Introduction to Specific Phobias, Social Anxiety Disorder, and Separation Anxiety Disorder

What you’ll learn to do: describe the features and characteristics of specific phobias, social anxiety disorder, and separation anxiety disorder

Woman peeking out behind a spider web in fear with the text that arachnophobia (fear of spiders) is one of the most common phobias

In this section, we’ll examine more types of anxiety disorders, including specific phobias such as arachnophobia (fear of spiders) or ophidiophobia (fear of snakes) and anxiety connected to social situations (similar to agoraphobia) such as social anxiety and separation anxiety. We’ll specifically learn about each of the following anxiety disorders:

  • phobia: specific unrealistic fear
  • social anxiety: extreme fear and avoidance of social situations
  • separation anxiety: fear and discomfort when separated from an attached caregiver