Phobia diagnostic criteria

• A. Marked fear or anxiety about a specific object or situation (e.g., flying, heights, animals, receiving an injection, seeing blood).

Note:In children, the fear or anxiety may be expressed by crying, tantrums, freezing, or clinging .

AND

• B. The phobic object or situation almost always provokes immediate fear or anxiety.

AND

• C. The phobic object or situation is actively avoided or endured with intense fear or anxiety.

AND

• D. The fear or anxiety is out of proportion to the actual danger posed by the specific object or situation and to the socio cultural context.

AND

• E. The fear, anxiety, or avoidance is persistent, typically lasting for 6 months or more.

AND

• F. The fear, anxiety, or avoidance causes clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning.

AND

• G. The disturbance is not better explained by the symptoms of another mental disorder,including fear, anxiety, and avoidance of situations associated with panic-like symptoms

or other incapacitating symptoms (as in agoraphobia): objects or situations related to obsessions (as in obsessive-compulsive disorder); reminders of traumatic events (as in posttraumatic stress disorder); separation from home or attachment figures (as in separation anxiety disorder); or social situations (as in social anxiety disorder).