Anxiety disorders are characterized by excessive and persistent fear and anxiety. Anxiety disorders are common in the United States affecting between 25% to 30% of the adult population (Ciccarelli & White, 2021). According to DSM-5, anxiety disorders include specific phobia, social anxiety disorder, panic disorder, and general anxiety disorder (Ciccarelli & White, 2021). This discussion post will expound more on specific phobias. Specific phobia describes the fear of a specific object, item, or animal. It could include the fear of heights, insects, enclosed spaces, dogs, and snakes, among many others. Despite a realization that their phobia is irrational, people with a specific phobia go to great lengths to avoid their phobia stimulus. Specific phobias are common in the US because at least twelve percent of the adult population meets the criteria for a specific phobia at some point in their lives.
Specific phobias develop as a result of classical conditioning, vicarious learning, and verbal transmission. In classical conditioning, a previously neutral stimulus produces a conditional response when paired with an unconditional response (Oar et al., 2019). For example, an individual who was previously bitten by a dog may develop a fear of dogs because of their experience with dogs. In vicarious learning, a child who observes someone bitten by a dog develops a fear of dogs. On verbal transmission, a child whose parents tell them how fearful and disgusting spiders are may develop a fear of spiders. To be diagnosed with a specific phobia, one must exhibit several symptoms, including excessive fear, panic, and anxiety. The excessive fear and anxiety must cause significant distress and persist for more than two weeks. Specific phobias harm the physical, emotional, and social well-being of an individual.
Due to fear and anxiety, people with specific phobias take extreme measures to avoid situations that could trigger their fear which leads to them becoming social outcasts. Other illnesses such as heart disease, high blood pressure, and others are comorbid with specific phobias affecting the physical health of an individual. Finally, specific phobia is also comorbid with other mental health disorders, such as major depressive disorder, further exacerbating the deterioration of an individual’s mental well-being.
Reference
Ciccarelli, S. K., & White, J. N. (2021). Psychology. Pearson.
Oar, E. L., Farrell, L. J., & Ollendick, T. H. (2019). Specific phobia. Pediatric Anxiety Disorders, 127–150.