Specific phobia
Specific phobia is a type of anxiety disorder characterized by an excessive and irrational fear of a specific object, situation, or activity. This fear is persistent, typically lasting for six months or more, and leads to avoidance behavior and functional impairment. Specific phobias are categorized into five different types: animal, natural environment, blood-injection-injury, situational, and other.
Types of Specific Phobia[edit | edit source]
Animal Type[edit | edit source]
The animal type of specific phobia involves an intense fear of a specific type of animal such as spiders (arachnophobia), snakes (ophidiophobia), or dogs (cynophobia).
Natural Environment Type[edit | edit source]
The natural environment type involves a fear of natural phenomena such as heights (acrophobia), water (hydrophobia), or storms (astraphobia).
Blood-Injection-Injury Type[edit | edit source]
The blood-injection-injury type involves a fear of blood, injury, or invasive medical procedures. This can include fear of needles (trypanophobia), fear of surgery (tomophobia), or fear of blood (hemophobia).
Situational Type[edit | edit source]
The situational type involves a fear of specific situations such as flying (aviophobia), enclosed spaces (claustrophobia), or driving (amaxophobia).
Other Type[edit | edit source]
The other type of specific phobia involves a fear of other specific stimuli that do not fit into the other categories. This can include fear of choking (pseudodysphagia), fear of vomiting (emetophobia), or fear of clowns (coulrophobia).
Treatment[edit | edit source]
Treatment for specific phobia typically involves cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), which includes exposure therapy and cognitive restructuring. Medication is not typically used for specific phobia, but may be used in certain situations.
See Also[edit | edit source]
| Specific phobia Resources | |
|---|---|
|
 |
Search WikiMD
Ad.Tired of being Overweight? Try W8MD's physician weight loss program.
Semaglutide (Ozempic / Wegovy and Tirzepatide (Mounjaro / Zepbound) available.
Advertise on WikiMD
|
WikiMD's Wellness Encyclopedia |
| Let Food Be Thy Medicine Medicine Thy Food - Hippocrates |
Translate this page: - East Asian
中文,
日本,
한국어,
South Asian
हिन्दी,
தமிழ்,
తెలుగు,
Urdu,
ಕನ್ನಡ,
Southeast Asian
Indonesian,
Vietnamese,
Thai,
မြန်မာဘာသာ,
বাংলা
European
español,
Deutsch,
français,
Greek,
português do Brasil,
polski,
română,
русский,
Nederlands,
norsk,
svenska,
suomi,
Italian
Middle Eastern & African
عربى,
Turkish,
Persian,
Hebrew,
Afrikaans,
isiZulu,
Kiswahili,
Other
Bulgarian,
Hungarian,
Czech,
Swedish,
മലയാളം,
मराठी,
ਪੰਜਾਬੀ,
ગુજરાતી,
Portuguese,
Ukrainian
Medical Disclaimer: WikiMD is not a substitute for professional medical advice. The information on WikiMD is provided as an information resource only, may be incorrect, outdated or misleading, and is not to be used or relied on for any diagnostic or treatment purposes. Please consult your health care provider before making any healthcare decisions or for guidance about a specific medical condition. WikiMD expressly disclaims responsibility, and shall have no liability, for any damages, loss, injury, or liability whatsoever suffered as a result of your reliance on the information contained in this site. By visiting this site you agree to the foregoing terms and conditions, which may from time to time be changed or supplemented by WikiMD. If you do not agree to the foregoing terms and conditions, you should not enter or use this site. See full disclaimer.
Credits:Most images are courtesy of Wikimedia commons, and templates Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY SA or similar.
Contributors: Prab R. Tumpati, MD
