An emotion all people experience and is a natural response to potentially dangerous stimuli.
Phobias are characterised by uncontrollable, extreme and irrational behaviour, and enduring these fears evokes high anxiety levels that are out of proportion to any actual risk.
Approximately 5 to 10 percent of the population in the UK have some form of phobia, this means that it is the most common mental disorder.
What are the three types of phobias?
Specific, social and agoraphobia
What is a specific phobia?
When sufferers are anxious in the presence of a particular object or specific situation.
What is the most common category of phobia?
Specific
What is social phobia?
When sufferers have an inappropriate level of anxiety in social situations, it can be triggered during a performance,interaction or even when just thinking about the situations. This results in avoidance of these situations that can have a detrimental effect on their quality of life.
Social phobia is estimated to occur in about 3 to 7 percent of the population and usually begins in adolescence.
What is agoraphobia?
Sufferers are anxious when they leave home or a safe place and are in a situation they cannot easily leave, such as when they are in an open space or in a crowd.
