Editing Phobia (section)

== Prognosis ==
Outcomes vary widely among the phobic anxiety disorders. There is a possibility that remission occurs without intervention but relapses are common. Response to treatment as well as remission and relapse rates are impacted by the severity of an individual's disorder as well as how long they have been experiencing symptoms. For example, in social anxiety disorder (social phobia) a majority of individuals will experience remission within the first couple of years of symptom onset without specific treatment. On the other hand, in Agoraphobia as few as 10% of individuals are seen to reach complete remission without treatment.<ref name="DSM5Social" /> A study looking at the 2 year remission rates for anxiety disorders found that those with multiple anxieties were less likely to experience remission.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Hendriks SM, Spijker J, Licht CM, Beekman AT, Penninx BW | title = Two-year course of anxiety disorders: different across disorders or dimensions? | journal = Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica | volume = 128 | issue = 3 | pages = 212–221 | date = September 2013 | pmid = 23106669 | doi = 10.1111/acps.12024 | s2cid = 8009247 }}</ref>

=== Specific phobia ===
The majority of those that develop a specific phobia first experience symptoms in childhood. Often individuals will experience symptoms periodically with periods of remission before complete remission occurs. However, specific phobias that continue into adulthood are likely to experience a more chronic course. Specific phobias in older adults has been linked with a decrease in quality of life. Those with specific phobias are at an increased risk of suicide. Greater impairment is found in those that have multiple phobias.<ref name="DSM5" /> Response to treatment is relatively high but many do not seek treatment due to lack of access, ability to avoid phobia, or unwilling to face feared object for repeated CBT sessions.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = de Vries YA, Harris MG, Vigo D, Chiu WT, Sampson NA, Al-Hamzawi A, Alonso J, Andrade LH, Benjet C, Bruffaerts R, Bunting B, Caldas de Almeida JM, de Girolamo G, Florescu S, Gureje O, Haro JM, Hu C, Karam EG, Kawakami N, Kovess-Masfety V, Lee S, Moskalewicz J, Navarro-Mateu F, Ojagbemi A, Posada-Villa J, Scott K, Torres Y, Zarkov Z, Nierenberg A, Kessler RC, de Jonge P | display-authors = 6 | title = Perceived helpfulness of treatment for specific phobia: Findings from the World Mental Health Surveys | journal = Journal of Affective Disorders | volume = 288 | pages = 199–209 | date = June 2021 | pmid = 33940429 | pmc = 8154701 | doi = 10.1016/j.jad.2021.04.001 }}</ref>

=== Comorbidities ===
Many of those with a phobia often have more than one phobia. There are also a number of psychological and physiological disorders that tend to occur or coexist at higher rates among this population. As with all anxiety disorders the most common psychiatric condition to occur with a phobia is major depressive disorder.<ref name=":1">{{cite journal | vauthors = Penninx BW, Pine DS, Holmes EA, Reif A | title = Anxiety disorders | language = English | journal = Lancet | volume = 397 | issue = 10277 | pages = 914–927 | date = March 2021 | pmid = 33581801 | doi = 10.1016/S0140-6736(21)00359-7 | pmc = 9248771 | s2cid = 231885253 }}</ref> Additionally bipolar disorder, substance dependence disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and post traumatic stress disorder have also been found to occur in those with phobias at higher rates.