蜘蛛、飞行、看牙医…… 这些都是可能让我们感到惧怕的事情。因为无法控制这种恐惧感，久而久之，就产生了恐惧症。本文讨论让人产生恐惧的原因以及应如何控制自己的情绪。

词汇：phobias 恐惧

What are the things that scare you: snakes, spiders or creepy crawlies? Or maybe you have a fear of heights or visiting the dentist. Although some of us just get scared or a bit nervous about these things, for others it can cause an irrational reaction that can’t be controlled – something we call a phobia. It occurs when someone develops an exaggerated or unrealistic sense of danger about a situation or object.

Sometimes it’s good to be aware of the possible dangers from things. Our brain alerts us to the risks that might lie ahead, but then we often rationalise the risks and overcome them. Clinical psychologist Warren Mansell told the BBC: “Our fears are hard-wired into our brains – we don’t need to learn to be afraid of animals like snakes or spiders.” But phobias are stronger than just fears. Warren says: “An area called the amygdala in the brain is recognising a threat and preparing your body for fight or flight.” With a phobia, your breathing gets quicker, your pulse speeds up, you sweat, there’s more glucose in your blood, increasing your energy, and your brain is unable to control these reactions. 

But where does a phobia come from? Speaking to the BBC, Lauren Rosenberg, a fear and phobia expert, says: “Phobias usually are a copy behaviour from a higher authority, like a parent or teacher, or something you have learnt from your own experience.” Or a trauma from a past event that comes back to haunt you.

There are many different complex phobias some people suffer from, such as agoraphobia – triggered by being away from home, social anxiety disorder – feeling anxious in social situations, and iatrophobia – fear of doctors. But how can they be overcome? Cognitive behavioural therapy is one option, where you gradually get used to whatever it is you fear. Lauren Rosenburg says she likes to work with people to clear their subconscious memory and help them breathe. But if you do have a phobia, continually trying to avoid what you’re afraid of is likely to make the situation worse, so it’s a good idea to find help to overcome it.

词汇表

scare （使）害怕
a fear of 对…害怕
irrational 不理智的，荒唐的
sense of danger 危机感
rationalise 合理地解释
overcome 克服，战胜
hard-wired 根植于，天生的
amygdala 杏仁核（产生、识别、调节情绪的脑部组织）
threat 威胁，恐吓
fight or flight 战斗或逃跑，或战或退
breathing 呼吸
pulse 脉搏
sweat 出汗，流汗
trauma 精神或心理创伤
haunt 长期困扰，（使）经常苦恼
agoraphobia 恐旷症
trigger 引起，引发（坏事）
social anxiety disorder 社交焦虑症，社交焦虑障碍
iatrophobia 医生恐惧症
cognitive behavioural therapy 认知行为疗法
subconscious 潜意识的

测验与练习

1.  阅读课文并回答问题。

1. What do we normally do to overcome something we might fear?

2. How might we develop a phobia?

3. When we have a phobia, what happens to our breathing?

4. True or false? Social anxiety disorder is a fear of feeling anxious.

5. Why should you not continually avoid what you’re afraid of?

2. 选择意思恰当的单词或词组来完成下列句子。

1. My brother can’t play football because he has an _______ fear of balls.

rational                  hard-wired               irrational                trauma

2. Bad memories of my school days _______ me every time I drive past it.

haunting                haunted                   haunt                     haunts

3. I’m still recovering from the _______ of being attacked by a dog.

trauma                   scare                       anxious                  threaten

4. When threatened by a robber in the street, I didn’t know whether _______ would kick in.

fight or fight           flight or flight           fight or flight           flight and fight

5. My friend has two cats, so when I visited her, it _______ my asthma.

iatrophobia            overcame                triggered                sweated

答案

1.  阅读课文并回答问题。  

1. What do we normally do to overcome something we might fear?
We rationalise the risks and overcome them.

2. How might we develop a phobia?
A phobia can develop from copying the behaviour from a higher authority, like a parent or teacher. It could be something you have learnt from your own experience, or from a trauma you experienced in the past.

3. When we have a phobia, what happens to our breathing?
With a phobia, our breathing gets quicker.

4. True or false? Social anxiety disorder is a fear of feeling anxious.
False. Social anxiety disorder refers to feeling anxious in social situations.

5. Why should you not continually avoid what you’re afraid of?
Because continually trying to avoid what you’re afraid of is likely to make the situation worse.

2. 选择意思恰当的单词或词组来完成下列句子。

1. My brother can’t play football because he has an irrational fear of balls.

2. Bad memories of my school days haunt me every time I drive past it.

3. I’m still recovering from the trauma of being attacked by a dog.

4. When threatened by a robber in the street, I didn’t know whether fight or flight would kick in.

5. My friend has two cats, so when I visited her, it triggered my asthma.