Are you one of those who always fear whenever a dog is approaching If you are, you have got phobia ( a very p feeling of being afraid of something ). Of all human fears, phobias may be the most uncontrollable. They are most often caused by a particular situation or object. In general, pho- bias can mainly be divided into three varieties. To begin with, agoraphobia is a fear of staying in strange surroundings, for example, an unfamiliar place, or an open area. Social phobia refers to the anxiety people show when they have to stay or perform on social events, for instance, speaking in front of the class. Lastly, there are a wide range of specific phobias. People suffering from this kind of phobia are terrified of specific objects or creatures, such as spiders, perhaps to your surprise, clowns. Besides, there are about six hundred and fifty phobias listed by psychologists (心理学家) as yet.
Faced with their phobias, many people choose to do nothing but just escape the situations or objects they fear. Psychologists, however, warn that if not treated properly, this kind of anxiety will get worse, so that it may disturb the sleep pattern, cause physical symptoms, and finally affect their daily activities. As for treatment, clinical research has discovered that medicine for anxiety is not successful in curing phobias. However, the anxiety disorders can be efficiently treated through cognitive behavioral therapy (认知行为疗法) , through which patients are led to inspect the connections between their own fear and the situation or object, and then actively choose the acceptable treatments. Also, other treatments proved effective in reducing phobias are meditation, listening to calming music, and so on.
Which of the following statements about phobias is correct
A．Actors call help people to cure their phobias.
B．Phobias can be divided into six hundred and fifty types.
C．Those suffering from phobias may not sleep well or work normally.
D．Cognitive behavioral therapy demands little participation from patients.
