Seasonal Affective Disorder

What Is Specific Phobia? 

Specific phobia is an anxiety disorder characterised by an intense, irrational fear of a particular object, animal, or situation that poses little or no actual danger. Despite recognising that our fear is irrational, we can often feel overwhelming anxiety and go to great lengths to avoid the trigger. These fears can lead to significant distress or impairment in social, work-related, and other areas of functioning. In any given week, 2 in 100 people will have a diagnosis of Specific Phobia.

 

Common types of specific phobias fall into these groups:

1. Natural/environment type: These are phobias of nature, weather, and environmental events or situations. These can include the fear of thunder and lightning (astraphobia) or water (aquaphobia).

2. Injury type: This type of fear is related to a fear of physical harm or injury. These include a fear of the dentist (dentophobia) or injections (trypanophobia).

3. Animal type: These fears are centred on animals or insects. This can include the fear of dogs (cynophobia), snakes (ophidiophobia), and insects (entomophobia).

4. Situational type: This type of phobia centres on fears triggered by specific situations. These include the fear of washing (ablutophobia) and enclosed spaces (claustrophobia).

5. Other types: Fears that don't fit into the other four types are included in this category. This can include things such as a fear of dolls, vomiting, or loud sounds.

 

What are the symptoms of Specific Phobia?

• Unreasonable, excessive fear: We exhibit excessive or unreasonable, persistent and intense fear triggered by a specific object or situation.

• Immediate anxiety response: The fear reaction must be out of proportion to the actual danger and appear almost instantaneously when presented with the object or situation.

• Avoidance or extreme distress: We go out of our way to avoid the object or situation, or endure it with extreme distress.

 

What influences the onset of Specific Phobia and what are the treatment options?

• Genetics: If we have a family member with an anxiety disorder or phobia we are more likely to also develop some type of phobia.

• Experiences: Stressful or traumatic experiences can also play a role in the formation of a phobia. If we are bitten by a dog once, for example, this can play a role in the development of a fear of dogs.

 

Many psychotherapy techniques may be used to treat phobias, but exposure therapy and cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) are the two that are more common. 

• Exposure therapy involves gradual and progressive exposure to the feared object or situation. Such exposure is paired with relaxation strategies until the fear reaction is reduced or extinguished.

• CBT involves helping people learn to identify and then change the automatic negative thoughts that contribute to phobic reactions.​​