Specific phobias
What are specific phobias?
Specific phobias are chronic condition associated with recurring excessive or anticipatory anxiety which are restricted to specific feared objects or situations and often leading to avoidance when ever possible.
What are some common specific phobias?
Animals such as spiders (Arachnophobia), snakes (ophidiophobia), cat (felinophobia) and dogs (cynophobia).
Blood (haemophobia)
Injections (trypanophobia)
Hospitals (nosocomephobia)
Doctors (latrophobia)
Dentists (dentophobia or odontophobia)
Flying (aviophobia)
Rain (ombrophobia)
Lightening and thunder (brontophobia or karaunophobia)
Enclosed spaces (claustrophobia)
Crossing streets (agyrophobia)
Darkness (scotophobia)
Bees (apiphobia or melissophobia)
What are the signs and symptoms of specific phobias?
Exposure or anticipation of exposure to the feared object or situation provokes extreme anxiety which may include a panic attack, with body sensations such as blushing, trembling, dry mouth, and perspiration.
The individual avoids the feared objects or situations or endure them with intense anxiety and distress
How common are the specific phobias?
Over the lifetimes, about ten out of very individuals would develop a specific phobia.
Some specific phobias such as fear of animals and situations are more common in females
What causes specific phobias?
Specific phobias are caused by a combination of genetic and environmental factors.
Which mental conditions commonly coexist with specific phobias?
Other anxiety disorders such as panic disorder, social phobia and generalized anxiety disorder commonly coexist with specific phobias.
Depression
How are specific phobias treated?
Behaviour therapy in the form of gradual or systematic desensitization using graded exposure, response prevention or inhibition and relaxation is the main treatment for specific phobias
Unlike other types of anxiety disorders, antidepressants are not effective in treating specific phobias.
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