How is acrophobia diagnosed?

How is acrophobia diagnosed?

Acrophobia is diagnosed through a thorough series of questions about the person’s history, experiences and symptoms. Usually, you have to have had experienced persistent fear and anxiety of heights for at least six months in order to be diagnosed with acrophobia.

Your healthcare provider will likely use the criteria in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), a publication by the American Psychiatric Association, to diagnose acrophobia. Your provider will also rule out any other physical or mental health conditions that could be causing your symptoms.

In general, phobias have at least four criteria for diagnosis, including:

• Intense and unreasonable fear: The fear of the object or situation is persistent and out of proportion to an appropriate level of fear.
• Anticipatory anxiety: An individual who has a phobia tends to dwell on or dread future situations or experiences that will involve the object or situation they are afraid of.
• Avoidance: Many people who have a phobia will actively avoid the feared object or situation. Some go to extreme lengths to avoid the thing they are afraid of.
• The phobia interferes with day-to-day activities: The fear the individual experiences has to limit their everyday life in some way in order for it to be diagnosed as a phobia.