Source: # Specific phobias – one type of anxiety *From the book – Chapter 8: Anxiety Disorders* ## Specific phobias Main feature: marked fear or anxiety about a specific object or situation (heights, flying, animals, blood, injections, enclosed spaces, storms). Characteristics: fear is out of proportion to actual danger; the situation is avoided or endured with intense anxiety; the fear causes significant distress or impairment. Phobias are common and highly treatable, often with exposure-based therapy. [Read the full chapter – Chapter 8: Anxiety Disorders](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/chapter/8/) ## Stories from real life - [The Night My Heart Raced](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/story/the-night-my-heart-raced-28/) – Arjun, twenty-nine, was in a crowded Mumbai local train when his heart suddenly pounded, his hands tingled, his chest tightened and he felt sure he was… - [What If Tonight Goes Wrong?](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/story/what-if-tonight-goes-wrong-29/) – Meera is a forty-two-year-old mother in Hyderabad who cannot remember the last day she did not worry. What if her son fails? What if her husband's… - [The Back Row](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/story/the-back-row-30/) – Tomás, nineteen, studies engineering in Lisbon. He is clever, but he sits at the back of every class, never asks a question and hurries out. Eating… - [The Lizard on the Wall](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/story/the-lizard-on-the-wall-31/) – Sunita, thirty-eight, lives in a village near Nashik and cares for her family with great energy, except when a lizard appears. Last month one dropped near… ## Shloks - [Bhagavad Gita 6.34](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/shloka/bhagavad-gita-6-34-19/) – The mind is restless, agitating, strong and stubborn. To hold it, I think, is as hard as to hold the wind. More on this topic: [Anxiety, panic attacks and fear – signs, causes and what helps](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/topic/anxiety/) ## More questions - [Agoraphobia – one type of anxiety](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/answers/agoraphobia-one-type-of-anxiety/) - [Separation anxiety disorder – one type of anxiety](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/answers/separation-anxiety-disorder-one-type-of-anxiety/) - [Selective mutism – one type of anxiety](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/answers/selective-mutism-one-type-of-anxiety/) - [What causes anxiety?](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/answers/what-causes-anxiety/) - [Understanding anxiety and the body](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/answers/understanding-anxiety-and-the-body/) - [How is anxiety treated?](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/answers/how-is-anxiety-treated/) - [Psychological therapies in the treatment of anxiety](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/answers/psychological-therapies-in-the-treatment-of-anxiety/) - [Medicines in the treatment of anxiety](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/answers/medicines-in-the-treatment-of-anxiety/) - [Lifestyle and self-help — support, do not replace, professional treatment in the treatment of anxiety](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/answers/lifestyle-and-self-help-support-do-not-replace-professional-treatment-in-the-tre/) - [Anxiety in children and adolescents – what to know about anxiety](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/answers/anxiety-in-children-and-adolescents-what-to-know-about-anxiety/) - [How to calm anxiety – simple techniques for daily life](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/answers/how-to-calm-anxiety/) - [Is it normal worry or an anxiety disorder?](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/answers/normal-worry-or-anxiety-disorder/) [myadvisorfriend@gmail.com](mailto:myadvisorfriend@gmail.com) · [Contact](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/contact/) · [About](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/about/) · [Privacy](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/privacy/) · [Disclaimer](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/disclaimer/) --- *Psychology for Everyone – A Mental Well Being Series* by Satish Zope · free to read · Contact: [myadvisorfriend@gmail.com](mailto:myadvisorfriend@gmail.com) · [About](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/about/) · [Privacy](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/privacy/) · [Disclaimer](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/disclaimer/)