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    Specific phobia

    特定恐惧症

    Clinical diagnosis
    Also called
    simple phobia, phobia, fear of heights, acrophobia, claustrophobia, blood-injection-injury phobia

    How is a specific phobia different from ordinary fear?

    Specific phobia is marked fear, out of proportion to the real danger, that reliably arises when facing or expecting a particular object or situation, such as certain animals, heights, enclosed spaces or blood; the person avoids it or endures it with intense fear.[1] Unlike ordinary fear, it lasts months and causes clear distress or impairment.[1]

    Lifetime prevalence (%), adults in 22 countries

    The six add up to more than 7.4%: many people fear more than one kind.

    Data: Wardenaar et al. (2017), Tables 1 and 2; weighted percentages for DSM-IV diagnoses, surveys 2001–2011. Not a self-test.

    Select a bar or card for details.
    Data chart: lifetime prevalence of specific phobia and of six kinds of fear in 25 World Mental Health surveys across 22 countries (124,902 adults), on one scale. The card above sets out the threshold from ordinary fear to diagnosis; the card below covers treatment. Select a part for details. Select a part for details
    Data chart: lifetime prevalence of specific phobia and of six kinds of fear in 25 World Mental Health surveys across 22 countries (124,902 adults), on one scale. The card above sets out the threshold from ordinary fear to diagnosis; the card below covers treatment. Select a part for details. Save as image (PNG)

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    Key points

    • DSM lists five types: animal, natural environment (heights, storms), blood-injection-injury, situational (flying, enclosed spaces) and other (such as vomiting).[2] Most people fear more than one thing.[1]
    • Most triggers cause a racing heart and alarm, but people who fear blood, injections or injury may have a vasovagal response and faint.[1] Fear of animals or blood often brings disgust.[1]
    • In surveys across 22 countries, lifetime prevalence was 7.4% and 12-month prevalence 5.5%, about twice as high in women; lifetime rates were 2.6% in Beijing and Shanghai and 4.0% in Shenzhen.[2]
    • Germany’s S3 guideline recommends exposure-based CBT; most trials used a single 1- to 3-hour session, and it worked. Drug studies are scarce, so behavioral treatment comes first.[3]

    An example

    Lin has dodged the blood test at her work checkup for three years: last time she saw the needle, her vision went dark and she nearly fainted. She knows a blood draw is safe, yet the thought makes her heart race. Whether this amounts to a phobia depends on whether it persists and disrupts life; a professional can assess it.[1]

    Misreadings and limits

    This page is not for self-diagnosis. Wariness of real danger is normal, and young children’s fear of dogs or the dark is often part of development; only fear that is clearly excessive, lasts months and disrupts life may be a phobia.[1] If fear keeps you from medical care, travel or work, a doctor or therapist can help; exposure often works within a few sessions.[3]

    If you need help now

    If you’re struggling to cope or having thoughts of harming yourself:

    If you’re in immediate danger, call your local emergency number.

    Psyfield is not a crisis service. Numbers checked October 2026.

    Sources

    1. 1 World Health Organization (2025). 6B03 Specific phobia. ICD-11 for mortality and morbidity statistics (2025-01 release). View source
    2. 2 Wardenaar, K. J., Lim, C. C. W., Al-Hamzawi, A. O., Alonso, J., Andrade, L. H., Benjet, C., Bunting, B., de Girolamo, G., Demyttenaere, K., Florescu, S. E., Gureje, O., Hisateru, T., Hu, C., Huang, Y., Karam, E., Kiejna, A., Lepine, J. P., Navarro-Mateu, F., Oakley Browne, M., … de Jonge, P. (2017). The cross-national epidemiology of specific phobia in the World Mental Health Surveys. Psychological Medicine, 47(10), 1744–1760. doi:10.1017/S0033291717000174
    3. 3 Bandelow, B., Werner, A. M., Kopp, I., Rudolf, S., Wiltink, J., & Beutel, M. E. (2022). The German Guidelines for the treatment of anxiety disorders: First revision. European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience, 272(4), 571–582. doi:10.1007/s00406-021-01324-1

    Last checked against sources: October 28, 2026