For example, let’s say, arachnophobia.
I’m pretty sure a lot of people are more or less a bit afraid of arachnids. Then at what point does this phenomenon count as “arachnophobia”? How does the effect of seeing images and videos differ from seeing them IRL? Do arachnophobic people react uncontrollably in some way in these situations?
Same logic applies to other types of phobias such as megalophobia or trypophobia etc.
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Specific phobias are anxiety disorders.
Most people are a little bit nervous in some social contexts, but it becomes an anxiety disorder when you’re paralysed with fear over even small social interactions. To get diagnosed it has to be something that negatively affects your life.
Same with specific phobias. Being a bit creeped out by spiders is normal. Being unable to enter a room because there’s a tiny harmless spider in the corner isn’t normal. If it affects your normal functioning you could get diagnosed with it.
Btw, worth pointing out since people sometimes make this mistake–homophobia and islamaphobia and so on are not specific phobias, they’re not anxiety disorders. You can’t be diagnosed with transphobia. We just use the same suffix for a different thing.
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