Fear is a completely natural feeling in response to objects or situations deemed threatening. Some scream at the sight of spiders. Some refuse to go under water for fear of drowning. And some sweat a lot when speaking in front of an audience. Most people experience minor fears every now and then. But for some people, such fears get out of hand, causing intense anxiety and affecting day-to-day life. Extreme and irrational fear, which occurs even if there's little or no real threat, is more popularly known as phobia. About 19 million people in the United States have phobia.

Are you afraid that you have phobia? If you think you have it, the first thing you must do is to know the different phobia symptoms. When exposed to frightening objects or situations, people who have phobias suffer from an array of symptoms that are associated with anxiety, ranging from mild nervousness to a severe panic attack.

The main phobia symptoms include anxiety, severe and irrational fear, and avoidance behavior. People with phobia experience intense anxiety immediately after exposure to things or events that they are afraid of. Usually, anxiety escalates when you sense that it is hard to escape from it. Also, anxiety becomes more intense if the object you are scared of is closer to you. Several changes in the body occur because of intense anxiety, which include blushing, excessive sweating, diarrhea, stomach discomfort, palpitation, and muscle tension.

Severe and irrational fear happens when people with phobia anticipate or face a certain object, person, or situation that poses little or no danger. For instance, if you have acrophobia or fear of heights, you dread going to an elevated place because you might fall from it.

Avoidance behavior is also one of the major phobia symptoms. People with phobia avoid on purpose the objects or situations that they fear. They believe that avoiding those things can help keep the anxiety from happening.

The following is a list of other common phobia symptoms:

• Increased heart rate or palpitations

• Sweating

• Trembling

• Discomfort in the chest area

• Dizziness

• Difficulty breathing

• Feeling of choking

• Hot or cold flashes

• Loss of sensations

• Fear of passing out

• Fear of dying

People with blood-injection-injury phobia have different phobia symptoms from others. Aside from fear, you would also be disgusted at the sight of a needle or blood if you have this type of phobia. Blood pressure and heart rate increases like in other phobia types. However, dizziness, passing out, and nausea occur after the increase in blood pressure and heart rate.

Phobia is no cause for worry if it does not affect your day-to-day life that much. For example, if you have a dog phobia, then there will be no problem if you live in an area where you're not likely to encounter dogs. But if the symptoms of phobia disrupts your normal life or prevents you from doing things that you enjoy, then you might need to seek professional help.