Phobias are unrelenting fears of activities (social phobias), situations (agoraphobia), and specific items (arachnophobia). There is thought to be a hereditary component to phobias, though there may be a cultural influence or they may be triggered by life events. Symptoms and signs of phobias include having a panic attack, shaking, breathing troubles, rapid heartbeat, and a strong desire to escape the situation. Treatment of phobias typically involves desensitization, cognitive behavioral therapy, and medications such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and beta-blockers.
Read more: Phobias ArticleMultimedia: Slideshows, Images & Quizzes
-
Anxiety Disorder Pictures: Symptoms, Panic Attacks, and More with Pictures
Learn about generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). See if your worries are normal or something more by learning about symptoms,...
-
What Are Phobias? Agoraphobia, Social Anxiety Disorder, Other Fears
What are you afraid of? Learn about phobias such as agoraphobia, claustrophobia, arachnophobia, zoophobia, and more. Discover...
-
PTSD Quiz: Test your IQ of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
Can you have PTSD even if you've never been to war? Take the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Quiz to learn about PTSD, who gets it,...
QUESTION
Panic attacks are repeated attacks of fear that can last for several minutes. See AnswerRelated Disease Conditions
-
Cancer
Cancer is a disease caused by an abnormal growth of cells, also called malignancy. It is a group of 100 different diseases, and is not contagious. Cancer can be treated through chemotherapy, a treatment of drugs that destroy cancer cells.
-
Stress
Stress is a normal part of life, but chronic or severe stress can be harmful to your health. Learn what happens in your body when you are stressed and how you can manage your response.
-
Anxiety
Anxiety is a feeling of apprehension and fear characterized by symptoms such as trouble concentrating, headaches, sleep problems, and irritability. Anxiety disorders are serious medical illnesses that affect approximately 19 million American adults. Treatment for anxiety may incorporate medications and psychotherapy.
-
Panic Attacks
Panic attacks are sudden feelings of terror that strike without warning. These episodes can occur at any time, even during sleep. A person experiencing a panic attack may believe that he or she is having a heart attack or that death is imminent. The fear and terror that a person experiences during a panic attack are not in proportion to the true situation and may be unrelated to what is happening around them. Most people with panic attacks experience several of the following symptoms: racing heartbeat, faintness, dizziness, numbness or tingling in the hands and fingers, chills, chest pains, difficulty breathing, and a feeling of loss or control. There are several treatments for panic attacks.
-
Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse
Alcoholism is a disease that includes alcohol craving and continued drinking despite repeated alcohol-related problems, such as losing a job or getting into trouble with the law. It can cause myriad health problems, including cirrhosis of the liver, birth defects, heart disease, stroke, psychological problems, and dementia. Counseling and a few medications can be effective for alcoholism treatment.
-
Bipolar Disorder in Children, Teen, and Adults
Bipolar disorder (or manic depression) is a mental illness characterized by depression, mania, and severe mood swings. Treatment may incorporate mood-stabilizer medications, antidepressants, and psychotherapy.
-
Mental Health
Mental health is an optimal way of thinking, relating to others, and feeling. All of the diagnosable mental disorders fall under the umbrella of mental illness. Depression, anxiety, and substance-abuse disorders are common types of mental illness. Symptoms and signs of mental illness include irritability, moodiness, insomnia, headaches, and sadness. Treatment may involve psychotherapy and medication.
-
Post-traumatic Stress Disorder
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a psychiatric condition, can develop after any catastrophic life event. Symptoms include nightmares, flashbacks, sweating, rapid heart rate, detachment, amnesia, sleep problems, irritability, and exaggerated startle response. Treatment may involve psychotherapy, group support, and medication.
-
Agoraphobia
Agoraphobia is a fear of being outside or of being in a situation from which escape would be impossible. Symptoms include anxiety, fear, disorientation, rapid heartbeat, diarrhea, or dizziness. Treatment may incorporate psychotherapy, self-exposure to the anxiety-causing situation, and medications such as SSRIs, benzodiazepines, and beta-blockers.
