Imagine walking into a party and a thick crowd. A woman enters at the same moment, looking horrified. She clutches her head, she shakes, her eyes close and she begins to hyperventilate. This woman is afraid of crowds. Fears like this woman's turn into phobias. People live in fear and are consumed by it, but some fear is actually good. Too much fear can lead to a phobia. A phobia is a fear that interferes with normal life. This fear can be so overwhelming that it can cause stomach upset, high blood pressure, ulcers, rashes, headaches, and other health problems (Orr, 1999). Phobias can cause a person to avoid tasks if their fear bothers them. According to Abramovitz (2003), “5 to 12 percent of Americans suffer from some type of phobia.” Phobias are not a recent discovery. Their origins date back 2,400 years, when Hippocrates documented cases of them. According to Hippocrates, the first patient, "because of his timidity, suspicion and timidity, he will not be seen outside, he loves darkness like life and cannot bear the light, nor sit in bright places, his hat over his eyes, he will neither see nor be seen by his good will" and the second patient, he said, "did not dare come in company, for fear of being mistreated, dishonored, to surpass oneself in gestures or words, or to be ill; he thinks that everyone is watching him, targeting him, making fun of him, owing him malice. As Hippocrates observed at the time, phobias have not changed. He saw people with all kinds of phobias. These range from animal phobias to social phobias and other fears that we can observe today. It turns out that the Greek word phobos means "intense fear or terror" and it... middle of paper ...... helps. Other ways involve systematic desensitization and exposure to virtual reality, both carried out by a psychologist or psychiatrist. As Steven Richards says: “Fear can make a moth feel like the size of a bull elephant. » Works Cited Abramovitz, M. (2003, 10). Overcome fears and phobias. Current Health 1, 27, 20-22. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/209832694?accountid=14752 Orr, T. (1999, 10). Fight fears and phobias. Current Health 1, 23, 26-28. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/209837125?accountid=14752 Saul, H. (2001). Phobias: Fighting fear. New York: Pub Arcade. 18-20, 26, 31-32, 78, 206-207