Specific Phobia

About Specific Phobia

Specific phobia involves marked fear or anxiety about a particular object or situation that poses little actual danger, leading to avoidance or intense distress. It is among the most common anxiety disorders. DSM-5 lists five types: animal, such as spiders, dogs or snakes; natural environment, such as heights, storms or water; blood injection injury; situational, such as flying, elevators, enclosed spaces or driving; and other, such as fear of choking or vomiting. Phobias usually begin in childhood, and many people have more than one. The blood injection injury type is unusual because the fear response can involve a sudden drop in heart rate and blood pressure that leads to fainting, rather than only a racing heart, and it tends to run in families. Many people with specific phobias do not seek treatment, often because they can avoid the feared object, but the condition can significantly limit daily life, travel or access to medical care. Exposure therapy, in which a person gradually and repeatedly confronts the feared object or situation, is highly effective, and intensive single session formats have been developed for some phobias. Applied tension, a technique of tensing muscles to raise blood pressure, is used for blood injection injury phobia, and virtual reality exposure is used for fears such as heights and flying.