Read the passage and answer the following question:
Raunak always used to dislike and be afraid of reptiles. Once he was trying to wear his shoes when a lizard jumped out of it. Since then he started getting scared of lizards all the more. He could not control his fear when he saw a snake in his garden. His heart started pounding, he was sweating badly, he even fainted once when someone told him that there is a lizard under his chair. The very thought of any of these reptiles generates in him an extreme level of fear. His mother took him to a doctor, who suggested that Raunak should meet a psychotherapist.
Another symptom of the disorder Raunak is suffering from is
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → Irrational fear
Option (1) Irrational fear — Correct. Raunak has a phobia, and people who have phobias have irrational fears related to specific objects, people, or situations. A lizard or a snake in the garden poses him no real danger, yet he sweats, his heart pounds and he even faints; the fear is far beyond what the situation calls for.
Option (2) Embarrassment — Incorrect. Intense and incapacitating fear and embarrassment when dealing with others is the mark of social anxiety disorder. Raunak’s fear is of reptiles, not of other people.
Option (3) Rational fear — Incorrect. A rational fear is in proportion to a real danger, as when one steps back from a cobra about to strike. Fainting when told that a lizard is under the chair is out of all proportion, which is what makes it a phobia.
Option (4) Tantrums — Incorrect. Severe tantrums are thrown by children with separation anxiety disorder to avoid being separated from their parents. Nothing in Raunak’s case is about separation.
NCERT (2025-26): “Anxiety Disorders … You might have met or heard of someone who was afraid to travel in a lift or climb to the tenth floor of a building, or refused to enter a room if s/he saw a lizard. You may have also felt it yourself or seen a friend unable to speak a word of a well-memorised and rehearsed speech before an audience. These kinds of fears are termed as phobias. People who have phobias have irrational fears related to specific objects, people, or situations. Phobias often develop gradually or begin with a generalised anxiety disorder. Phobias can be grouped into three main types, i.e. specific phobias, social phobias, and agoraphobia. Specific phobias are the most commonly occurring type of phobia. This group includes irrational fears such as intense fear of a certain type of animal, or of being in an enclosed space. Intense and incapacitating fear and embarrassment when dealing with others characterises social anxiety disorder (social phobia). Agoraphobia is the term used when people develop a fear of entering unfamiliar situations.…” |