Many people are afraid of ma ny things.
For good reason. But many people are afraid of things wit hout good reason. Phobias – irrational fears such as a fear of spiders or enclosed spaces – are com monplace and familiar. They’re deemed irrational because the average person in the modern world has little or nothing to fear from such things.
Unfor tunately, the instincts and subconscious processes that inf luence and guide our thinking and behaviour run on much older programming. We instinctively fear certain things because we evolved in environments where they were a threat. So much so that ancient fear instincts, expressed in modern, rational contexts, can disrupt mental functioning and wellbeing. Hence phobias are anxiety disorders.