Some Of The More Unique Phobias
As you looked through the list of phobias above, you might find that you have experienced one of these common fears or you can at least sympathize with people who do. However, not all fears are quite so common.
Some of the more unusual phobias include:
- Anthrophobia: The fear of flowers
- Arithmophobia: The fear of numbers
- Barophobia: The fear of gravity
- Chronomentrophobia: The fear of clocks
- Genuphobia: The fear of knees
- Hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia: Fear of the number 666
- Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia fear of long words
- Onomatophobia: The fear of names
- Phobophobia: The fear of phobias
- Nephophobia: The fear of clouds
What Are The 5 Most Common Phobias
Firstly, its useful to define what a phobia actually is the NHS Choices website defines phobias as an overwhelming and debilitating fear of an object, place or situation, feeling or animal.
It is more extreme than fear in the normal everyday sense and develops when a person has an exaggerated or irrational perception of danger or threat about a particular thing. ;So, for example, being a bit wary of spiders isnt the same as being arachnophobic. Phobias arent always entirely irrational in the sense that some spiders, for example, ARE dangerous and should be avoided. But a phobia will assume that ALL spiders even a tiny house spider is a threat. ;
In Jungian psychology, archetypes can help explain the existence of snake and spider phobias in people living in urban environments where they would have never encountered dangerous creatures. ;In fact, in the UK, electricity is a far greater danger and accounts for many injuries and fatalities, with electric ovens being the leading cause of these, accounting for almost 700 deaths and serious injuries each year . ;However, electrophobia is much less common despite the threat being far more real in countries like the UK, whereas few as 12 people have died from snake bites in the last century and there have been no recorded spider related deaths.
Diagnosis Of Phobia Of Long Words
Generally, people with this phobia will probably never seek medical help.;People with a phobia would presumably take jobs where they were not exposed to long words and phrases.
However, if symptoms become unbearable or other symptoms arise, your doctor will ask you a series of questions about your symptoms to determine if you have a phobia or anxiety disorder.
They will also review your psychiatric, medical, family and social history.;Your doctor will also refer to DSM-5.
Because hippopotomonstrosesquippedalophobia is not officially recognized by medical and mental health associations as a phobia, it is technically not a diagnosable condition.
However, your doctor can offer general information about phobias and recommend treatment.
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Treat Your Phobia: Why Cadabams Hospitals
At Cadabams Hospitals, we have an experienced team of psychotherapists who specialize in dealing with patients with phobias. This excessive and irrational fear can be challenging to handle and treat. So, to help individuals, we outline tailored solutions to address their unique needs, requirements, and preferences. Our team adopts a personalized and friendly approach that underlines care for you at the core.;
Get the best-suited treatment for your phobia disorder. To know more about phobias or to book an appointment, call us at +91 97414 76476 or visit Cadabams Hospitals.;
We are here to help!
How Do Phobias Develop
We dont know exactly why phobias develop. Specific phobias tend to begin during childhood, likely because a child’s brain is still learning how to react to certain stimuli. For example, a child who develops a fear of heights may have had a bad experience with heights, like falling off a jungle gym, or may have taken in information that encouraged a fear of heights, like seeing someone fall on TV or seeing a fear of heights in a family member. However, past experiences are not the only potential cause of specific phobias. Genetics may also play a role in the risk of developing a specific phobia.1
The causes of other types of phobias, like social anxiety disorder and agoraphobia, are also thought to be a combination of genetics and life experiences. Social anxiety disorders typically start in the teen years, likely because of the hormonal changes and social pressures teenagers endure. Since agoraphobia is highly related to panic disorder, the average age of onset is similar to panic disorder. Panic disorder and agoraphobia most often begin in young adults.11, 6, 12
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How Many People Have Phobias
If you have one of the previous phobias, you can be sure that you are not alone. Phobias are the most common psychiatric illness among women, says the American Psychiatric Association. It is the second most common in men.
The National Institute of Mental Health ; has suggested that about 10% of U.S. adults are affected by phobias each year. Phobias typically appear during childhood or adolescence and go on into adulthood. They also affect about twice as many women as men.
Carcinophobia: Fear Of Cancer
People with carcinophobia or cancerophobia live with an irrational dread of developing cancer. Every bodily discomfort becomes a sign for them that they have a malignant growth somewhere inside. A headache, for instance, is a sign for them that they have a brain tumor. Cognitive therapy can help someone with carcinophobia regain control of their life.
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Common Types Of Phobias
08 January,2020 |Reading Time: 6minutes
Common Types of Phobias
Its okay to feel afraid of some things or some people. Fear is an instinct borne out of past experiences, an unpleasant reaction to something distressing or dangerous. However, an unwarranted fear or an irrational panicky reaction can be a cause of concern. Psychologists label this as phobia and explain how some people feel alarmed on contact with some object or reference to a place or situation.
