Definition: A marked, persistent fear of a clearly discernable, circumscribed object or situation. Adult sufferers recognize that the fear is out of proportion to reality.
Specific phobias are grouped into five major categories: animal type, natural environment type, situational type, blood-injected-injury type and "other" type. A person may suffer more than one specific phobia simultaneously.
Source:American Psychiatric Association. (1994). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th Ed.). Washington, DC: Author.
Also Known As: Simple Phobia; Single Phobia
