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Specific Phobia - Specific Phobia Symptom, Cause, Treatment
Children with Specific Phobia may express the anxiety response by clinging, crying, freezing or tantrums. They may not have insight that their fear is unreasonable or out of proportion. "Other Type" in children can include avoiding loud noises or people in costumes.
Specific Phobia
- The patient experiences a strong, persistent fear that is excessive or unreasonable. It is set off (cued) by a specific object or situation that is either present or anticipated.
- The phobic stimulus almost always immediately provokes an anxiety response, which may be either a panic attack or symptoms of anxiety that do not meet criteria for a panic attack.
- The fear is unreasonable or out of proportion, and the patient realizes this.*
- The patient either avoids the phobic stimulus or endures it with severe anxiety or distress.
- Patients under the age of 18 must have the symptoms for 6 months or longer.
- Either there is marked distress about this fear or it markedly interferes with the patient's usual routines or social, job or personal functioning.
- The symptoms are not better explained by a different mental disorder, including Anxiety Disorders,** Dysmorphic Disorder, Pervasive Developmental Disorder or Schizoid Personality Disorder.
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