A phobia is an extreme, irrational fear of situations, objects, activities, or persons where the fear is far out of proportion to the actual danger or harm that is possible. It is classified as a type of anxiety disorder, as anxiety is the main symptom. Many people have some irrational fears, but for most, the fear is not strong enough to be a problem. After a short time it is overridden by rational thinking. 

 

Severe phobia sufferers have fully-fledged panic attacks with all the associated disabling symptoms, even loss of consciousness. If you have a phobia, you will go to extreme lengths to avoid an object or situation that most people consider harmless. Coming into contact, or even the thought of coming into contact, with the object of the phobia makes you become overwhelmed with extreme feelings of anxiety, fear, and even panic. In fact, if you have a phobia, you probably realise your fear is unreasonable, yet you still can’t control it.