psychiatric disorders
Specific Phobias
Introduction
Specific phobias consist of persistent, unreasonable, intense fears (phobias) of specific situations, circumstances, or objects. The fears provoke anxiety and avoidance. The causes of phobias are unknown. Phobias are diagnosed based on clinical history. Treatment is mainly with exposure therapy or hypnosis. (See also Overview of Anxiety Disorders .) A specific phobia is fear of and anxiety about a particular situation or object to a degree that is out of proportion to the actual danger or risk. The situation or object is usually avoided when possible, but if exposure occurs, anxiety quickly develops. The anxiety may intensify to the level of a Panic Attacks and Panic Disorder . People with specific phobias typically recognize that their fear is unreasonable and excessive. Specific phobias are the most common anxiety disorders. Some of the most common are fear of animals (zoophobia), heights (acrophobia), and thunderstorms (astraphobia or brontophobia). Specific phobias affect approximately 8% of women and 3% of men during any 12-month period ( General reference ). Some cause little inconvenience—as when city dwellers fear snakes (ophidiophobia), unless they are asked to hike in an area where snakes are found. However, other phobias interfere severely with functioning—as when people who work on an upper floor of a skyscraper fear closed, confined places (claustrophobia), such as elevators. People with a phobia of blood, needles, or injury are unusual in that their anxiety can cause them to faint because of an excessive vasovagal reflex, which causes bradycardia and orthostatic hypotension. Phobias can also compromise medical care, such as when fear of needles leads to avoidance of blood tests and/or vaccination. 