Causation of Phobias
Phobias are thought to be learned, not innate, emotional responses. It is generally held that phobias occur when fear produced by an original threatening situation is transferred to other similar situations, with the original fear often repressed or forgotten. A traumatic childhood experience such as being attacked by an animal, being trapped in a closet, or a near drowning, can produce a specific phobia for the animal, closed spaces, or water. It may also relate to an unpleasant childhood memory of seeing another person suffer. For example, a child who sees a person fall from a height might develop a phobia of heights. The impressionable young mind might also develop a fear modelled on the behaviour of a parent or role model. Likewise, repeated viewing of horror-filled images of a train accident or airplane crash on the television, and repeated warnings from a parent or elder about the dangers of an object can also spur a phobia. The individual may at first try to avoid the object or situation. This response might reduce anxiety in the short term, but it instils deep fear of the object in the inner consciousness and generates phobia.
Social phobias often emerge out of a childhood history of social inhibition or shyness. They may also relate to a stressful or humiliating experience. A poor public performance followed by loss of esteem can cause permanent cracks in the inner self
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