How Common Are Phobias? How Are They Treated?
Phobias are the most common mental disorder in the United States, with about 10% of the population suffering from some sort of phobia. (That’s about as many people, it’s estimated, as are left-handed!) The good news is, according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, only about 10 percent of reported cases become life-long phobias, meaning that 9 out of 10 sufferers do find relief from their phobias, or the phobias just go away. There are certainly transitory, mild phobias in childhood, which can be triggered by something like seeing a graphic video or photographic image.
