Specific Phobia meaning
Irrational fear of Specific objects and situations
What is Specific Phobia?
A specific phobia is related to an anxiety disorder that contains an irrational fear linked to exposure to specific objects or situations. A person with this phobia feels an extreme fear when they meet the particular situation or object which stimulates that fear. An average of 12% of Americans suffers this phobia.
For Example, A person with a specific phobia of thunder will feel uncomfortable in stormy conditions of thunders.
Specific phobia falls within four main categories:
Types of Specific Phobia
These are four major types of Specific phobias:
- Animal Phobia (fear of spiders, dogs, insects)
- Natural environment Phobia (fear of thunder, heights, darkness)
- Blood-Injection-Injury phobia (fear of injections, broken bones, falls)
- Situation Phobia (fear of riding, flying, get into elevator, driving)
Each Specific phobia type falls in different kinds of phobia that are explained below:
Situation Phobia:
A situation phobia is related to an anxiety disorder that contains an irrational fear linked to exposure to specific situations. A person with a situation phobia feels an extreme fear when they meet that particular situation, which stimulates that fear.
Situation phobias fall within many categories, but few are mentioned below:
- Fear of riding
- Fear of flying
- Fear of getting into an elevator
- Fear of driving
Animal Phobia
An animal phobia is related to an anxiety disorder that contains an irrational fear linked to exposure to animals. A person with animal phobia feels an extreme fear when they are meet that specific situation, which stimulates that fear.
Animal phobias fall within these categories:
- fear of snakes
- fear of spiders
- fear of dogs,
- fear of insects
For Example, A person with a phobia of spiders will feel uncomfortable or panic attacks when he got in touch with a spider or see a spider near him.
Natural environment Phobia
A Situation phobia is related to an anxiety disorder that contains an irrational fear linked to exposure to specific situations. A person with a situation phobia feels an extreme fear when they meet that particular situation, which stimulates that fear.
Natural environment phobias fall within these categories:
- fear of thunder
- fear of heights
- fear of darkness
For Example, A person with a phobia of natural environment will feel anxious when he is on the top of any tall building or at some height above the ground.
Blood-Injection-Injury phobia
This phobia is related to an anxiety disorder that contains an irrational fear linked to exposure to Blood, Injection, or injury of his own or sees any person. A person with this phobia feels an extreme fear or anxiety when they meet that specific situation, which stimulates that fear.
Blood-Injection-Injury phobias fall within these categories:
- fear of blood
- fear of injections,
- fear of broken bones
- fear of falls
For Example, A person with a phobia of Blood-Injection-Injury will feel anxious when he sees or got into that situation.
Signs & Symptoms
| Specific Phobia |
| · Panic attacks
· Shivering or goosebumps · sweating · changes in body conditions · changes in behavior (Become angry) · Ignoring to expose to situations that pull them to become anxious |
Diagnosis
The diagnostics of specific phobias:
- Identify the fear or anxiety of a specific situation or object( Childrens express by crying or by other conditions).
- The Fear objects or situations always stimulates the instant anxiety or fear.
- The Fear objects or situations are always avoided or suffer from extreme anxiety or fear.
- The anxiety or fear is irrational, which is not the actual danger that pretends to be real by object or situation.
- The anxiety or fear remains for Six months or maybe more.
- The anxiety or fear causes distress and affects the social or functioning areas.
For further visit: https://www.med.upenn.edu/ctsa/phobias_symptoms.html