Sometimes, in everyday life, anything is called a phobia, however a phobia is a irrational fear of something that is unlikely to cause harm. The word itself comes from the Greek word phobosWhat does it mean fear or horror .
Hydrophobia, for example, literally translates to fear of water. Or acrophobia, which is fear of heights. Wave gamephobia what is the fear of marriage… many will use this concept in their vocabulary from today…
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The thing is that when someone has a phobia, they experience an intense fear of a certain object or situation.
Phobias are different from ordinary fears because they cause a significant distresspossibly interfering with life at home, work, or school.
people with phobias actively avoid the phobic object or situationor endure it with intense fear or anxiety.
Phobias are a type of anxiety disorder. And it should be noted that anxiety disorders are very common. In fact, it is estimated that they affect more than 30 percent of adults at some point in their lives.
Let’s take a look at the types of phobias, the causes, and how to combat them.
CLARIFICATION: You can read with peace of mind because, out of respect for those who have phobias, there are no photos in this article, so you will not find images of insects or animals or situations that may make you uncomfortable.
What are the most common phobias?
Most common phobias
In Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5), the American Psychiatric Association describes several of the most common phobias.
The agoraphobiaa fear of places or situations that trigger fear or helplessness, stands out as a particularly common fear with its own unique diagnosis.
The social phobiaswhich are fears related to social situations, are also highlighted with a single diagnosis.
Specific Phobias:
Specific phobias are a broad category of phobias unique ones related to specific objects and situations. Specific phobias affect approximately 12.5 percent of American adults.
Phobias come in all shapes and sizes. Because there are an infinite number of objects and situations, the list of specific phobias it is quite long.
According to the DSM, specific phobias generally fall into five general categories:
- fears related to animals (spiders, dogs, insects)
- fears related to natural environment (heights, thunder, darkness)
- fears related to blood, injuries, or medical problems (shots, broken bones, falls)
- fears related to specific situations (fly, ride an elevator, drive)
- others (choking, loud noises, drowning)
These categories encompass a number infinite number of specific objects and situations.
There is no official list of phobias beyond what is outlined in the DSM, so doctors and researchers make up names for them when the need arises. As usual, this is done by combining a Greek prefix (or sometimes Latin) describing the phobia with the suffix -phobia.
For example, a fear of water would be named by combining hydro (water and phobia (fear).
There is also the fear of fears (phobephobia). And beware that this phobia is actually more common than you imagine.
People with anxiety disorders sometimes experience panic attacks cwhen they are in certain situations. These panic attacks can be so uncomfortable that people go to great lengths to avoid them in the future.
For example, if you have an attack of panic while navigateyou may be afraid of sailing in the future, but you may also have fear of panic attacks or have fear of developing hydrophobia.
List of common phobias
Studying specific phobias is a complicated process. Most people do not seek treatment for these conditions, which is why most cases go unreported.
These phobias also vary according to the experiences culture, gender and age.
A 1998 survey of more than 8,000 respondents published in the British Journal of Psychiatry found that some of the most common phobias include:
acrophobiafear of heights
aerophobia fear to fly
arachnophobiafear of spiders
astraphobia fear of thunder and lightning
autophobia fear of being alone
claustrophobia fear of confined or crowded spaces
hemophobia fear of blood
hydrophobiaafraid of water
ophidiophobiafear of snakes
zoophobiafear of animals
unique phobias
Specific phobias tend to be incredibly specific. Some so much so that they can only affect a handful of people at a time.
These fears are difficult to identify because most people do not tell their doctors about unusual fears.
Examples of some of the more unusual phobias include:
alektorophobia fear of chickens
onomatophobiafear of names
pogonophobiafear of beards
nephrophobiafear of clouds
cryophobiafear of ice or cold
Other known phobias Do you have any?
Achluophobia afraid of the dark
Acrophobia Fear of heights
aerophobia Fear to fly
Algophobia fear of pain
Alektorophobia fear of chickens
Agoraphobia Fear of public spaces or crowds
Aichmophobia Fear of needles or sharp objects.
