Phobias

Phobia is a persistent irrational fear of an object, situation, or activity that the person feels compelled to avoid. There are many different phobias, such as claustrophobia, scotophobia, dentophobia and others. People who suffer from phobias feel panic, horror, rapid heartbeat, shortness of breath, trembling and can take extreme measures to avoid the feared situation or an object.

Coulrophobia (Fear of clowns)

Despite the fact, that clowns are believed to be the reason of laughter, sometimes they might be very frightening, especially for those who have coulrophobia. Symptoms can range from high anxiety to outright panic attacks around people in clown outfits. The cause of this fear is usually psychological – it can be a traumatic event I the childhood, a very scary movie about clowns, etc. It is known that a movie star, actor Johnny Depp has this fear of clowns – coulrophobia.

Siderodromophobia (Fear of trains, railroads or train travel)

People who have this fear may feel panic only if they think about traveling by train or just imagine it in their minds. The view of the coming train may raise their blood pressure, make heart beat faster and cause other symptoms of the real fear. Austrian Physician Sigmund Freud had siderodromophobia, despite the fact that he had been traveling by train very often.

Why?

The first reason, why people have phobias, is traumatic events. It is obvious that negative experiences can influence the latest fear.
The second reason may be cultural influence. F. ex, there is a kind phobia called taijin kyofusho, which occurs only in Japan. It is the fear of offending other persons by an excess of modesty or showing respect.
Many psychologists believe the cause lies in a combination of genetic predisposition mixed with environmental and social causes. It has been demonstrated that identical twins may develop the same type of phobia, even when they were reared separately soon after birth, and educated in different places.

Treatment

One of the most successful treatments is behavior therapy. In this therapy, a person who suffers a phobia meets with a trained therapist, confronts the feared object or situation in a carefully planned way, and learns to control physical reactions of fear.
Hypnosis can also set a person free of phobias. Posthypnotic suggestions can help him control his reaction – breathing, slow his heart rate, and achieve a relaxed state of mind.
Medications may also be used to control the panic. Drugs such as Xanax, Valium, Prozac or Zoloft may be prescribed for people who suffer agoraphobia or other social phobias. However, it helps to control only physical aspects but do not remove the fear.






http://www.way2hope.org/Illnesses/coulrophobia-fear-clowns.htm
http://www.answers.com/topic/siderodromophobia-1
http://allpsych.com/journal/phobias.html
http://www.leinsterhypnotherapyclinic.ie/phobias-anxiety.html
http://www.medindia.net/patients/patientinfo/phobias.htm
http://www.nvdaily.com/lifestyle/2009/03/overcoming-fear.html