Symptoms

A specific phobia involves an intense, persistent fear of a specific object or situation that's out of proportion to the actual risk. There are many types of phobias, and it's not unusual to experience a specific phobia about more than one object or situation. Specific phobias can also occur along with other types of anxiety disorders.

Common categories of specific phobias are a fear of:

• Situations, such as airplanes, enclosed spaces or going to school
• Nature, such as thunderstorms or heights
• Animals or insects, such as dogs or spiders
• Blood, injection or injury, such as needles, accidents or medical procedures
• Others, such as choking, vomiting, loud noises or clowns

Each specific phobia is referred to by its own term. Examples of more common terms include acrophobia for the fear of heights and claustrophobia for the fear of confined spaces.

No matter what specific phobia you have, it's likely to produce these types of reactions:

• An immediate feeling of intense fear, anxiety and panic when exposed to or even thinking about the source of your fear
• Awareness that your fears are unreasonable or exaggerated but feeling powerless to control them
• Worsening anxiety as the situation or object gets closer to you in time or physical proximity
• Doing everything possible to avoid the object or situation or enduring it with intense anxiety or fear
• Difficulty functioning normally because of your fear
• Physical reactions and sensations, including sweating, rapid heartbeat, tight chest or difficulty breathing
• Feeling nauseated, dizzy or fainting around blood or injuries
• In children, possibly tantrums, clinging, crying, or refusing to leave a parent's side or approach their fear

When to see a doctor

An unreasonable fear can be an annoyance — having to take the stairs instead of an elevator or driving the long way to work instead of taking the freeway, for instance — but it isn't considered a specific phobia unless it seriously disrupts your life. If anxiety negatively affects functioning in work, school or social situations, talk with your doctor or a mental health professional.

Childhood fears, such as fear of the dark, of monsters or of being left alone, are common, and most children outgrow them. But if your child has a persistent, excessive fear that interferes with daily functioning at home or school, talk to your child's doctor.

Most people can be helped with the right therapy. And therapy tends to be easier when the phobia is addressed right away rather than waiting.