Specific Phobia Simple Phobia - Types Of Anxiety Disorders: Anxiety Disorder

Content provided by the Faculty of the Harvard Medical School

Specific phobia (simple phobia)

The experience: A man, age 31, was bitten by a dog at age five and had to be hospitalized. The experience was so terrifying that even now, he is frightened when he sees or hears a dog. He crosses the street to avoid someone walking a dog and, whenever possible, steers clear of homes with dogs. But now that he's dating a woman with a dog, his fear has become a significant problem. A therapist diagnoses specific phobia.

Symptoms: The key characteristic of specific phobia is extreme fear of situations that pose little or no danger or that are no more dangerous than other situations that don't induce fear. Common phobias include fear of flying, heights, animals, insects, injections, and the sight of blood (see "Phobias from A to Z"). Facing the situation or object that induces the phobia produces anxiety immediately, sometimes in the form of a panic attack. Children may cry, have tantrums, freeze, or cling to an adult. Although adults with phobias realize that their fears are excessive or unreasonable, they try to avoid the situations that provoke them. They may refuse to fly in an airplane or visit the home of a friend who has a dog. But this avoidance may interfere with their ability to function normally at work, at school, or in social situations. Many people with this condition also have social phobia, a fear of social situations. Also, research has found that anxiety from phobia significantly increases a person's risk of suffering a fatal heart attack.

Cause: Traumatic events often lead to specific phobia. Genes are also believed to play a role because the tendency to develop specific phobia runs in families.

Prevalence: About 9% of people have specific phobia.

Who's at risk: Women face a slightly higher risk than men. Individuals who have a close relative with specific phobia are at higher risk. A terrifying or deeply troubling experience, as well as a genetic predisposition, increases the likelihood of developing specific phobia.

Effective treatments: The main treatment is a form of behavioral therapy called desensitization, also known as exposure therapy, in which people are gradually exposed to the source of their phobia until it no longer scares them. Relaxation and breathing exercises can also reduce symptoms. No medication has proved effective in controlling specific phobia, but anti-anxiety drugs may help. For example, if you're afraid of flying, an anti-anxiety medication can control your fear enough so that you can get on the plane.

Last updated:	September 05, 2008