What is a phobia?
Phobias are persistent and intense fears of a particular:
object
person (like a doctor or clown)
situation
activity
If you have a phobia, you may experience severe anxiety and panic attacks when you’re:
exposed to the object or situation you’re fearful of
thinking about the thing you’re afraid of
anticipating an encounter with the item you’re scared of
4 points
I remember some news segment from my adolescence, where a journalist is conversing with an autistic person who is terrified to hold scissors or other sharp objects, as he “might drop them and accidentally cut off his reproductive organs”. He reiterates this several times during the conversation. I think about it often, and wish I could find it.
