Main Features:
Some of the main features for a Specific Phobia in the fifth edition of the Diagnostic
and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders are:
- Marked
fear or anxiety about a specific object or situation
- Exposure
to the phobic stimulus almost always provokes an immediate fear or anxiety
response
- The fear
or anxiety is out of proportion to the actual danger posed by the specific
object or situation and to the sociocultural context.
- The phobic
situation(s) is avoided or else is endured with intense anxiety or
distress.
Categories of specific phobias:
- Animal
type – (e.g., fear of spiders, insects, dogs)
- Natural
environment type – (e.g., fear of heights (acrophobia), storms, water)
- Situational
type – (e.g., airplanes, elevators, enclosed places).
- Blood-injection-injury type
– (e.g., needles, invasive medical procedures)
- Other – (e.g.,
situations that may lead to choking or vomiting; in children, e.g., loud
sounds or costumed characters)
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