In most cases, people can avoid or at least endure phobic situations, but in some cases, as with agoraphobia, the anxiety associated with the feared object or situation can be incapacitating. In its severest form, agoraphobia is characterized by a paralyzing terror of being in places or situations from which the patient feels there is no escape or accessible help in case of an attack. Consequently, agoraphobes confine themselves to places in which they feel safe, usually at home. The patient with agoraphobia often makes complicated plans in order to avoid confronting feared situations and places. Social Phobia and Performance Anxiety.
Social phobia is the fear of being publicly scrutinized and humiliated.
The associated symptoms vary in intensity, ranging from mild and tolerable anxiety to a full-blown panic attack. Usually, the fear is directed at a particular activity, such as writing in the presence of others or urinating in a public bathroom. A simple phobia is an irrational fear of specific objects or situations. When confronting the object or situation, the phobic person experiences panicky feelings, sweating, rapid heart beat, avoidance behavior, and difficulty breathing. Most phobic individuals are aware of the irrationality of their fear, and many endure intense anxiety rather than disclose their disorder.