Specific Phobia
A specific phobia is categorised by an irrational fear of a specific object or situation that causes persistent fear and anxiety, avoidance of the situation, and disrupts functioning of everyday life. Fear of animals is the most common phobia among women, and fear of heights is the most common among men.
Overview
Symptoms
Diagnosis
Causes/Why Me?
Epidemiology
Treatment Approaches
What Can I Do For Myself?
Comorbidities
Youth Specific Features
Summary
Infographic
A specific phobia is categorised by an irrational fear of a specific object or situation that causes persistent fear and anxiety, avoidance of the situation, and disrupts functioning of everyday life. It is a common mental disorder, affecting about 12% of the population, and is more prevalent in women. Fear of animals is the most common phobia among women, and fear of heights is the most common among men.
A specific phobia is categorized by an irrational fear of a specific object or situation.
There are five types of specific phobias:
- Animal type: fear of animals or insects
- Natural environment type: fear of natural objects, places or phenomenons
- e.g. fear of heights, fear of water, fear of thunderstorms
- Blood-Injection-Injury type: fear of blood, injections or injury
- Situational type: fear of specific situations
- e.g. fear of restricted spaces, fear of the dark, fear of flying
- Other types: fear of any other stimulus
- e.g. fear of choking, fear of illness, fear of clowns
People with a specific phobia will often experience physical symptoms of anxiety and panic attacks. Learn more about these symptoms here.
A person will be diagnosed with a specific phobia if he/she has constant and persistent anxiety, fear or worry about a specific object or situation, avoids situations in which he/she might come across the phobia (if it cannot be avoided, it is tolerated with great anxiety), and finds that the phobia disrupts his/her everyday life.
Adults will recognize that their fear is unreasonable or irrational, but children may believe that their phobia is truly harmful. The person’s anxiety, fear and avoidance of the specific object/situation must not be the result of any other mental disorder, and in children under 18 years old, the specific phobia must have been present for more than 6 months [Read More].
Click here for the DSM-IV Diagnostic Criteria for Specific Phobia
Biological factors
People who develop a specific phobia often have a history of mental illness in their family. Some research has shown that children with depressed parents are more than three times as likely to develop an anxiety disorder, in particular a specific phobia [Read More].
Environmental factors
Sometimes, a traumatic event can trigger a specific phobia (e.g. getting bitten by a dog may result in a phobia of dogs). Phobias can also develop by observing other people’s anxious responses to a situation, or by reading frightening information about a certain object or situation. Parents with a specific phobia may unintentionally influence their children to develop the same phobia. However, many people have reported that their phobia began without any obvious trigger, and some say that they have had the phobia for as long as they can remember [Read More].
What is epidemiology? Epidemiology is the study of the prevalence of disease in different populations and why [Read More].
Specific phobias are present in about 12% of the population, with fear of animals as the most common phobia among women, and fear of heights as the most common phobia among men. Only 24.2% of people with specific phobias have only one fear, most have at least two fears at the same time [Read More]. Specific phobias tend to develop around the age of 10, and studies show that only 8% of those diagnosed receive proper treatment [Read More]. Women also appear to be more likely to develop a specific phobia.
Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT)
What is CBT? Cognitive behaviour therapy is a form of treatment which teaches the patient to challenge and re-evaluate his/her negative and fearful thoughts of their specific phobia (cognitive), and repeatedly exposes him/her to the undesired object or situation until it no longer triggers fear. This type of therapy works best if done frequently and if the session lasts long enough for the fear to decrease (up to 2 hours). It has shown to be particularly useful for treating animal and blood phobias [Read More].
Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR)
PMR is a technique that involves tensing and relaxing various muscles. This is often a helpful exercise because in addition to the mental stress experienced by someone with a specific phobia, muscles also often tense up. PMR involves tightening and relaxing specific muscles for 7 seconds, and paying attention to the different feelings involved when tightening as opposed to relaxing ones muscles. Other relaxation techniques such as deep breathing (in order to help prevent hyperventilation) are also often taught [Read More].
Pharmacotherapy
Pharmacotherapy is the treatment of a disorder using medication. Psychological treatment is usually the first choice for treating anxiety disorders, but for certain phobias such as flying or driving, benzodiazephines (sedatives) can be useful. However, these drugs are only for short term use as they tend to be addictive, and in the long-term treatment of specific phobias, medication cannot replace the benefits associated with psychological treatment such as CBT [Read More].
Psychoeducation
Learn about your disorder, the causes, and treatment options! Recognize that phobias are psychological disorders and treat them as such. Understanding how your body reacts to fearful objects or situations can help you feel less anxious and fearful of your phobia. Join a self-help group or an online forum to share your experiences with others diagnosed with specific phobias.
If you think you have a specific phobia, go see your family doctor, a psychologist or psychiatrist. Ask your family to involve themselves in your treatment program, and adhere to your doctor’s recommendations. Don’t expect an immediate improvement; give yourself time to get better!
What is comorbidity?
Specific phobias have high comorbidity with other mental disorders – it is estimated that 50-80% of people with a specific phobia also have at least one other mental disorder. Specific phobias can be present alongside major depressive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, PTSD, substance use, panic attacks, obsessive-compusive disorder (OCD), agoraphobia. Many people with a specific phobia experience multiple phobias at once that worsen over time [Read More].
Symptoms of phobias usually begin to appear in childhood and adolescence, and tend to develop earlier in girls than in boys.Animal and BIood-Injection-Injury phobias tend to develop in childhood, and situational phobia and fear of heights tend to develop during adolescence and adulthood [Read More].
Youth-specific resources
TeensHealth
AnxietyBC
Kids Help Phone
A specific phobia is categorised by an irrational fear of a specific object or situation that causes persistent fear and anxiety, avoidance of the situation, and disrupts functioning of everyday life. It is a common mental disorder, affecting about 12% of the population, and is more prevalent in women. Fear of animals is the most common phobia among women, and fear of heights is the most common among men. Specific phobias have both biological and environmental causes; people with a family history of mental illness are more likely to develop a phobia, and experiencing, observing, or hearing about a traumatic event can trigger a specific phobia. However, many people with a specific phobia have reported experiencing no trigger at all. The disorder has a high comorbidity with depression and other anxiety disorders, and multiple phobias are often present at the same time. Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is the most effective form of treatment, although it is sometimes complemented with the use of muscle relaxation techniques, breathing techniques and medication.
