Psychological Phobias

Acrophobia - Known by a number of names - Acrophobia, Altophobia, and Fear of Heights being the most common. Acrophobia can be dangerous, as sufferers can experience a panic attack in a high place and become too agitated to get themselves down safely. Like all fears and phobias, altophobia is created by the unconscious mind as a protective mechanism. At some point in your past, there was likely an event linking heights or high levels and emotional trauma. Vertigo is often used, incorrectly, to describe the fear of heights, but it is more accurately described as a spinning sensation, which may be caused by looking down from a high place.

Agoraphobia - Agoraphobia is an anxiety disorder, often precipitated by the fear of having a panic attack in a setting from which there is no easy means of escape. As a result, sufferers of agoraphobia may avoid public and/or unfamiliar places. Agoraphobia arises from an internal anxiety condition that has become so intense that the suffering individual fears going anywhere or doing anything where these feelings of panic have repeatedly occurred before. Agoraphobia can come on suddenly or develop gradually, typically developing between the ages of 18 and 35. Symptoms include: strong feelings of panic, dread, terror, and horror recognizing that the anxiety is overblown, yet not being able to "talk yourself out of it" rapid heartbeat, shortness of breath, trembling, and an overwhelming urge to flee the situation - all physical reactions associated with extreme fear going to great lengths to avoid the situation that causes fear.

Algophobia -  Algophobia is a phobia of pain, an abnormal and persistent fear of pain that is far more powerful than that of a normal person. Sensitivity may lead to algophobia, depending on the psychological makeup of the person, but sensitivity to pain could be on other than psychological grounds.

 

Anthropophobia - fear of people or being in a company, a form of social phobia. See our article on Overcoming Social Phobia. Anthropophobia is an extreme, pathological form of shyness and timidness. It may be manifested in fears of blushing, meeting the gaze of the others, awkwardness and uneasiness when appearing in society. Millions of people around the world suffer from Social Anxiety Disorder (also known as Social Phobia) and related conditions. Yet virtually everyone knows what it is like to feel shy or lacking in social confidence, often to an extent that can limit opportunities and happiness.

Aquaphobia, Hydrophobia - Aquaphobia is an abnormal and persistent fear of water. They may avoid such activities as boating and swimming, or they may avoid swimming in the deep ocean despite having mastered basic swimming skills. Medical professionals indicate that aquaphobia may manifest itself in a person through their specific experiences or due to biological factors. Some people may develop the phobia as a reaction to a traumatic water experience. Other individuals may suffer from an "instinctive reaction" to the water which arises separate from any observable factors. They have a gut reaction that limits their fundamental comfort level in any sort of casual water activities, such as swimming. Many people mistakenly refer to aquaphobia as 'hydrophobia'; hydrophobia is in fact a symptom of later-stage rabies, and manifests itself in humans as difficulty in swallowing, fear when presented with liquids to drink and an inability to quench one's thirst.

Astraphobia, Astrapophobia, Brontophobia, Keraunophobia - Astraphobia, also known as Brontophobia, Keraunophobia, or Tonitrophobia, is an abnormal fear of thunder and lightning, a type of a specific phobia. It is quite common in dogs and children. Symptoms of Astraphobia can be breathing difficulty, panic attacks, rapid heartbeat, nausea and sweating. These symptoms can manifest themselves in the form of a tantrum or fit, and might be easy to dismiss as such although a genuine phobia can cause the aforementioned feelings to be completely overwhelming. Children may act out as a result of not being able to cope with these symptoms and knowledge of why they are happening.

Autophobia - Autophobia (or Monophobia) is the phobia of being alone. Autophobia is a real personality disorder. The term is used to describe three different conditions: A fear of being alone, A fear of being egotistical,  A fear of oneself. The third is the rarest of these conditions.

