Phobia is a strong feeling of fear. In some cases it becomes a phsycological illness. Mostly it is a result of a bad accident which leaves in our mind unpleasant memories. When a person sees the subject which reminds him about the accident, he feels uncomfortable and a strong desire to escape.
For example, a man who is afraid of darkness explains his fear by the childhood memories. He had been locked in a dark room as a kind of punishment. This punishment became his phobia when he grew up. Children who were not surrounded by love and care of their parents usually have a low self-esteem, and they are afraid of people and crowded places. This is called social phobia.
Let me tell you about my phobia. Once when I was small, our family went to a lake. It was a warm sunny day. And the lake attracted us by its shinning surface. My elder brother offered me to swim. He was good at swimming, so he moved straight to the deep side. I swam badly, but in order to show everyone my braveness I followed him. Suddenly I felt that my legs became so heavy that I was not able to move. I was in panic and started to shout, asking for help. My muscles were in awful spasms. Finally I fell unconscious as a result of a great scare. When I opened my eyes I was on the sand and my brother tried to give me the first aid. This life experience taught me not to do anything dangerous, as it can be risky for life. These frightening memories became my phobia. Later I learned that this kind of phobia is called aqua phobia.
In conclusion, I want to tell everybody who is suffering from phobia not to live with their past. We have to live now thinking about our future and not to allow our past to control our present.