مکالمه ی فعالانه قسمت ج

ACTIVE SPEAKING / PART C

FEARS AND PHOBIAS

This is a type of agoraphobia.

What type of phobia is this? This is a type of agoraphobia.

Some fear the small space, and others fear getting trapped in the revolving door with a stranger.

Why do some people fear revolving doors? Some fear the small space, and others fear getting trapped in the revolving door with a stranger.

Famous Hollywood actor Mathew McConaughey is one of many people that are irrationally fearful of revolving doors.

Who is Mathew McConaughey? Mathew McConaughey is a famous Hollywood actor. What is he afraid of? He is afraid of revolving doors.

He says, “I get anxious just being near them.”

What did he say? He said, “I get anxious just being near them.” The history of phobias predates revolving doors by far.

What predates revolving doors? The history of phobias predates revolving doors.

The ancient Greek doctor Hippocrates was the first to write about irrational fear as a medical problem.

Who was the first to write about irrational fear as a medical problem? The ancient Greek doctor Hippocrates was the first to write about irrational fear as a medical problem.

The first person to use ‘phobia’ to describe an unreasonable fear was the Roman doctor Celsus.

Who was the first person to us ‘phobia’ to describe an unreasonable fear? The first person to use ‘phobia’ to describe an unreasonable fear was the Roman doctor Celsus.

Celsus described the fear of water in some of his patients as hydrophobia.

How did Celsus describe the fear of water in some of his patients? Celsus described the fear of water in some of his patients as hydrophobia.

Celsus lived 500 years after the Greek doctor Hippocrates, and was inspired by Greek mythology.

Did Celsus live 100 years after Hippocrates? No, Celsus lived 500 years after Hippocrates.

Was he inspired by Greek mythology? Yes, he was inspired by Greek mythology.

‘Phobia’ comes from ‘Phobos’, the son of Aries, the Greek god of war.

Who was the Greek god of war? Aries was the Greek god of war. Who was his son? Phobos was his son.

Phobos was such a frightening god that warriors painted his face on their shields to scare their enemies.

Was Phobos a peaceful god? No, Phobos wasn’t a peaceful god. He was a frightening god.

Why did warriors paint his face on their shields? Warriors painted his face on their shields to scare their enemies.

Phobia as a stand-alone word was coined in 1786.

When was phobia coined as a stand-alone word? Phobia was coined as a stand-alone word in 1786.

It was defined in a magazine as “A fear of an imaginary evil, or an undue fear of a real one.” How was phobia defined in a magazine? It was defined in a magazine as “A fear of an imaginary evil, or an undue fear of a real one.”

But when is a fear a natural one and when is it an unhealthy phobia?

Fear is the language of the natural world.

What is the language of the natural world? Fear is the language of the natural world. Do you believe that fear is natural?

It helps humans and all other living things survive and evolve.

What helps humans survive? Fear helps humans survive.

Throughout history, animals without fear, were less likely to get away from danger, and died out.

Throughout history, what happened to animals without fear? Throughout history, animals without fear, were less likely to get away from danger, and died out.

Those that had a healthy fear of real dangers, like wild animals or high places that you could fall from, were more likely to survive and pass on their genes to the next generation.

Were wild animals that had a healthy fear more likely to survive? Yes, wild animals with a healthy fear were more likely to survive.

When a fear crosses the line from something that helps us survive to something that makes us less effective and less able to deal with reality, we get in trouble.

Author Karen Thompson Walker says we should approach our fears as stories.

Is Karen Walker an author? Yes, Karen Walker is an author. What does she say about fear?

She says we should approach our fears as stories.

Fears are stories that we tell ourselves using the power of our imagination.

Are fears stories that we tell ourselves? Yes, fears are stories that we tell ourselves. Do we tell these stories using the power of our imagination? Yes, we tell these stories using the power of our imagination.

Some of them are useful and some are worthless.

Are some of them useful? Yes, some of them are useful. Are some of them worthless? Yes, some of them are worthless. Do you think most fears are useful or worthless?

To know which of these stories are valuable and which ones are irrational we need to step back and remember that we are both the writer and the reader of these stories.

What do we need to remember? We need to remember that we are both the writer and the reader of these stories.