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.
In: 0
ETA: I did a bad job explaining, so I’m replacing my answer with something more precise.
tl;dr – It’s way more severe than just being afraid.
* Phobias are **anxiety disorders**. As others have pointed out, to meet the definition of *disorder* it has to be bad enough to cause significant distress and interfere with your life. A true phobia might cause you to lose relationships or jobs, affect your health, etc.
* Phobias involve *excessive fear of an object or situation.* ELI5 keyword: **excessive*****.*** This is what helps distinguish it from garden-variety fear. The average person might be apprehensive about spiders, but can typically control that reaction long enough to smash or relocate said spider outdoors. Many people can ignore it entirely if it’s confirmed to be a harmless variety. A phobic person will go to great lengths to avoid the object of their fear, to an unjustified extent.
* If it cannot be avoided they experience **significant distress**. We’re talking physiological manifestations: fight-or-flight symptoms like sweating, racing heartrate/hyperventilation, nausea, fainting, panic attacks, etc.
Latest Answers