Phobias Predict Mental Health

By Alex Berezow — August 4, 2018

Are you afraid of spiders? You aren't alone. (Well, except when it's just you and the spider.)
Across the world, somewhere between 3% and 15% of the population is afraid of something. That's the headline finding in a new review published in The Lancet Psychiatry. But they found so much more. 

The authors, led by Dr. William Eaton of Johns Hopkins University, reviewed the existing literature on phobias to gain a better understanding of the phenomenon...........the most common phobias involve animals, heights, flying, closed spaces, water, storms, and blood..........At all ages, women are more likely to experience a new phobia than men. And phobias don't necessarily just develop in childhood; a person can develop a new phobia at any point in their life.........Furthermore, instead of just being a cute quirk, phobias appear to be linked to other mental health problems. Indeed, the authors write that phobias are "strongly predictive of onset of other anxiety, mood, and substance-use disorders." .........To Read More.....