Fears and phobias among college students often prevent them from doing things as simple as climbing stairs or speaking in public, according to University of Memphis psychology professor Dr. Jeffrey Berman.
Berman said phobias often hinder people from attempting what would otherwise be easy activities.
"You can't do a lot of pleasant activities because you have maladaptive fear," he said.
Berman said there is a difference between phobias and fear.
"Some behavior becomes a phobia when its no longer adaptive to what environment the individual is in," Berman said. "Usually how you distinguish a phobia from a rational fear is it's a response that is not an appropriate adjustment to the environment the individual is in."
"There is no way of saying a particular fear is a phobia, because it depends on the environment," Berman said. "(Phobias) are definitely environment specific."
Elementary education major Kandice Jones said she has a fear of flying, or aviophobia, and prefers to travel by train or automobile.
"You're in the air and nothing is holding you up," Jones said. "There is no ground, no foundation. I feel like when you're in an airplane crash, everybody dies. At least in a car crash, one person may live."
Jones said she often has relatives visiting from out of town who travel by airplane. However, she said, she does not see herself taking a flight anytime soon.
"I really don't want to get on a plane," Jones said. "I'm really scared. I'll take the Greyhound bus or car."
"I saw the movie Final Destination and it made it worse," she added.
Dr. Carl Gilleylen, Career and Psychology Unit manager at The U of M,
said there are three basic types of phobias.
"(There is) specific phobia, which is a fear of things like snakes and flying; social phobia, where people don't like being around people; and agoraphobia, where people have a fear of going to places," he said.
Heather Gannon, a biology major, said she has a fear of heights, or acrophobia -- a specific phobia, according to Gilleylen.
"They're scary," Gannon said.
Gannon said she wishes she could do things like hanggliding or other adventure sports that involve heights, but can't.
"People jumping off cliffs looks fun, but I could never do it," Gannon said.
Psychology major Rikaya Jones said she has a fear of spiders.
"They're creepy and crawly," Jones said. "If I see one I get paranoid, and I feel them crawling over my skin."
Jones said her fear was triggered when she lived in a house in Westwood. Jones, who was in the second grade, said she remembers the house being infested with several different types of spiders.
Jones said she spotted a spider in the living room once and it scared her into a cleaning frenzy.
"I was standing in my living room and a spider dropped down in my face -- and that scared the hell out of me," Jones said. "(My sister and I) got a broom and started sweeping the ceiling."
Jones said she also recalls once seeing a spider in her bedroom that she frantically tried to get rid of.
"I saw a big spider when I was living in Westwood," Jones said. "I tucked the covers up on my bed so they wouldn't touch the floor. I wanted to put towels underneath so nothing would get under my bed."
Berman said there are many types of strategies to help people who suffer from phobias and fears.
"There are many different types of treatments," Berman said. "Exposure is the most successful."