-
Separation Anxiety
Separation anxiety disorder is a common childhood anxiety disorder that has many causes. Infants, children, older kids and adults can suffer from symptoms of separation anxiety disorder. Common separation anxiety treatment methods include therapy and medications. Factors that contribute to how quickly or successfully a child moves past separation anxiety by preschool age include how well the parent and child reunite, the skills the child and adult have at coping with the separation, and how well the adult responds to the infant's separation issues. For example, children of anxious parents tend to be anxious children.
-
What Triggers Claustrophobia?
Claustrophobia is a common anxiety disorder that affects many people. Learn the signs of claustrophobia, what triggers it, how doctors diagnose it, and what you can do to treat it.
-
What Are the Top 10 Phobias?
A phobia is a strong, irrational fear of something that poses little or no actual danger. It is a type of anxiety disorder. A phobia is a persistent, excessive, unrealistic fear of an object, person, animal, activity, or situation.
-
Williams Syndrome
Williams syndrome is a developmental disorder that affects many parts of the body. Signs, symptoms, characteristics and features may include intellectual disability, learning problems, unique personality characteristics, distinctive facial features, and heart and blood vessel problems. Williams syndrome is a genetic condition that involves chromosome 7.
-
What Is it Called When You Have a Fear of the Dark?
An extreme fear of the dark is called nyctophobia. The affected person may have an unreasonable concern of darkness and dark places.
-
A Therapist's List of Top Ten Phobias
A phobia is a strong, irrational fear of something that poses little or no actual danger. It is also a type of anxiety disorder. A phobia is a persistent, excessive, unrealistic fear of an object, person, animal, activity or a situation. The top ten phobias include social phobia, claustrophobia, zoophobia, brontophobia, acrophobia, blood, injury and infection phobia, aerophobia, atychiphobia, thanatophobia and nosophobia.
Treatment & Diagnosis
Medications & Supplements
- Beta Blockers (Drug Class, List of Brand and Generic Names)
- Lexapro (escitalopram)
- Citalopram
- Anxiolytics (for Anxiety) Drug Class Side Effects
- Zoloft (sertraline)
- lorazepam
- Cymbalta vs. Wellbutrin Comparison
- alprazolam (Xanax)
- fluoxetine (Prozac, Sarafem, Prozac Weekly)
- clonazepam (Klonopin)
- fluvoxamine (Luvox)
- diazepam (Valium, Diastat, Acudial, Diastat Pediatric, Diazepam Intensol)
- paroxetine (Paxil, Pexeva)
- propranolol, Inderal, Inderal LA, Innopran XL
- Zoloft (sertraline) vs. Wellbutrin (bupropion)
- Klonopin (clonazepam) vs. Xanax (alprazolam)
- benzodiazepines-oral
Prevention & Wellness
- Are You Just a Worrywart or Is It Something More?
- Health Tip: Understanding Exposure Therapy
- Health Tip: Understanding Phobias
- Virtual Reality Therapy Edges Out Fear of Heights
- What Are Today's Americans Afraid Of?
- Spiders' Size Exagerrated in Minds of Those Who Fear Them
- Too Much 'Feel Good' Brain Chemical May Trigger Social Phobia
- Could Smoggy Air Raise Your Anxiety Level?
- Health Tip: Why People Seek Counseling
- Behavioral Therapy Deemed Best for Social Phobia
- Sudden Death of Loved One Can Trigger Mental Health Issues
- Teens' Mental Disorders Often Untreated in U.S., Study Finds
- Weather Worries Can Threaten a Child's Mental Health
- Is Your Little One Scared of Santa?
- Science Reveals Secrets of Hypnosis
- Want to Beat Spider Phobia? Talk About It
- Phobic Anxiety May Link to Premature Aging
- Fear of Childbirth Linked to Longer Labor, Study Says
- Spider Phobia: Brain Scan Shows Cure in 1 Session
- Phobia Makes Spiders Appear Larger Than They Are: Study
- Talk Therapy May Help Treat Social Anxiety
From 
Mental Health Resources
Featured Centers
Health Solutions From Our Sponsors
Subscribe to MedicineNet's Depression Newsletter
By clicking "Submit," I agree to the MedicineNet Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy. I also agree to receive emails from MedicineNet and I understand that I may opt out of MedicineNet subscriptions at any time.