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: Specific phobias tend to be incredibly specific. While listing all of the phobias that may exist is not possible, it can be helpful to look through a list of some of the more commonly described phobias.
During exposure therapy, you work with a psychologist to learn how to desensitize yourself to the object or situation that you fear. It will take some time before you’ll actually be asked to look at or touch a spider.
As you may notice while you browse through this list, most specific phobias fall into one of four major categories: One important thing to remember is that virtually any object can become a fear object. An article published in 1897 in American Journal of Psychology noted "the absurd tendency to give Greek names to objects feared (which, as Arndt says, would give us such terms as klopsophobia – fear of thieves, triakaidekaphobia – fear of the number 13....)".[3].
Phobophobia- Fear of phobias. Verbophobia – Fear of words. People seek help from professional psychologists for many different challenges. A Dictionary of Psychology. Then you may progress to pictures or videos. Exposure therapy isn’t as scary as it may sound at first. Trypanophobia is defined as an extreme fear of medical procedures involving injections or hypodermic needles. The goal is to improve your quality of life so that you’re no longer hindered or distressed by your fear. While these medications aren’t exactly a treatment for phobias, they can help make exposure therapy less distressing. Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Oxford: Oxford University Press; 2015. The English suffixes -phobia, -phobic, -phobe (from Greek φόβος phobos, "fear") occur in technical usage in psychiatry to construct words that describe irrational, abnormal, unwarranted, persistent, or disabling fear as a mental disorder (e.g. Does the sight of blood make you anxious or cause you to faint? Photoaugliaphobia- Fear of glaring lights. Find out more about these issues, from death to stress to family and…. Top 100 Phobia […] Support my work by sharing this phobia list. Placophobia- Fear of tombstones. Phobias come in all shapes and sizes. Our website services, content, and products are for informational purposes only. Any list of phobias could grow with the addition of newly coined terms for previously unnamed specific phobias. Getting Help for the Fear of Butterflies and Moths or Lepidopterophobia, Why Your Phobia Triggers a Severe Physiological Response, Understanding the Psychoanalytic Theory of Phobias, Daily Tips for a Healthy Mind to Your Inbox, The DSM-5: Classification and criteria changes, Current issues in the treatment of specific phobia: Recommendations for innovative applications of hypnosis, Fear related to medical treatments or issues. The word itself comes from the Greek word phobos, which means fear or horror.
If you think you may have a phobia that’s causing a disruption in your life, speak with your doctor for an evaluation and treatment options. People with this phobia experience overwhelming feelings of fear when they encounter such weather-rel… According to the DSM, specific phobias typically fall within five general categories: These categories encompass an infinite number of specific objects and situations. National Institute of Mental Health.
[2] Such practice is known as content spamming and is used to attract search engines. Specific phobias are related to certain objects and situations. Read our, Medically reviewed by Daniel B. Because of this, any attempt at a completely exhaustive list of phobias would simply be an exercise in futility. 1 When people talk about having a phobia of a specific object such as snakes, spiders, or needles, they are referring to a specific phobia. Regier DA, Kuhl EA, Kupfer DJ. In the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5), the American Psychiatric Association outlines several of the most common phobias. Verminophobia – Fear of germs.
Because there are an infinite number of objects and situations, the list of specific phobias is quite long. Anti-religious sentiments are expressed in terms such as Christianophobia and Islamophobia. Most people don’t seek treatment for these conditions, so cases largely go unreported. Phobias can have a serious impact on well-being, but it is important to remember that you are not alone. The DSM-5: Classification and criteria changes. The American Psychiatric Association (APA) identifies three different categories of phobias: social phobias, agoraphobia, and specific phobias. How Can Living With a Phobia Interfere With Your Life? Some so much so that they may only affect a handful of people at a time. People with phobias actively avoid the phobic object or situation, or endure it within intense fear or anxiety. Astraphobia is a fear of thunder and lightning. These phobias also vary based on cultural experiences, gender, and age. If you fear spiders, you will begin by simply thinking of spiders or situations where you may encounter one. Automatonophobia is the fear of human-like figures, like mannequins, wax figures, or statues. Is Your Fear of Haunted Houses Really a Phobia? We explain what it is and where to…. As you can see by looking at this list, almost any object or situation can become the source of fear.
These names themselves are often formed by taking a Greek prefix that represents the fear object and adding the -phobia suffix. photophobia). Sign up to find out more in our Healthy Mind newsletter.
For the class of psychological disorders, see. Take the anxiety test. While phobias can be extremely uncomfortable and challenging, therapy and medication can help. The most effective treatment for specific phobias is a type of psychotherapy called exposure therapy. Steven Gans, MD is board-certified in psychiatry and is an active supervisor, teacher, and mentor at Massachusetts General Hospital. In some cases, these symptoms escalate into a full-blown panic attack. Kendra Cherry, MS, is an author, educational consultant, and speaker focused on helping students learn about psychology. Do You Know How Many People Have Phobias in the U.S.? Polonophobia vs. anti-Polonism). Anxiety disorders are very common.
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.).
Also, a number of psychiatric websites exist that at the first glance cover a huge number of phobias, but in fact use a standard text to fit any phobia and reuse it for all unusual phobias by merely changing the name. Germanophobe/Germanophile.
Many use inaccurate or imprecise prefixes, such as aerophobia (fear of air) for fear of flying. Last medically reviewed on January 3, 2019.