Image: Wikimedia Commons

phobia

Anxiety disorder defined by a persistent and excessive fear of a concept, an object or a situation

Also known as medical phobia · phobic disorder · phobias

Specialty: psychiatry
, psychology

Overview

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia · Read full article · Text CC BY-SA 4.0

A phobia is an anxiety disorder, defined by an irrational, unrealistic, persistent and excessive fear of an object or situation. Phobias typically result in a rapid onset of fear and are usually present for more than six months. Those affected go to great lengths to avoid the situation or object, to a degree greater than the actual danger posed. If the object or situation cannot be avoided, they experience significant distress. Other symptoms can include fainting, which may occur in blood or injury phobia, and panic attacks, often found in agoraphobia and emetophobia. Around 75% of those with phobias have multiple phobias.

Overview

Treatments

1 linked to phobia in Wikidata

IImaginal ExposurePsychotherapy technique that uses guided mental imagery to repeatedly confront feared situations, memories, or beliefs in order to reduce emotional reactivity and avoidance.

All data

82 statements · 30% with external sources · numbers in brackets are citations

Subclass of: anxiety disorder
4
Sources
1.Stated in Monarch Disease Ontology release 2018-06-29Retrieved 2018-07-28
2.Stated in Canadian clinical practice guidelines for the management of anxiety, posttraumatic stress and obsessive-compulsive disorders
3.Stated in Internet-Delivered Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Major Depression and Anxiety Disorders: A Health Technology Assessment
4.Stated in Disease OntologyRetrieved 2020-11-30
View statement on Wikidata ↗
fear
1
Sources
1.Stated in Integrated Authority FileRetrieved 2021-05-28
View statement on Wikidata ↗
neurosis
2
Sources
1.Stated in Integrated Authority FileRetrieved 2021-05-28
2.Stated in Bibliothèque nationale de FranceRetrieved 2021-05-28
View statement on Wikidata ↗
ICPC 2 ID: P79
ICD-9-CM: 300.20
1
Sources
1.Stated in Disease OntologyRetrieved 2021-05-28
View statement on Wikidata ↗
Has effect: fear
Opposite of: philia
Possible treatment: psychotherapy
Different from: non-medical phobia
anxiety
Has list: list of phobias
Handled, mitigated, or managed by: exposure therapy
1
Sources
1.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/specific-phobias/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20355162
View statement on Wikidata ↗

On other databases

61 identifiers linking phobia across the web's reference databases

Data quality

statements

30%

externally sourced

Source last edited September 10, 2026. AIDB refreshes this page daily.

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AIDB. (2026). phobia (Q175854). Retrieved from https://aidb.si/e/phobia-Q175854