Phobic Disorder or Phobia is a type of chronic anxiety disorder that manifests as an extreme irrational fear of an object or situation. People affected by phobia will experience significant distress unless they avoid the situation or object. Phobia can be delineated into three main categories: agoraphobia (perceive the environment outside of their home as unsafe), social phobia (fear in social settings) and specific phobia (irrational fear about specific objects or situations such as flying, heights, animals etc). People may experience instant panic attacks (palpitations, excessive sweating, shortness of breath, shaking) if they are exposed to their phobia. The fear can be extremely debilitating and people will go to extreme lengths to avoid the situation or object.
Cognitive behavioural therapy and exposure therapy have been proved to be effective in the treatment of phobic disorders.