Aviophobia, Aviatophobia - Fear of flying is a fear of being on a plane while in flight. It is also sometimes referred to as aerophobia, aviatophobia, aviophobia or pteromerhanophobia. Fear of flying may be a distinct phobia in itself, or it may be an indirect manifestation of one or more other phobias, such as claustrophobia (a fear of enclosed spaces) or acrophobia (a fear of heights). It may have other causes as well. It is a symptom rather than a disease, and different causes may bring it about in different individuals. A fear of flying is a level of anxiety so great that it prevents a person from travelling by air, or causes great distress to a person when he or she is compelled to travel by air. The most extreme manifestations can include panic attacks or vomiting at the mere sight or mention of an aircraft or air travel.

Bacillophobia, Bacteriophobia, Microbiophobia - fear of microbes and bacteria. A person with bacteriophobia may have trouble getting rid of the fear of germs and is always worried about hygene. Microphobia is similar to bacteriophobia as it is a morbid fear for small things such as microorganisms or germs.

Cibophobia, Sitophobia - aversion to food, synonymous to Anorexia nervosa. A slow build occurs when a mild case of Cibophobia escalates over time to become a severe one. What is happening here is that the individual is 'accumulating' fearful associations to food or eating, so that the evidence used by the mind and nervous system is becoming increasingly irrefutable that fear is the appropriate emotion. That means that anxiety is created automatically in anticipation each time... creating a self-fulfilling prophesy.

Claustrophobia - fear of confined spaces. Claustrophobia is an anxiety disorder that involves the fear of enclosed or confined spaces. Claustrophobes may suffer from panic attacks, or fear of having a panic attack, in situations such as being in elevators, trains, or aircraft. It was found that 5-10.6% of people screened before an MRI scan had claustrophobia. Furthermore, it was found that 7% of patients had unidentified claustrophobia, and had to terminate the scanning procedure prematurely. 30% reported milder distress due to the necessity to lie in a confined space for a long time. For specific phobias in general, there is a lifetime prevalence rate of 7.2%-11.3%. Other forms of Claustrophobia include conditions such as Agoraphobia and panic attacks.

Coulrophobia - fear of clowns (not restricted to evil clowns). Coulrophobia is an abnormal or exaggerated fear of clowns. It is not uncommon among children, but is also sometimes found in teenagers and adults as well. Sufferers sometimes acquire a fear of clowns after having a bad experience with one personally, or seeing a sinister portrayal of one in the media. A design study carried out by the University of Sheffield found that children are frightened by clown-themed décor in hospitals. This fear can arise from seeing a clown in person, or in pictures.

Dental phobia, Dentophobia, Odontophobia - fear of dentists and dental procedures. Dental fear refers to the fear of dentistry and of receiving dental care. A pathological form of this fear (specific phobia) is variously called dental phobia, odontophobia, dentophobia, dentist phobia, or dental anxiety. It is estimated that as many as 75% of US adults experiences some degree of dental fear, from mild to severe. Many people report that their dental fear began after a traumatic, difficult, and/or painful dental experience. Dental fear may also develop as people hear about others' traumatic experiences or negative views of dentistry.

Dysmorphophobia, or body dysmorphic disorder - a phobic obsession with a real or imaginary body defect.

Emetophobia - fear of vomiting. Emetophobia is the irrational fear of vomiting, being around others who are vomiting, and/or the vomit itself. In worst case scenarios, people with the phobia tend to avoid eating out, socializing and going to parties. They may hardly eat at all and that's why many are often diagnosed as anorexic, but not bulimic as this illness involves the induction of vomiting. Emetophobics will go to extraordinary lengths to avoid becoming violently sick.

Ergasiophobia, Ergophobia - fear of work or functioning, or a surgeon's fear of operating. An abnormal and persistent fear of work. Sufferers of ergophobia experience undue anxiety about the workplace environment even though they realize their fear is irrational. Their fear may actually be a combination of fears, such fear of failing at assigned tasks, fear of speaking before groups at work, or fear of socializing with co-workers.The fear of work or functioning (also surgeon’s fear of operating) can result in the following symptoms:
breathlessness, dizziness, excessive sweating, nausea, dry mouth, feeling sick, shaking, heart palpitations, inability to speak or think clearly, a fear of becoming mad or losing control, a sensation of detachment from reality or a full blown anxiety attack.

