> If someone has astraphobia, what are they afraid of?And the answer: thunder and lightning. The Four Major Specific Phobia CategoriesAstraphobia can affect children,adults, and even some animals, like cats and dogs. It's an extreme or irrationalfear of thunder and lightning, even when it's not raining outside, or even whenone is safely sheltered from the elements.Specific phobias are an overwhelming and unreasonable fear of objects orsituations that pose little real danger, but provoke intense anxiety andavoidance. Unlike the anxiety you may feel when giving a speech or taking atest, specific phobias are long lasting, cause intense physical andpsychological reactions, and can affect your ability to function. To this day, much remains unknown about the causes of phobias. According to the Mayo Clinic[https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/specific-phobias/symptoms-causes/syc-20355156], phobias are often the culmination of a combination of factors. For example, anegative experience with the stimulus (say, a particularly harmful storm)combined with either learned or genetic anxiety from your parents could create alasting fear of thunderstorms. There is some evidence to suggest the fear is aresult of brain function, but it's more likely a result of both external andinternal factors such as these. Phobias can be dealt with through various forms of therapy and treatment.Sometimes they can even be solved through continued direct exposure, orreconditioning. By repeatedly experiencing the stimulus in a non-harmfulenvironment, it is possible to form a better understanding and ultimately becomebetter equipped to deal with the fear accompanying a stimulus. To learn more about phobias, check out the video below.