هل تعاني من مرض الرهاب؟

Hello and welcome to BBC Xtra English!

Did you know that 5 to 10 percent of the UK’s population have a phobia?

A phobia is an irrational fear of something, even though it is harmless.

For example, some people may be extremely frightened of spiders even though they cannot harm them.

Phobias can also become very serious mental illnesses that are hard to treat.

However new research in Switzerland from the University of Basel suggests that there might be a new way to treat phobias.

The research looks at a new type of treatment called exposure therapy.

Exposure therapy makes patients face their fears repeatedly.

Initial trials at the University of Basel were with people who had a phobia of heights.

They were made to take a lift up a tall building a number of times, as well as walk over a tiny bridge.

Professor Dominique de Quervain who is heading the trials, told the BBC that whilst the therapy had been effective, he was also exploring a more effective treatment using doses of a stress hormone called Cortisol.

Cortisol is known to play a role in learning and memory and the patients who were given it showed far less anxiety during the trial and up to a month after it too.

But so far the tests are still not complete and scientists still are searching for ideal cures to phobias.

Do you have a phobia? What is it? Write to us in English!

هل تعاني من مرض الرهاب أو الخوف المرضي من شيء ما؟ ما الذي يخيفك؟ اكتب لنا بالإنجليزية

Phobia
فوبيا - مرض الرهاب، الخوف المرضي من شيء ما
Irrational
غير منطقي
Fear
خوف
Frightened
خائف
Exposure
التعرض
Therapy
علاج
Initial trials
تجارب أولية
Bridge
جسر
Stress hormone
هورمون التوتر
Anxiety
قلق

I'm suffering from a disease of excessive red face which caused me a lot of social problems and became afraid of public places and lay down the floor in the presence of more than two and sometimes one person. And impact negatively on crop massage mode.
Nasr, Algeria

I have a phobia toward closed, narrow areas
Mohammed Elfatih, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

I have a phobia from people. meeting,face etc when I meet somebody my face being red and I am shaking.
Oubaida

Yes, I have something similar to Phobia. It is an Anxiety disorder. Which nearly debilitating. It Affects my life greatly, in a manner that i am not able to continue my life as before. Also having many disturbing physical symptoms such us: blurred vision, palpitation, dizziness. I want some help!
Philip, Cairo, Egypt

I have phobia of being alone waking or sitting in some a little dark places where is nobody in the place, i fear that there is something is ganna happen to me like someone may pointing a gun to me from a distance and i don't know or see it and kill me or hurt me
Yousuf Bin Saeed, Saudi Arabia