A phobia is a marked and persistent fear of a specific object or situation. Facing the phobic object or situation provokes an immediate anxiety response and symptoms. Anxiety symptoms may include rapid heart rate, sweating, tension, trembling, chest tightness, difficulty breathing, and other physical responses.
Talk to a professional if your fear is getting in the way of your goals, career or relationships. Also talk to a professional if your symptoms seem overblown (are more intense than you think they should be) for that particular situation or object.
Subtypes
- Animal type is triggered by animals or insects.
- Natural environment type is triggered by objects in the natural environment such as storms Heights or water.
- Blood – injection – injury type is triggered by seeing blood or an injury or by receiving an injection or other invasive medical procedure.
- Situational type is triggered by a specific situations such as public transportation, tunnels, bridges, elevators, flying, driving or in close spaces other type is triggered by situations that might lead to choking, vomiting, or contracting an illness.
- Space phobia is where the person is afraid of falling down if they are away from the support of a wall or other means of physical support.
For a phobia of social situations or speaking in groups or in public, see Social Anxiety.
References
Gerrig, Richard J. & Philip G. Zimbardo. Psychology And Life, 16/e. Published by Allyn and Bacon, Boston, MA. Copyright (c) 2002 by Pearson Education. Reprinted by permission of the publisher at http://apa.org/research/action/glossary.aspx
American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders: DSM-5. Washington, D.C: American Psychiatric Association.
