Phobias are highly comorbid. Most comorbid simple and social phobias are temporally primary, while most comorbid agoraphobia is temporally secondary. Comorbid phobias are generally more severe than pure phobias. Despite evidence of role impairment in phobia, only a minority of individuals with phobia ever seek professional treatment. Phobias are common, increasingly prevalent, often associated with serious role impairment, and usually go untreated.
Focused research is needed to investigate barriers to help seeking.