It can be defined as intense, irrational and persistent anxiety about a specific object or situation such as a cat, dog, insect, spider, injection, seeing blood, traveling by plane, high places, and avoiding these situations.
Specific phobias are seen in 3 out of every 100 people in society. Many patients say that their fears have been present since childhood, while a few of them develop after adolescence.
The person knows that his fear is excessive or meaningless, but when he encounters the phobic situation, intense anxiety symptoms occur. The person's heart beats rapidly, his breath becomes short, his chest tightens, he trembles/sweats, he feels like fainting, he has a frequent urge to urinate... In the absence of this specific object or situation, he does not feel any discomfort.
People overestimate the danger of the object or situation they fear and underestimate their ability to cope. In order to protect himself from distress, he researches and determines in advance where and how these objects and situations may arise and avoids them accordingly.
Phobias to common objects or situations can restrict life greatly. Animals such as cats and dogs that can be frequently encountered on the street may prevent people from leaving home and going to work or entering a circle of friends where those animals may be present. A person with a phobia of flying may not be able to visit many places he wants to visit on holiday, or if he has to travel by plane frequently for work, he may refuse a job he really wants just because of fear.
In the cognitive model of cognitive behavioral therapy, information processing biases are emphasized and corrected or alternatives are developed, while in the behavioral model, gradual exposure (exposure) is practiced with the avoided stimulus in imaginary/symbolic or real life. Gradually comparing the highly motivated patient with the feared object or situation in a safe environment is usually sufficient. The use of medications in the treatment of specific phobia is quite limited.
References: fransizlape