A phobia is an overwhelming and debilitating fear of an object, place, situation, feeling or animal. Phobias are more pronounced than fears. They develop when a person has an exaggerated or unrealistic sense of danger about a situation or object.
If a phobia becomes very severe, a person may organise their life around avoiding the thing that's causing them anxiety. As well as restricting their day-to-day life, it can also cause a lot of distress.
Types of phobias
There are a wide variety of objects or situations that someone could develop a phobia about.
But phobias can be divided into 2 main categories:
- specific or simple phobias
- complex phobias
Specific or simple phobias
Specific or simple phobias centre around a particular object, animal, situation or activity.
They often develop during childhood or adolescence and may become less severe as you get older.
Common examples of simple phobias include:
- animal phobias – such as dogs, spiders, snakes, or rodents
- environmental phobias – such as heights, deep water, and germs
- situational phobias – such as visiting the dentist or flying
- bodily phobias – such as blood, vomit or having injections
- sexual phobias – such as performance anxiety or the fear of getting a sexually transmitted infection (STI)
Complex phobias
Complex phobias tend to be more disabling than simple phobias. They usually develop during adulthood and are often associated with a deep-rooted fear or anxiety about a particular situation or circumstance.
The 2 most common complex phobias are:
Agoraphobia is often thought of as a fear of open spaces, but it's much more complex than this. Someone with agoraphobia will feel anxious about being in a place or situation where escaping may be difficult if they have a panic attack.
The anxiety usually results in the person avoiding situations such as:
- being alone
- being in crowded places, such as busy restaurants or supermarkets
- travelling on public transport
Social phobia, also known as social anxiety disorder, centres around feeling anxious in social situations. If you have a social phobia, you might be afraid of speaking in front of people for fear of embarrassing yourself and being humiliated in public.
Signs
A phobia is a type of anxiety disorder. You may not experience any symptoms until you encounter the source of your phobia.
But in some cases, even thinking about the source of a phobia can make a person feel anxious or panicky. This is known as anticipatory anxiety.
Symptoms may include:
- unsteadiness, dizziness, and light-headedness
- nausea
- sweating
- increased heart rate or palpitations
- shortness of breath
- trembling or shaking
- an upset stomach
If you do not encounter the source of your phobia very often, it may not affect your everyday life.
But if you have a complex phobia, such as agoraphobia, leading a normal life may be very difficult.