Erotophobia - fear of sexual love or sexual questions. Erotophobia is a term used by psychologists to describe sexuality on a personality scale. Erotophobes score high on one end of the scale that is characterized by expressions of guilt and fear about sex. Erotophobes are less likely to talk about sex, have more negative reactions to sexually explicit material, and have sex less frequently and with fewer partners over time. Erotophobia can also be the fear of marriage or romantic relationships, especially by a man or in regards to heterosexual romance.

Erythrophobia - pathological blushing. Erythrophobia is an unusual and persistent fear of Facial Blushing or blushing in general. Blushing displays a marked redness of one's face. The term is seldom applied except when the redness is construed as a result of embarrassment, shame, or modesty. If redness persists for abnormal amounts of time after blushing then it is considered an early sign of rosacea. Many who try to hide blushing usually end up making the condition even worse.

Gephyrophobia - fear of bridges. Gephyrophobia is an anxiety disorder brought about by the fear of bridges. As a result, sufferers of gephyrophobia may avoid route that will take them over bridges.

Genophobia, Coitophobia - fear of sexual intercourse. This phobia may be caused by actual sexual trauma (such as rape or molestation especially at an early age) or by witnessing a traumatic sexual act in real life or in the media.

Glossophobia - Glossophobia or speech anxiety is the fear of public speaking. It is believed to be the single most common phobia affecting as much as 75% of the population. Fear of oration is ranked even above that of death.

Gymnophobia - fear of nudity. Gymnophobics experience anxiety from nudity, even if they realize their fear is irrational. They may worry about seeing others naked or being seen naked, or both. Their fear may stem from a general anxiety about sexuality, from a fear that they are physically inferior, or from a fear that their nakedness leaves them exposed and unprotected.

Gynophobia - fear of women (also spelled as gynephobia) is an abnormal fear of women. Gynophobia used to be considered as among driving forces toward homosexuality.

Haptephobia - A fear of being touched, also called aphephobia, haphephobia, thixophobia.

Heliophobia - fear of sunlight. Heliophobia is a problem that afflicts hundreds of Americans, but one that suffers from a lack of true research. The Pacific Health Center suggested that many people have been staying away from the sun because of growing fears about skin cancer. This is not technically heliophobia, simply an unfounded and illogical solution.

Hemophobia, Haemophobia - fear of blood. Hemophobia is the extreme and irrational fear of blood. Acute cases of this fear can cause physical reactions that are uncommon in most other fears, specifically vasovagal syncope (fainting). People with hemophobia are usual afraid of sight of own blood, rarely they dread other persons' or animals blood.

Hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia - fear of the number 666. (literally, "fear of the number six-hundred and sixty-six") is the fear that originates in the Biblical verse Revelation 13:18 which indicates that the number 666 is the Number of the Beast, linked to Satan or the Anti-Christ.

Hoplophobia - fear of weapons, specifically firearms. Irrational, morbid fear of guns, it may cause sweating, faintness, discomfort, rapid pulse, nausea, sleeplessness, and more at mere thought of guns.

Iatrophobia - Fear of doctors - Doctor visits can cause anxiety in nearly anyone. For some people, however, normal anxiety gives way to outright panic. Iatrophobia, or fear of doctors, is surprisingly common today.

Ligyrophobia - fear of loud noises. Phonophobia (also called ligyrophobia) is a fear of loud sounds. It can also mean a fear of voices, or a fear of one's own voice.

Metrophobia - The fear of poetry. Many people first develop this phobia in school, when overzealous teachers encourage them to rank poems according to artificial scales, break them down and search for esoteric meanings.

Mysophobia - fear of germs, contamination or dirt. More commonly known as "germaphobia" or "germ phobia", is a pathological fear of germs, dirt, and above all of contamination. Mysophobia is common in the United States. Some experts link the growing incidence of this disorder to Americans' general perception of the world as being a dangerous, uncontrollable place.

