emotional characteristics

• anxiety

  phobias are classed as anxiety disorders. they involve emotional response of anxiety and fear. anxiety is an unpleasant state of high arousal. It prevents the sufferer from relaxing and makes it difficult to experience positive emotion. it can be long term.
• example: arachnophobia

  Matt has a fear of spiders. His anxiety levels will increase whenever he enters a place associated with spiders. the anxiety is a general response to the situation. when he actually sees a spider he experiences fear.
• emotional responses are unreasonable

  the emotional responses we experience in relation to the phobic stimuli go beyond what is reasonable. e.g. Matt's fear of spiders involves a very strong emotional response to a tiny and harmless spider