DrDavidLewisHodgson

That's an interesting question. What is clear that we are now much more aware of phobias and that they are not just a flight of the imagination, but a real and life inhibiting problem for a great many people. Let me give you one example:

In the mid-19th century, when a German psychologist named Carl Westphal named "agoraphobia" which is not a fear as many people think of being in open spaces, but of being among other people - it comes from the Greek "agora" which means market place - he reported that he was unable to describe any cases of female agoraphobics, as all his patients were men. What he failed to appreciate, that even those with severe agoraphobia are able to leave their homes quite easily, when in the company of a trusted adult or child. This could be their son, their brother, their parents, and so forth. In the 19th century, the middle class women who formed his patient base never went out unaccompanied, they always had companion. And so they didn't display any of the fear symptoms of agoraphobia. Today, many more people experience new things to which they can become phobic and social structures mean they are always less likely to be accompanied. I think these two factors account for both the greater public awareness of phobias and possibly the increase in phobias to experiences, activities, and situations that did not exist even 30 years ago.

I love both puppies and dogs of which I have five, all rescues. Nellie and Marlow are both collies, working dogs and very affectionate, Nellie is 10 and Marlow is 3. Then there is Alfie A three legged ex-army dog from Egypt's who lost a leg sticking out IEDs in the desert, Henry a little stuffy who is going to be put down some 10 years ago - he is now just 11 - because his owners had to go into a flat where dogs were not allowed. Finally there is Barney, a big soft as butter German Shepherd cross Rottweiler who was dumped in a rescue centre when he became too big for the owner to cope with.

I experienced it first hand and covered the coal strikes in the North East of England. And I saw first hand the devastation of mining communities where there was literally no food in many cases that mothers and fathers could put on the table for their children. The police were more like a state agency, administering rough justice to anyone who was opposing the closure policies. The brutality was in many cases appalling and certainly of the same brutality which I had witnessed in Ireland and in other civil wars and riots around the world. I photographed the effects of the strike of both individuals and communities and I saw the levels of poverty into which people were forced. I also witnessed how communities have been divided, between those who worked and those who were forced to go back to work.

The labour class responded with a great deal of resistance on all levels across England. Particularly students were outraged by Thatchers policies and I think even her supporters were sometimes appalled by the consequences of her strategies and her determination to crush the working classes and defeat any opposition to her policies.

I assure you I don't dislike cats and I have even written a book about them called Incredible Cats. It is now out of print but you can properly find some very low-cost copies available through Amazon. It talks about the remarkable powers which cats posses. When I was working as a therapist and making home calls I could very often tell how their owners were behaving by looking at their dogs behaviour. A hysterical dog owner nearly always had an equally hysterical dog - I am delighted to tell you all my dogs are calm and collected! However a cat owned by a hysterical owner never showed any signs of distress as the poet said "the cat walks alone" and remains called, collected no matter how bizarre the behaviour of the owner.

I think political polarisation isn't a new thing. People have always taken opposing views to a new position, thinking that they have the answer to solve a problem. The difference today is that you have wider reach to find new audiences through social media.

When I was working in Northern Ireland, the polarisation of views between the catholic and protestant communities were obvious and violent, and in some cases lethal. As a photojournalist I have friends on both sides of the sectarian line. I have met charming, charismatic and eloquent men and women on both sides as well as many criminals who were simple out to feather their own nests. But each of these groups had red lines which they were not prepared to cross or for years even negotiate. Once polarisation sets in, wether between individuals or communities, it can proof extremely difficult to restore the situation, to one in which each one feels confident in discussing their own and the other individuals point of view.