Many of us have a phobia - an extreme or irrational fear - of something. Most of the time we can live with such fears, but in some cases they can take over a person's life. Luckily, help is at hand.
Dr Gill Jenkins last medically reviewed this article in July 2011.
A phobia is an intense fear or feeling of anxiety that occurs only in a particular situation that frightens you.
This might be something as seemingly logical as a fear of heights, or as illogical as a fear of the colour green. At other times you don't feel anxious. For example, if you have a phobia of spiders (as millions of people do), you only feel anxious when there's a spider around, otherwise you feel fine.
About one in ten people has a significant phobia, although few people seek treatment.
People develop phobias to all sorts of things. Each phobia has its own name. Some (of a very long list) include:
Phobias make people avoid situations they know will make them anxious, but this can make the phobia worse. A person's life can become increasingly dominated by the precautions they take to avoid a situation they fear. You may know there's no real danger and you may feel embarrassed by your fear, but you're still unable to control it. It's better to confront your fears, even if it's in a very careful way or with the help of a trained therapist.
A phobia is more likely to go away if it began after a distressing or traumatic event.
Cognitive behavioural therapy - a 'talking treatment' where you learn all about the thing or situation you are scared of and how to change your behaviour - has a high success rate in phobias. Your GP can refer you.
Antidepressant medications may also be used even if you aren't depressed. They work by interfering with brain chemicals (neurotransmitters) such as serotonin which may be involved in causing anxiety symptoms.
Anti-anxiety medication such as diazepam are rarely used, as they can be addictive, but may be offerred on ‘one-off’ occasions such as for people with flying phobias who have to take a flight for work or holiday.
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