Phobias can range from the common, such as fear of flying, to the uncommon, like androphobia, or the fear of men. Read on the learn about causes, treatments and some of the common and uncommon phobias that people can be afflicted with.
What is a Phobia?
According to a recent study, almost 5% of the United States general population suffers from one or more phobias. Phobias are irrational fears, yet they are not a mental disease. Phobias probably stem from our natural, ingrained fear response to dangerous or stressful situations. A phobia can occur when the subconscious brain overreacts to a situation.
Phobias are generally a learned behavioral and emotional response to a past experience. Simply defined, a phobia is a subconscious emotional conflict within the mind, and is usually a learned behavioral response to a past trauma. Phobias happen when the mind lets past panic get in the way of a present-day, non-dangerous situation.
Common Phobias
Claustrophobia: This is the fear of being in small, enclosed spaces, such as cabinets, closets, or elevators.
Agoraphobia: The fear of unfamiliar or large open spaces. This can also be associated with the fear of being in the midst of a crowd. Shopping malls and city parks are common locations that can cause an agoraphobic person to react negatively.
Acrophobia: This is the fear of heights. Nature has programmed all of us to fear very high places, as a survival instinct. True acrophobia is the fear of all heights, even the second floor of a home or an office building.
Xenophobia: The fear of the unknown, including the fear of unfamiliar or strange places. Xenophobia also includes the fear of strangers.
Mysophobia: This is the fear of germs and dirt. A mysophobic person is not so much concerned with being clean as they are concerned with not picking up germs and unclean things.
Arachnophobia: The deep fear of spiders. This is not only the fear of a physical spider itself, but also of drawings of spiders, photographs or even the word spider itself.
Hydrophobia: The fear or water, whether it’s tap water from a faucet or large bodies of water, such as lakes, rivers and oceans. Hydrophobia is also closely associated with the fear of drowning.
Aerophobia: This fear of flying is quite common in modern society. This phobia includes all flying vehicles—helicopters, airplanes, even hang gliders.
Glossophobia: A common, widespread simple phobia or fear of public speaking, especially in front of large groups.
Hemaphobia: The fear of blood or bleeding. This can also include just the sight of blood, and often affects men more than women.
Autophobia: The fear of solitude or time spent alone. This can also be defined as the fear of being left alone, for short periods or a lifetime.
Cynophobia: The fear of dogs. This can be actual physical contact with a dog, or just walking by one in a pet shop or a neighbor’s yard. Even the sound of a dog barking can instill fear in a person who suffers from cynophobia.
Noctiphobia: This is the fear of the night and darkness. This phobia can be felt by those afflicted indoors with the lights off or when physically outdoors after the sun sets for the night.
Necrophobia: Fear of death, dying, and dead things themselves.