but more of a disorder, i think its a mixture of both to be honest. I was badly bullied because of it at school and that made me a whole lot worse.
My heart goes out to anyone with a phobia of any kind and to those who laugh and poke fun at us with them... you have no idea!!!