The American Psychiatric Association explains how this overwhelming feeling of dread can affect anyone at any time or place. Scientists at the APA have identified three phobiatypes whichinclude social phobias, agoraphobia, and specific phobias.
What Are The Phobia Symptoms
For different persons, symptoms of phobia could be different. For different types of phobia, symptoms also vary. There could be some common symptoms of all kinds of phobia.
For example, unusual sweating, muscle numbness, hazy vision, stammering, shivering and many others are considered as common aftermaths of all sorts of phobias.
Along with these basic symptoms, there are some symptoms which have been known or regarded as unique. Nevertheless, depending on the type of phobia, the common symptoms or normal symptoms of phobia have been triggered. In the following section, a few common symptoms of phobia have been discussed.
Uncontrollable anxiety is a common aftermath of phobia or panic attack for a person. It may be triggered in some situations or conditions.
People suffering from phobia want to avoid the source of fear at all cost.
Behind phobia, the irrational mindset can be regarded as an issue. During the phobia attacks, people may talk about irrational things and it is a common symptom of any kind of phobia.
Apart from these mental or mind related symptoms, there are a few physical symptoms associated with a phobia. In the following section, you can have a quick glimpse of these physical symptoms:
abnormal breathing
Euphobia: Surprisingly, this is a phobia of hearing good news.
Vestiphobia: This type of fear happens due to clothes. Yes, there are certain people who fear of clothing.
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What Are The Symptoms
Phobias of all types share similar physical and emotional symptoms. With hemophobia, symptoms may be triggered by seeing blood in real life or on television. Some people may feel symptoms after thinking about blood or certain medical procedures, like a blood test.
Physical symptoms triggered by this phobia may include:
- trouble breathing
- extreme feelings of anxiety or panic
- overwhelming need to escape situations where blood is involved
- detachment from self or feeling unreal
- feeling like youve lost control
- feeling like you may die or pass out
- feeling powerless over your fear
Hemophobia is unique because it also produces whats called a vasovagal response. A vasovagal response means you have a drop in your heart rate and blood pressure in response to a trigger, such as the sight of blood.
When this happens, you may feel dizzy or faint. Some of people with BII phobia experience a vasovagal response, according to a 2014 survey. This response isnt common with other specific phobias.
Fear Of Suffering From A Disease Nosophobia
This is an irrational fear of having a certain disease. People with nosophobia have a few physical symptoms, are afraid of a specific disease and become persuaded that they have the symptoms of that specific disease. This phobia is common among those researchers or students who spend a lot of time on reading about a particular disease.
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What Are The Causes And Risk Factors For Phobias
A variety of factors contribute to the development of phobias. Genes, cultural influences, and traumatic events can all contribute to phobias. Someone who has an immediate relative with a phobia is about three times more likely to suffer from a phobia than someone who does not have a similar family history. People with phobias try to manage stress by avoiding things they are afraid of. They may also find it difficult to minimize the intensity of fearful or stimulating situations, which reinforces the phobia.
Most Common Phobias & Fears
Do insects make your skin crawl? Does gettingon a plane take your fears to new heights? If so, youre not alone. Accordingto the American Psychiatric Association, phobias are the most commonpsychiatric illness among women and the second most common in men.
The National Institute of Mental Health suggests that 10% of U.S. adults are affected by phobias each year. These phobias typically emerge during childhood or adolescence and continue into adulthood. There are many reasons why phobias develop, including evolutionary and behavioral theories. Fortunately, phobias are treatable conditions that can be minimized or eliminated with cognitive and behavioral therapy and medications.
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Trypanophobia: Fear Of Needles
Having a sharp piece of metal stuck in your arm is obviously an unpleasant thought. So, many people have a strong fear of needles. However, needles can be worth the pain when used for vaccinations, to deliver needed blood, or helping to examine for a potential illness. But, because the symptoms of fear can be so distressing, people with this phobia sometimes avoid doctors, dentists, and other medical professionals. Estimates are that as many as 20-30% of adults have this fear.;
Arachnophobia: Fear Of Spiders
This phobia tends to affect more women than men. Almost nobody wants a tarantula crawling on them but for some people, the sight of a tiny spider can clear a room until it is squashed. One of the most common explanations for this phobia is that creatures like spiders were a serious threat to our ancestors who didnt know how to treat injuries from animals and insects. The theory says that, as a result, fear of these creatures is part of our evolution.
