Anxiety Disorders
PHOBIAS
Phobias occur in several forms. A specific phobia is a fear of a particular object or
situation. Social phobia is a fear of being painfully embarrassed in a social setting. And
agoraphobia, which often accompanies panic disorder, is a fear of being in any situation
that might provoke a panic attack, or from which escape might be difficult if one
occurred.
Specific Phobias
 Many people
experience specific phobias, intense, irrational fears of certain things or
situations—dogs, closed-in places, heights, escalators, tunnels, highway driving,
water, flying, and injuries involving blood are a few of the more common ones. Phobias
aren't just extreme fear; they are irrational fear. You may be able to ski the world's
tallest mountains with ease but panic going above the 10th floor of an office building.
Adults with phobias realize their fears are irrational, but often facing, or even thinking
about facing, the feared object or situation brings on a panic attack or severe anxiety.
Specific phobias strike more than 1 in 10 people. No one knows just what causes them,
though they seem to run in families and are a little more prevalent in women. Phobias
usually first appear in adolescence or adulthood. They start suddenly and tend to be more
persistent than childhood phobias; only about 20 percent of adult phobias vanish on their
own. When children have specific phobias—for example, a fear of animals—those
fears usually disappear over time, though they may continue into adulthood. No one knows
why they hang on in some people and disappear in others.
If the object of the fear is easy to avoid, people with phobias may not feel the need
to seek treatment. Sometimes, though, they may make important career or personal decisions
to avoid a phobic situation.
When phobias interfere with a person's life, treatment can help. Successful treatment
usually involves a kind of cognitive-behavioral therapy called desensitization or exposure
therapy, in which patients are gradually exposed to what frightens them until the fear
begins to fade. Three-fourths of patients benefit significantly from this type of
treatment. Relaxation and breathing exercises also help reduce anxiety symptoms.
There is currently no proven drug treatment for specific phobias, but sometimes certain
medications may be prescribed to help reduce anxiety symptoms before someone faces a
phobic situation.
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