A brief fear of something does not a phobia make. How long does the National Institute of Mental Health say you need to exhibit symptoms of a specific phobia before it becomes a clinical diagnosis?

If you exhibit symptoms of being very afraid of something specific, that causes you enough anxiety to avoid it, for a period of six months, that's a social anxiety disorder, or a phobia.

Asked by Tom Cohen · Last updated 5 years ago · 1.5K views