phobia
Sign in to saveA phobia is an anxiety disorder, defined by an irrational, unrealistic, persistent and excessive fear of an object or situation. Phobias typically result in a rapid onset of fear and are usually present for more than six months. Those affected go to great lengths to avoid the situation or object, to a degree greater than the actual danger posed. If the object or situation cannot be avoided, they experience significant distress. Other symptoms can include fainting, which may occur in blood or injury phobia, and panic attacks, often found in agoraphobia and emetophobia. Around 75% of those with
AI overview
A phobia is an anxiety disorder characterized by an intense, irrational fear of a specific object or situation that lasts for more than six months and causes people to avoid it far more than the actual danger warrants. People with phobias experience significant distress if they cannot avoid their feared object or situation, and may also suffer from panic attacks or fainting spells.
AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.
Key facts
- Medical condition (new).name
- Phobia
- Medical condition (new).image
- Little Miss Muffet 2 - WW Denslow - Project Gutenberg etext 18546.jpg
- Medical condition (new).caption
- The fear of spiders is one of the most common phobias.
- Medical condition (new).field
- Psychiatry, clinical psychology
- Medical condition (new).symptoms
- Fear of an object or situation
- Medical condition (new).complications
- Suicide, high risk of comorbidities
- Medical condition (new).onset
- Rapid
- Medical condition (new).duration
- More than six months
- Medical condition (new).types
- Specific phobias, social anxiety disorder, agoraphobia
- Medical condition (new).causes
- Genetic and environmental factors
- Medical condition (new).treatment
- Exposure therapy, counselling, medication
Article
37 sectionsContents
- Classification
- ICD-11
- DSM-5
- Causes
- Environmental
- Classical conditioning
- Vicarious conditioning
- Informational/Instructional acquisition
- Genetic
- Mechanism
- Limbic system
- Amygdala
- Disruption by damage
- Diagnosis
- Specific phobias
- Treatments
- Therapy
- Systematic desensitization
- Medications
- Antidepressants
- Benzodiazepines
- Beta-blockers
- Hypnotherapy
- Prognosis
- Specific phobia
- Comorbidities
- Epidemiology
- History
- Society and culture
- Terminology
- Popular culture
- Movies
- Television shows
- Research directions
- References
- Further reading
- External links
A phobia is an anxiety disorder, defined by an irrational, unrealistic, persistent and excessive fear of an object or situation. Phobias typically result in a rapid onset of fear and are usually present for more than six months. Those affected go to great lengths to avoid the situation or object, to a degree greater than the actual danger posed. If the object or situation cannot be avoided, they experience significant distress. Other symptoms can include fainting, which may occur in blood or injury phobia, and panic attacks, often found in agoraphobia and emetophobia. Around 75% of those with phobias have multiple phobias.
Phobias can be divided into specific phobias, social anxiety disorder, and agoraphobia. Specific phobias are further divided to include certain animals, natural environment, blood or injury, and particular situations. The most common are fear of spiders, fear of snakes, and fear of heights. Specific phobias may be caused by a negative experience with the object or situation in early childhood to early adulthood. Social phobia is when a person fears a situation due to worries about others judging them. Agoraphobia is a fear of a situation due to perceived difficulty or inability to escape.