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How Do You Know If You Have A Specific Phobia
Here are some of the signs that you may have a phobia and should seek treatment for it:16You feel intense anxiety or fear toward a specific thing, such as an object, location, or activity.You feel intense anxiety or fear toward broader circumstances, like social settings or being in public.Your fear is so intense that it leads you to avoid the source of your fear or endure it with great difficulty.Your fear is interfering with your ability to enjoy life or function normally.
The Difference Between Fear And Phobia
The term phobia gets thrown around a lot these days, but having a fear and having a phobia arent exactly the same thing.
Essentially, fear is temporary; phobia isnt.
Having a phobia creates a stumbling block in your life, and the fear it causes can be so strong that youll do anything to avoid the object of that phobia. Phobia that becomes debilitating is a type of anxiety disorder. Take, for example, a job offer. You made it through the hardest partlanding your dream positiononly to find out that your office will be on the 20th floor of an office buildingand you have a phobia of heights. In order to avoid being so high off the ground, you turn the position down and pass up a significant job opportunity because of your phobia.1
Phobias can be debilitating and crippling, and they can keep you from enjoying the things you love with the people you love. But it doesnt have to be this way. There is hope and help for people with phobias.
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There Is Hopeand Help
In conclusion, parents should know that phobias are treatable. Parents whose children suffer from phobias should never be afraid to reach out for expert assessment and advice.
With any mental health condition, its always best to get information and help early on. Therefore, children and teens have a better opportunity to overcome their anxiety and to flourish free of fear.
Front Psychol.;2017 Oct 18;8:1710.
Pediatrics. 2011 Nov; 128: 917925.
National Institute of Mental Health
Anxiety and Depression Association of America
Are You Suffering From Anxiety
Take our 2-minute anxiety quiz to see if you may benefit from further diagnosis and treatment.
A phobia is an intense as well as irrational fear toward one or more things or situations for which the level or intensity of fear does not match the actual danger of what you fear.
A phobia can be specific, like a fear of dogs or being high off the ground. But it can also be overarching, like being in any social setting or public place.2
While fear is a natural and universal human emotion,; having a phobia is a medical diagnosis and not a word to be tossed around lightly. To understand phobias, it is helpful to have a deeper understanding of fear and why we experience it.
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Fear Of Heights Acrophobia
This phobia is a generalized fear of all heights. This distinguished it from fear of flying and other specified phobias.
Acrophobia is occasionally confused with vertigo which is a physical condition that leads to disorientation or dizziness when looking down from a huge height. Unlike specific phobia such as aerophobia fear of flying as well as other phobias, acrophobia could get a person fearing of various things related to being far from the ground. Basing on the severity of phobia, a suffer might equally fear climbing on the ladder or being on a high floor.
The symptom of acrophobia is that you might feel a great sense of panic when being at height. You might instinctively start to search for a certain thing to cling to and are unable to believe in your sense of balance.
Learn more: how to deal with fear of heights
What Are The Effects Of Phobias
Untreated, phobias can significantly interfere with ones ability to function and enjoy life. People with phobias may experience problems at work, school, and with family and friends. Phobias may get better for short periods of time, but they dont typically resolve without treatment. Phobias may go hand-in-hand with alcoholism. Those who struggle with alcoholism are up to 10 times more likely to have a phobia compared to those who dont struggle with alcoholism. And people who have phobias are up to twice as likely to be alcoholics compared to those who do not have phobias.
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Fear Of Medical Needles Or Injection Trypanophobia
This is a medical phobia and affects approximately 10% of Americans. This disorder is referred to as needle phobia in general.
The symptoms do not vary. Sufferers might dread going to medical care centers for medical care, especially injections.; When they are required to experience one medical procedure, they will be likely experience high blood pressure and an increased heart rate in many hours and even days before the procedure. Nevertheless, at the time of the procedure, the blood pressure might quickly drop. You even faint.
Top 10 Most Common Phobias
Many people wonder what phobias are and what are the most common phobias. Specific phobias are those where a person has an intense and irrational fear of a specific thing and are one of three classifications of phobias according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition . Approximately 7% to 12% of people are believed to meet diagnostic criteria for at least one specific phobia during their lifetimes. The types of specific phobias include animals , natural environment , blood/injection/injury , situational , and other . Animal phobias and fear of heights are the most common of the various types of specific phobias. While there are hundreds of possible specific phobias, below is a list of ten of the most common specific phobias:
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Symptoms Of Complex Phobias
While having a specific or simple phobia can be significantly distressing, complex phobias are perhaps the most difficult to manage. This is primarily due to the fact that they tend to be involved with many aspects of modern life, which means an individual has to face their fears on a regularly basis, and is not as easily avoided without having an adverse effect on your relationships, career and overall quality of life and wellbeing.; ; ; ;;
Symptoms you may experience if you have a complex phobia include: