A phobia is a type of anxiety disorder. It is a strong, irrational fear of something that poses little or no real danger. There are many specific phobias. Acrophobia is a fear of heights. Agoraphobia is a fear of public places, and claustrophobia is a fear of closed-in places. If you become anxious and extremely self-conscious in everyday social situations, you could have a social phobia.
Other common phobias involve tunnels, highway driving, water, flying, animals and blood. People with phobias try to avoid what they are afraid of. If they cannot, they may experience:
panic and fear.
Most phobias develop in childhood and are commonly passed down by a family member. However, the main cause of phobias is still unknown. Frequent causes of phobias include: traumatic experience involving object of fear experiencing a panic attack in specific situation or around an object witnessing someone else being harmed by specific activity or object hearing a tragic story involving a specific activity or object having phobias and fears is common, and often rational. However, if these fears begin to interfere with daily life, consult with a doctor. For example, a phobia of driving on the freeway should not be so strong that it keeps a person from driving to work or school.
A specific phobia is an intense, persistent, irrational fear of a specific object, situation, or activity, or person. Usually, the fear is proportionally greater than the actual danger or threat. People with specific phobias are highly distressed about having the fear, and often will go to great lengths to avoid the object or situation in question. According to the diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, fifth edition (dsm-5), the year-long community prevalence estimate for specific phobias is approximately 7%-9%. Some examples of phobias: a teenager with a dog phobia avoids going to the houses of friends and family who own dogs.
10 Most Common Phobias
(see also overview of anxiety disorders overview of anxiety disorders everyone periodically experiences fear and anxiety. Fear is an emotional, physical, and behavioral response to an immediately recognizable external threat (eg, an intruder, a car spinning on. Read more. )a specific phobia is fear of and anxiety about a particular situation or object (see the table some common phobias some common phobias*
Causes [ edit ]
by howard e. Lewine, md , chief medical editor, harvard health publishing.
If you have a specific phobia, you probably realize that your fears are irrational. However, facing or even thinking about facing the object or situation can bring on a panic attack or intense anxiety. The symptoms of specific phobias usually first appear in adolescence or adulthood, with an average onset of 7 years old. Children’s fears often disappear by themselves, but in some, they persist into adulthood. According to the latest edition of the diagnostic and statistical manual for mental disorders (dsm-5), the symptoms associated with specific phobias — fear, anxiety, and avoidance — persist for. Without treatment, they can persist for years or decades.
Medication can also be effective for your phobia. It may help you to feel less anxious and cope better so that you can start to enjoy life again. Drugs should be only used for short periods, perhaps to help during a crisis. They should not be used for longer-term treatment of anxiety. Our phobia treatments here at nightingale hospital london can be as an outpatient , day patient or inpatient. We have the expertise to approach the support and treatment we offer you for your phobia in a personal and flexible way to benefit you the most in your recovery. Through therapy and alternative approaches such as meditation, relaxation, sleep therapy and physical therapies we aim to give you the knowledge and coping skills for dealing with your phobia.