Specific phobia or simple phobia is an irrational lasting fear that is caused by the presence or thought of a certain situation or object, even though there is no real need for fear. When In the presence of this object of situation a person with specific phobia will feel that they are in danger, with causing them intense anxiety. Specific phobia is usually broken down it to five groups Animal Type: These include fears of animals such as dogs, cats, spiders, bugs, mice, rats, birds, fish, and snakes. Natural Environment Type: These include fears of heights, storms, and being near water. Blood-Injection-Injury Type: These include fears of seeing blood, receiving a blood test or injection, watching medical procedures on television, and for some individuals, even just talking about medical procedures. Situational Type: These include fears of situations such as driving, flying, elevators, and enclosed places. And lastly other Type: These include other specific fears, including fears of choking or vomiting after eating certain foods, fears of balloons breaking or other loud sounds, or fears of clowns. As with all psychological disorders there is a prognosis for diagnosing specific phobia. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual provides specific diagnostic criteria for a specific phobia, the prognosis states that you must suffer symptoms for at least six months.  Excessive fear: A persistent and intense fear that is triggered by a specific object or situation. Immediate anxiety response: The fear reaction appears almost instantaneously when the object or situation is presented. The response may resemble a panic attack. Recognizing  that fear is irrational: this is mostly seen in adults who can realized while they still unconsciously fear something it is irrational, while children may not have this awareness. Avoidance: The person who suffers from the phobia  goes out of their way to avoid the object or situation, or endures it with extreme distress. Specific phobia also is diagnosed on whether it is life limiting or not, The phobia significantly impacts school, work or personal life.  The question of what exactly causes a specific phobia is uncertain, however it  is commonly believed that certain factors may increase the likelihood that a phobia will develop. Nature and Nurture are the two biggest factors for any psychological illness. Nature being your genetics, Research has shown that certain phobias may run in families. For example, twins who are raised separately, in different locations, may develop the same phobias. However, many people with phobias have no relatives with the condition. The other nurture is your surroundings, the cultural factors Some phobias occur only in certain cultural groups. It is markedly different from a traditional social phobia, in which the sufferer is afraid of being personally embarrassed on humiliated. It is therefore possible that culture plays some role in phobia development. The last factor which can contribute to a phobia is Life Experience, Many phobias are based in real-life events that may or may not be consciously remembered. A phobia of dogs, for example, may stem from being attacked as a small child. A social phobia may develop from teenage awkwardness or childhood bullying. There are also several risk factor that can also increase your chances, age. Social phobia’s usually develop during childhood, or before age 25. Specific phobias having to do with the environment or personal injury also first appear in childhood , usually as early as age 5. Fear of tunnels, elevators, bridges, flying, driving and other situational phobias usually develop by the mid-20s. A another risk factor is sex. Phobias affect both sexes, but women and girls are more likely to have specific or social phobias than are men and boys. Men and boys because of the nature are less likely to seek help for emotional problems than women and girls.