Is Xenophobia a Mental Disorder?
What brings about this argument is that phobias fall under the umbrella of anxiety disorders. [3] True phobias trigger anxiety symptoms when the thing you encounter is what you are afraid of, but it is seen that this is not usually the case, when it comes to xenophobia.
According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual Disorders (DSM-5) [4], Xenophobia is not recognized as a mental disorder. However, some psychologists and psychiatrists have suggested that extreme racism and prejudice should be recognized as a mental health problem.
Some people believe that prejudice only becomes pathological, when it creates a significant disruption in a person’s ability to function in daily life. This same category of people also argue that extreme forms of prejudice should be considered a subtype of delusional disorder. [5]
Many professionals believe that Xenophobia is a social problem and they categorize xenophobia or racism as sociology and psychology.