Specific Phobia

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.

(Source: NIMH, National Institute for Mental Health).