<font color="purple">Why do I have to hide and pace and sweat like crazy and shake and spaz and loose my mind every time we're hit with a bad thunderstorm and to add insult to injury- be surrounded be people who think it's FUNNY?

Storm iminent </font>

[Rose3]

Did you experience a thunderstorm that did a lot of damage?
Do you fear the consequences of a serious storm?
Are there ways that you could prepare a safety plan, in case of a damaging storm? Maybe that would alleviate some of your concerns.

[kim_johnson]

There are evolutionary explanations of some phobias. Having a fear of a thunderstorm would make it more likely that you would seek shelter which in turn would make it more likely that you would be safe (and not go wandering and get hit by thunder, for example).

That being said, how afraid does one need to feel in order to get that added benefit?

Do you have any particular thoughts on why you might feel so afraid? Are you afraid of being hit by lightening or... What? It might be that there are things you can say / remind yourself of when those thoughts start occurring to you.

[BalishBun]

why do people have phobias....... its a hard to say, I have never experienced a bee sting but i go runnin!

[kim_johnson]

People who are disposed to run from bees, snakes, and spiders are less likely to be harmed by them. Sometimes it is better to have a 'false positive' (to run when you don't need to) rather than a 'false negative'.

While people can have phobias of all kinds of things the main DSM subtypes (aside from 'other') may well have been the result of selection pressure. Blood/injury, insects, open spaces, heights etc.

[Doh2007]

Phobias are wired into our brains during an unpleasant experience. The answer to your second question is that you don't if you get the right kind of help.