| || | Diseases and Conditions What Is It? A phobia is a
persistent, excessive, unrealistic fear of an object, person,
animal, activity or situation. It is a type of anxiety disorder.
A person with a phobia either tries to avoid the thing that
triggers the fear, or endures it with great anxiety and
distress. Some phobias are very specific and limited. For
example, a person may fear only spiders (arachnophobia) or cats
(galeophobia). In this case, the person lives relatively free of
anxiety by avoiding the thing he or she fears. Some phobias
cause trouble in a wider variety of places or situations. For
example, symptoms of acrophobia (fear of heights) can be
triggered by looking out the window of an office building or by
driving over a high bridge. The fear of confined spaces
(claustrophobia) can be triggered by riding in an elevator or by
using a small restroom. People with these phobias may need to
alter their lives drastically. In extreme cases, the phobia may
dictate the person's employment, job location,