Many people claim to be afraid of spiders, but probably not to the degree of 37-year-old "Mary Muffet" of Seattle. Mary went to many lengths to be spider-free, including sealing her windows and doors with duct tape, spraying her car with bug killer, and putting every single piece of washed and ironed clothing into its own sealed plastic bag. She wasn't just afraid of spiders; she had arachnophobia, a phobia, not to be confused with a simple fear. Phobias are not simple; they are complex in both their origin and diagnosis, with many types that people suffer from and any number of treatments exist to date.

What is a phobia"

Phobias are described as "a persistent, irrational fear of an object, activity or situation that compels a person to avoid it, and causes distress and function impairment" (Yahoo! Health, 2002). For example, a normal person who is afraid of...