Specific phobia is
an intense, irrational fear of something that poses little or no actual danger
. Although adults with phobias may realize that these fears are irrational, even thinking about facing the feared object or situation brings on severe anxiety symptoms.
What are the symptoms of specific phobia?
- a feeling of imminent danger or doom.
- the need to escape.
- heart palpitations.
- sweating.
- trembling.
- shortness of breath or a smothering feeling.
- a feeling of choking.
- chest pain or discomfort.
What is the definition of a specific phobia?
Overview. Specific phobias are
an overwhelming and unreasonable fear of objects or situations that pose little real danger but provoke anxiety and avoidance
.
What are the 5 categories of specific phobias?
- Animal Type (e.g. dogs, snakes, or spiders)
- Natural Environment Type (e.g., heights, storms, water)
- Blood-Injection-Injury Type (e.g. fear of seeing blood, receiving a blood test or shot, watching television shows that display medical procedures)
What are the kinds of specific phobias?
- Claustrophobia: Fear of being in constricted, confined spaces.
- Aerophobia: Fear of flying.
- Arachnophobia: Fear of spiders.
- Driving phobia: Fear of driving a car.
- Emetophobia: Fear of vomiting.
- Erythrophobia: Fear of blushing.
- Hypochondria: Fear of becoming ill.
What is the most common specific phobia?
Animal phobias
are the most common specific phobias. Situational phobias: These involve a fear of specific situations, such as flying, riding in a car or on public transportation, driving, going over bridges or in tunnels, or of being in a closed-in place, like an elevator.
What is the rarest fear?
- Ablutophobia | Fear of bathing. …
- Arachibutyrophobia | Fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of your mouth. …
- Arithmophobia | Fear of math. …
- Chirophobia | Fear of hands. …
- Chloephobia | Fear of newspapers. …
- Globophobia (Fear of balloons) …
- Omphalophobia | Fear of Umbilicus (Bello Buttons)
What are 3 types of phobias?
There are three types of phobia:
social phobia, agoraphobia, and specific phobia
. Symptoms, or phobic reactions, may be psychological, such as an intense feeling of unease or foreboding; physical, such as crying or gastrointestinal distress; or behavioral, which includes a wide variety of avoidance tactics.
How is a phobia diagnosed?
Diagnosis of specific phobias is
based on a thorough clinical interview and diagnostic guidelines
. Your doctor will ask questions about your symptoms and take a medical, psychiatric and social history.
How does a specific phobia affect a person?
If you have a specific phobia, you
may be fearful of new situations
. You may worry that the object of your fear will be present. It is this fear of your fear that can turn a specific phobia into something which significantly disrupts your life.
Can you have PTSD and specific phobia?
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is the most common mental health disorder in people who have suffered severe trauma such as from a natural disaster. However, some studies show that the risk of other anxiety disorders, including phobias, is also elevated in the months following serious trauma.
Can you suddenly develop a phobia?
While some phobias develop in childhood, most seem to arise
unexpectedly
, usually during adolescence or early adulthood. Their onset is usually sudden, and they may occur in situations that previously did not cause any discomfort or anxiety.
How do you explain a phobia to someone?
A phobia is an overwhelming and debilitating fear of an object, place, situation, feeling or animal. Phobias are more pronounced than fears. They develop when
a person has an exaggerated or unrealistic sense of danger about a situation or object
.
What are the 10 most common phobias?
- Acrophobia: fear of heights. …
- Pteromerhanophobia: fear of flying. …
- Claustrophobia: fear of enclosed spaces. …
- Entomophobia: fear of insects. …
- Ophidiophobia: fear of snakes. …
- Cynophobia: fear of dogs. …
- Astraphobia: fear of storms. …
- Trypanophobia: fear of needles.
What are the top 10 phobias?
- Social phobias. Fear of social interactions. …
- Trypophobia. Fear of Circle Clusters. …
- Atychiphobia. Fear of Failure. …
- Thanatophobia. Fear of Death. …
- Nosophobia. Fear of developing a disease. …
- Arachnophobia. Fear of spiders. …
- Vehophobia. Fear of driving. …
- Claustrophobia. Fear of enclosed spaces.
What is the #1 phobia?
Overall,
fear of public speaking
is America’s biggest phobia – 25.3 percent say they fear speaking in front of a crowd. Clowns (7.6 percent feared) are officially scarier than ghosts (7.3 percent), but zombies are scarier than both (8.9 percent).