Amaxophobia Fear of traveling by car
Androphobia fear of men
anginophobia Fear of angina or choking
anthophobia fear of flowers
anthropophobia Fear of people or society
aphenphosphobia fear of being touched
arachnophobia fear of spiders
Arithmophobia fear of numbers
astraphobia Fear of thunder and lightning
ataxophobia Fear of clutter or clutter
atelophobia fear of imperfection
Atychiphobia Fear to fail
autophobia fear of being alone
Bacteriophobia fear of bacteria
barophobia fear of gravity
bathmophobia Fear of stairs or steep slopes.
batrachophobia fear of amphibians
belonephobia Fear of pins and needles
bibliophobia fear of books
Botanophobia fear of plants
cacophobia fear of ugliness
Catagelophobia Fear of being ridiculed
catophobia fear of mirrors
Quinophobia fear of snow
Chromophobia fear of colors
Chronometrophobia fear of clocks
Claustrophobia Fear of confined spaces
Coulrophobia Fear of clowns
cyberphobia fear of computers
Cynophobia fear of dogs
dendrophobia fear of trees
Dentophobia fear of dentists
Domatophobia fear of houses
Dystiphobia fear of accidents
ecophobia fear of home
Elurophobia fear of cats
entomophobia fear of insects
Ephebiphobia fear of teenagers
equinophobia fear of horses
Gamophobia fear of marriage
genuphobia fear of knees
Glossophobia Scared of speaking in public
gynophobia fear of women
Heliophobia afraid of the sun
hemophobia fear of blood
Herpetophobia fear of reptiles
Hydrophobia Afraid of water
Hypochondria fear of disease
Iatrophobia fear of doctors
Insectophobia fear of insects
Koinoniphobia Fear of crowded rooms
leukophobia Fear of the color white
Lilapsophobia Fear of tornadoes and hurricanes
lockiophobia Fear of childbirth
Mageirocophobia fear of cooking
megalophobia fear of big things
Melanophobia Fear of the color black
microphobia fear of little things
mysophobia Fear of dirt and germs
necrophobia Fear of death or dead things
Noctiphobia fear of the night
Nosocomephobia fear of hospitals
nyctophobia afraid of the dark
Obesophobia Fear of gaining weight
Octophobia fear of figure 8
ombrophobia fear of rain
ophidiophobia fear of snakes
ornithophobia fear of birds
papyrophobia fear of paper
pathophobia fear of disease
Pedophobia fear of children
philophobia Fear to love
Phobophobia fear of phobias
podophobia fear of feet
pogonophobia fear of beards
porphyrophobia Fear of the color purple
Pteridophobia fear of ferns
Pteromertanophobia Fear to fly
Pyrophobia fear of fire
Samhainophobia scary halloween
Scolionophobia fear of school
Selenophobia fear of the moon
sociophobia Fear of social evaluation
Somniphobia afraid to sleep
Tacophobia fear of speed
Technophobia fear of technology
Tonitrophobia fear of thunder
Trypanophobia Fear of needles or injections.
Venustraphobia Fear of beautiful women
Verminophobia fear of germs
Wiccaphobia Fear of witches and witchcraft
Xenophobia Fear of strangers or foreigners
zoophobia fear of animals
How to overcome or treat a phobia?
Phobias are usually treated like any anxiety disorder, that is, with a combination of therapy and medication.
If you want to find treatment for your phobia, you should make an appointment with a qualified psychologist or mental health professional.
The most effective treatment for specific phobias is a type of psychotherapy called exposure therapy. During exposure therapy, you work with a psychologist to learn how become desensitized to the object or situation that fears you.
This treatment helps you change your thoughts and feelings about the object or situation so that you can learn to control your reactions.
The goal is to improve your quality of life so that you no longer see hampered or distressed by their fear.
Exposure therapy is not as scary as it may seem at first. This process is done with the help of a qualified mental health professional who knows how to guide the patient slowly through increasing levels of exposure along with relaxation exercises.
If you are afraid of spiders, you will start by simply thinking of spiders or situations where you might find one. Then you can move on to images or videos. Then maybe go to a place where spiders might be, like a basement or wooded area.
It will be some time before being asked to look at or touch a spider.
The doctor may recommend certain medications to reduce anxiety that can help patients through exposure therapy. While these medications aren’t exactly a treatment for phobias, they can help exposure therapy be less distressing.
Medications that can help reduce uncomfortable feelings of anxiety, fear, and panic include beta blockers Y benzodiazepines .
The good: They have a solution and they overcome
In summary. Phobias are a persistent, intense, and unrealistic fear of a certain object or situation. Specific phobias are related to certain objects and situations. They typically involve fears related to animals, natural settings, medical issues, or specific situations.
Although phobias can be extremely uncomfortable and challenging, therapy and medications can help. If you think you may have a phobia that is causing a disruption in your life, talk to your doctor for an evaluation and treatment options.
You’ll be fine, because never forget that, as we said at the beginning, phobias are «irrational fears» that is, they only exist because you give them importance. But like everything in life it is possible to cope, overcome and overcome.