cine. He recorded detailed descriptions of people with phobias. Over two thousand three-hundred years ago, he wrote of a man named Damocles who could not go near an overhang, or over a bridge, or even near a shallow body of water" (33). During the 1800s, people began to study how the mind works. Phobias were increasingly described in psychiatric studies and writings. For several decades, people wrote about and named many phobias. Many of those names are still used today. Judy Monroe states that "Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) contributed great work on understanding phobias in the late 1800s. He was one of the first people to describe the feelings of anxiety that occur with phobic reactions" (36). During the late 1970s, research on the brain and brain chemistry helped scientists better understand human behavior and emotions. Along with research on mental health, this research led to increased knowledge about phobias. Judy Monroe states that "the National Institutes of Mental Health (NIMH) conducted the first survey of mental health in the United States, the Epidemiological Catchment Area (ECA) survey. Researchers interviewed nearly twenty thousand people in five cities: Baltimore, Maryland; New Haven, Connecticut; St. Louis, Missouri; Durham, North Carolina; and Los Angeles, California. This survey uncovered a startling fact: Anxiety disorders, including all phobias, are the most common mental health problem in the United States" (37).The second area to explore is the causes of phobias. There are several theories on the causes of phobias. The first is the psychological theory. Judy Monroe states "Some researchers say that phobias arise when people ignore unresolved problems and conflicts. If someone has a stressful home life, for example, and never gets any help, then that person’s anxiety will grow. Over time, that anxiety can change into a phobia. The phobia is the way that person manages the fearful situation. It symbolized th...