Necrophobia - fear of death, the dead. Necrophobia  is the fear of death or dead things (e.g., corpses) as well as things associated with death (e.g., coffins).

Neophobia, Cainophobia, Cainotophobia, Cenophobia, Centophobia, Kainolophobia, Kainophobia - An abnormal and persistent fear of anything new including new things, ideas or situations, of novelty.

Nomophobia - Nomophobia is the fear of being out of mobile phone contact. More than 13 million Britans fear being out of mobile phone contact, according to research. Experts say nomophobia could affect up to 53 per cent of mobile phone users, with 48 per cent of women and 58 per cent of men questioned admitting to experiencing feelings of anxiety when they run out of battery or credit, lose their phone or have no network coverage.

Nosophobia - fear of contracting a disease. It is related to hypochondriasis, but there are several important differences between the two conditions. The most important difference is specificity. A person with hypochondriasis has several physical symptoms that he or she fears may be caused by illness. Someone with nosophobia, however, is afraid of a specific disease and becomes convinced that he or she has the symptoms of that particular disease.

Nyctophobia, Achluophobia, Lygophobia, Scotophobia - fear of darkness. Nyctophobia is a pathological fear of the dark. Its symptoms include breathlessness, excessive sweating, nausea, dry mouth, feeling sick, shaking, heart palpitations, inability to speak or think clearly or sensation of detachment from reality and death. Fear of the dark is common in children, and often passes as they mature. If it persists for more than six months, fear of the dark should be professionally treated, as it can become crippling in older children and adults.

Osmophobia, Olfactophobia - fear of smells. Osmophobia or olfactophobia refers to a fear, aversion, or psychological hypersensitivity to smells or odors. The phobia generally occurs in chronic migraine sufferers who may have odor triggered migraines. Such migraines are most frequently triggered by foul odors, but the hypersensitivity may extend to all odors. One study found as many as 25% of migraine sufferers had some degree of osmophobia.

Paraskavedekatriaphobia, Paraskevidekatriaphobia, Friggatriskaidekaphobia - fear of Friday the 13th. If you base your belief on media attention, superstition about Friday the 13th might be the number one superstition in America today.

Panphobia - fear of everything or constantly afraid without knowing what is causing it. Also known as omniphobia or pantophobia, is the fear of everything or a vague and persistent dread of some unknown evil.

Phonophobia - fear of loud sounds.

Pyrophobia - The hate, or an abnormal or even irrational fear of fires or high temperatures.

Radiophobia - fear of radioactivity or X-rays. Radiophobia is an abnormal fear of ionizing radiation, also used in the sense of fear of X-rays. The term is used in several related senses: in reference to a neurological disorder, to a specific phobia, and (polemically, not medically) to general opposition to the use of nuclear energy.

Sociophobia - fear or dislike of society or people in general. Social anxiety is a term used to describe an experience of anxiety (emotional discomfort, fear, apprehension or worry) regarding social situations and being evaluated by other people. It occurs early in childhood as a normal part of social functioning. People vary in how often they experience social anxiety or in which kinds of situations. It can be related to shyness or other emotional or temperamental factors, but its exact nature is still the subject of research and theory. Extreme social anxiety can be disabling and may be diagnosed as social anxiety disorder (social phobia).

Taphophobia - fear of the grave, or fear of being placed in a grave while still alive. Fear of being buried alive is the fear of being placed in a grave while still alive as a result of being incorrectly pronounced dead. The abnormal, psychopathological version of this fear is referred to as taphophobia (from Greek taphos, meaning "grave"), which is translated as "fear of graves". Before the advent of modern medicine the fear was not entirely irrational. Throughout history there have been numerous cases of people being accidentally buried alive.

Technophobia - fear of technology. Technophobia is the fear or dislike of advanced technology or complex devices, especially computers.

Tetraphobia - fear of the number 4. Tetraphobia is an aversion or fear of the number 4. It is a superstition most common in East Asian regions such as China, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan. The Chinese word for four (pinyin) sounds very similar to the word for death.

