Barbara Rothbaum, Ph.D., Emory University
Question: What are the symptoms of a 'specific' phobia?
Answer: Specific phobia is characterized by avoidance and anxiety. People avoid what they're scared of or they endure it with great anxiety, and the anxiety that they experience is excessive. All of this avoidance and anxiety then interferes with their life and their normal functioning.
Typical specific phobias include the fear of heights, the fear of snakes, sometimes the fear of public speaking or fear of airplanes. But very often if people experience some anxiety, and they don't avoid it, it's normal and not considered a phobia.
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