GoodRx Guide
Phobias: Your GoodRx Guide
Comprehensive information for you or a loved one — including treatment options and discounts on popular medications.
What are specific phobias?
A specific phobia is a type of anxiety disorder that causes a strong, persistent fear of a particular object, situation, activity, or place. Phobias are the most common type of anxiety disorder, affecting up to 12% of U.S. adults.
A phobia is more than just fear. Phobias can cause extreme distress, to the point where it can disrupt your daily life. Some people even take drastic measures to avoid their phobia — like changing jobs, daily habits, or social activities.
There are hundreds of different types of specific phobias. They fall into five different categories:
Animal phobias, like spiders, chickens, or dogs
Natural environment phobias, like storms, heights, or water
Medical phobias, like blood, needles, or medical procedures
Situational phobias, like airplanes, elevators, or enclosed spaces
Other phobias, like loud noises, clowns, or costumed characters
Each phobia has its own name, like acrophobia (fear of heights) or claustrophobia (fear of enclosed spaces). Some phobias are easier to avoid, like clowns or cats. But some people have phobias that are almost impossible to avoid completely, like elevators or heights
What causes phobias?
We don’t know exactly what causes phobias. It’s likely a combination of your biology, psychology, and your environment.
Whether or not you will develop a phobia may depend on your:
Family history: If you have a family member with a phobia, you may be more likely to have one yourself. There’s some evidence that phobias could be inherited (in your DNA). Phobias also might be caused by watching how your family members react to certain objects and situations.
Your personality: You may be more likely to develop a phobia if you are sensitive to certain objects and situations.
Brain function: Certain patterns of activity in your brain may make you more likely to develop a phobia — especially after a scary or life-threatening event.
Life experiences: Traumatic life experiences can sometimes lead to a phobia. These can be experiences that happen to you or that you see (or hear about) happening to someone else.
Women are twice as likely as men to have a phobia. And though phobias can show up at any age, they usually begin in childhood.
Phobia symptoms
If you have a phobia, encountering your phobia trigger probably causes a strong physical and emotional reaction. This is true for all phobias — no matter which type you have.
If you have a phobia, here’s how you might respond when you encounter your trigger:
You feel scared and panicked.
Your heart starts to beat faster or irregularly.
You feel like you are having trouble breathing.
You start to shake and tremble.
You feel an urgent desire to get away.
Children with phobias might also express their fear by:
Crying
Throwing a tantrum
Freezing in place
Clinging to an adult
Related Health Conditions
How are phobias diagnosed?
Having a fear of spiders or heights can be annoying, but it’s not considered a phobia unless the fear starts to disrupt your daily life.
To be diagnosed with a phobia, you also need to have these characteristics:
You have a lot of fear or anxiety about a specific object or situation (your phobia trigger).
You almost always feel immediately scared or anxious when you encounter your phobia trigger.
Your fear and anxiety are out of proportion to any actual danger or are greater than most people would experience in a similar situation.
You try to avoid your phobia trigger as much as possible. If you can’t avoid it, the encounter causes you a lot of fear and anxiety.
You’ve been scared of — or have tried to avoid — the same object or situation for at least 6 months.
Your fear, anxiety, or avoidance makes it hard for you to do your daily activities.
Your symptoms aren’t caused by another medical or mental health condition.
If you think you might have a phobia, reach out to your healthcare provider. They can talk with you about your symptoms and make a diagnosis of phobia. Your provider can also help rule out other mental health conditions that may look similar to phobias — like social anxiety disorder, OCD, or PTSD.
Best treatment for phobias
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) with exposure is the first-choice treatment for specific phobias. It’s a type of therapy that helps you understand how your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors affect each other. Exposure gives you practice testing new ways to manage the fear caused by your phobia.
With your therapist, you will be gradually exposed to your triggers — either in person, in your imagination, or possibly even in a virtual reality environment. The goal is to change how you respond to your anxiety and stop your phobia from controlling your life.
Most people with a specific phobia get better if they are able to complete exposure therapy. This is because exposure therapy helps you become less sensitive to your feared phobia trigger over time.
Medications for phobias
Medications aren’t usually used for specific phobias, as therapy is much more effective.
In some cases, your healthcare provider might prescribe a short-term medication, like a benzodiazepine or propranolol. These medications are usually only used when therapy isn’t an option or if you haven’t been in therapy long enough for it to help yet.
Many people with phobias can also have other mental health conditions, like major depressive disorder or panic disorder. If you do have another condition, your provider might recommend starting an antidepressant. Antidepressants can help manage symptoms like depression, panic, and anxiety.
Living with a phobia
Living with a specific phobia can be challenging. In addition to therapy, here are some ideas for supporting yourself:
Talk with friends and family about your condition.
Connect with a support group, either in person or online.
Educate yourself about phobias.
Build (and use!) a support network.
Use breathing and other relaxation techniques.
Look for courses designed to support people with phobias (often offered by zoos or airlines).
And remember: Most phobias get better with the right treatment.
Common concerns
Social anxiety disorder (previously called social phobia) is a mental health condition that causes ongoing, intense fear of being judged by other people. You may avoid social situations or have a hard time making friends or meeting new people. Performance anxiety — a fear of performing in front of others — is a specific type of social anxiety disorder.
Looking for more information? Check out this GoodRx article about social anxiety disorder.
Agoraphobia is a complex phobia with its own set of symptoms. It causes you to fear being in a public, crowded, enclosed, or open place where you can’t escape or can’t get help if you need it. For example, public transportation, or going into a store can lead to severe anxiety. Agoraphobia can also make you feel scared to leave your home alone. People with agoraphobia try to avoid these situations, to the point where it interferes with work, school, or relationships.
References
American Psychiatric Association. (2021). What are anxiety disorders?
American Psychological Association. (2017). What is exposure therapy?
American Psychological Association. (ND). Performance anxiety. APA Dictionary of Psychology.
Anxiety & Depression Association of America. (2021). Facts & statistics.
Balaram, K., et al. (2021). Agoraphobia. StatPearls.
Barnhill, J. (2020). Specific phobic disorders. Merck Manual Professional Version.
Garcia, R. (2017). Neurobiology of fear and specific phobias. Learning & Memory.
Kaplan, J. (2011). Exposure therapy for anxiety disorders. Psychiatric Times.
Lexico. (2021). A strange list of phobias.
National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. (2021). Relaxation techniques: What you need to know.
National Health Service. (2018). Treatment — phobias.
National Institute of Mental Health. (2016). Social anxiety disorder: more than just shyness.
Thng, C., et al. (2020). Recent developments in the intervention of specific phobia among adults: A rapid review. F1000 Research.
Van Houtem, C.M.H.H., et al. (2013). A review and meta-analysis of the heritability of specific phobia subtypes and corresponding fears. Journal of Anxiety Disorders.
Wolitzky-Taylor, K. B., et al. (2008). Psychological approaches in the treatment of specific phobias: A meta-analysis. Clinical Psychology Review.