Tokophobia - fear of childbirth. Primary tokophobia is the fear of childbirth which pre-dates pregnancy and can start in adolescence.
Secondary tokophobia is due to a previous negative experience regarding traumatic birth, poor obstetric practice or medical attention, postpartum depression or other such upsetting events.

Triskaidekaphobia, Terdekaphobia - fear of the number 13. Terdekaphobia is an irrational fear of the number 13; it is a superstition and related to a specific fear of Friday the 13th, called paraskevidekatriaphobia or friggatriskaidekaphobia.

Trypanophobia, Aichmophobia, Belonephobia, Enetophobia - fear of needles or injections. Trypanophobia is the extreme and irrational fear of medical procedures involving injections or hypodermic needles. It is occasionally referred to as aichmophobia, belonephobia, or enetophobia, names that are technically incorrect because they simply denote a “fear of pins/needles” and do not refer to the medical aspect of trypanophobia. The name that is in common usage is simply needle phobia.

Xenophobia - fear of strangers, foreigners, or aliens. Xenophobia is a fear or contempt of that which is foreign or unknown, especially of strangers or foreign people.

Zoophobias:

Ailurophobia - fear of cats. Ailurophobia is a type of specific phobia. It is a persistent, irrational fear of cats.

Apiphobia, Melissophobia - fear of bees. Melissophobia - Fear of bees or bee stings, is a common fear among people.

Arachnophobia - fear of spiders. Arachnophobia is a specific phobia, an abnormal fear of spiders. It is among the most common of all phobias. The reactions of arachnophobics often seem irrational to others (and sometimes to the sufferers themselves). People with arachnophobia tend to feel uneasy in any area they believe could harbor spiders or that has visible signs of their presence, such as webs.

Chiroptophobia - Fear of bats, sometimes called chiroptophobia (an incorrect derivation from the order Chiroptera of bats) may refer both to a specific phobia associated with bats and to common negative stereotypes and fear of bats stemming from prejudices and misinformation.

Cynophobia - fear of dogs. Cynophobia is the clinical name for an abnormal fear of dogs. The dog is a domesticated superpredator; this in combination with increasing media coverage of dog attacks could be contributing factors for development of this fear.

Entomophobia - (also known as insectophobia) is the abnormal fear of or aversion to insects and similar arthropods, and even other "bugs", such as worms.

Equinophobia, Hippophobia - fear of horses. Equinophobia is a psychological fear of horses.

Herpetophobia - The fear of reptiles, amphibians or other similar animals.

Ichthyophobia - fear of fish. Although the term technically refers to a specific phobia, in many contexts it may refer to any kind of fear of fish, such as fear of eating fish, or fear of dead fish. Galeophobia is a subtype of ichthyophobia specifically focused on one species, sharks. 

Musophobia - fear of mice and/or rats. Fear of mice and rats is one of the most common specific phobias. An exaggerated, phobic fear of mice and rats has traditionally been depicted as a stereotypical trait of women, with numerous books, cartoons, television shows, and films portraying hysterical women screaming and jumping atop chairs or tables at the sight of a mouse. 

Ophidiophobia - Ophidiophobia or Ophiophobia refers to the fear of snakes. Fear of snakes is sometimes called by a more general term, herpetophobia, fear of reptiles.

Ornithophobia - fear of birds. Ornithophobia is a type of specific phobia, an abnormal, irrational fear of birds.

Ranidaphobia - fear of frogs. Fear of frogs and toads has been recorded in the history of many cultures. For example, seeing a frog may be a bad omen or frogs and toads may give a person warts. At the same time in other cultures frogs are considered as good omen. A survey carried out by researchers from the Johannesburg Zoo have shown that in modern times old supersititons play less significant role and modern children are more concerned whether frogs are poisonous or harmless.

Zoophobia - a generic term for animal phobias. Zoophobia or animal phobia may have one of two closely related meanings: a generic term for the class of specific phobias to particular animals, or an irrational fear or even simply