Introduction
Most people are scared of something. Instead, in other words, fear is found within all of us. It can be less in some and more in some, but when the fear increases more than necessary, it takes the form of a severe mental disorder, this is called phobia. (Phobia List)
In this article, I will tell you about the phobia, causes of phobia, symptoms of phobia, danger from the phobia, different types of phobia and ways to avoid phobia.
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What is Phobia
What causes a phobia? Phobia is a disease that is associated with fear and panic. It is an excessive and unprovoked reaction to fear. If you have phobia, when you are exposed to your fear, you may feel a deep sense of fear or panic.
Fear can be of a certain place, object or situation. It differs from general anxiety disorder, which is associated with something specific.
There are several specific types of phobia, such as fear of height, fear of public places or secluded places, etc. If you feel anxious and extremely shy in daily social situations, you may have social phobia. Feeling of seeing some common phobias like tunnels, highways, excess water, flying, animals and blood etc.
Phobias can range from irritating the patient to severely disabled. People with phobias often feel that their fear is completely irrational, but they are still unable to do anything about it. Such problems hamper the work of personal relations, school or office etc.
‘Phobia’ derives from the Greek word ‘Phobos’. If you fear more than necessary and without any reason then it is a phobia. If you have phobia, then you will feel terrified when faced with something that you are afraid. May also be nervous.
This fear can come from a particular place, situation or thing. Phobia is often associated with something other than a general disorder of anxiety.
You may also face a lot of discomfort due to the effect of phobia. It is also a possibility that despite being strong, you will not be able to react. This fear can also interfere with your work, school and personal relationships.
According to an estimate, about 19 million American citizens are victims of rough phobia. Phobias have become the cause of trouble in their personal lives. My advice is that the best way to avoid any such situation is to talk to the doctor about it.
Phobia and fear
There is an excellent difference between phobia and fear. Fear is an emotional response that usually occurs when someone is threatened or scolded. This is very normal, and there is no disease. But a phobia is a dangerous and different level of fear. There is so much fear in phobia that a person can play on his life to end it.
Phobia List, Symptoms, Types, Causes, Myths And Facts
What is the most common phobia in the world? Due to genetic and environmental factors, you can also fall prey to phobias. Children whose family members have an anxiety disorder can also become victims of phobia.
Also, stressful events, such as the death of someone, drowning of someone, can lead to a phobia. The fear of being bitten by small places, high places, animals and insects can also give rise to such phobias.
People who are getting treatment for some medical issues can also become victims of phobias. It has been found that many people have strange phobias after brain surgery. Sometimes, excessive scolding and depression can also result in phobias.(Phobia List)
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Phobia & Schizophrenia
Symptoms of phobia are usually different from severe mental illnesses such as schizophrenia.
In schizophrenia, people have confusion in seeing and hearing nearby things. Blurred vision, fear of having something, negative symptoms such as anhedonia and many disorganized symptoms also occur.
Phobia can also be needless. But people with phobias often make mistakes in identifying the correct form of an object.
Symptoms of phobia
There are many symptoms of phobia. Phobias can be easily detected by these symptoms.
- Heartbeat increases very fast.
- Having trouble breathing.
- Not able to speak fast or not to speak.
- Dry mouth.
- Abdominal cramps.
- Increased blood pressure
- Shivering in the extremities
- Chest pain or nervousness.
- Feeling dizzy or lightheaded.
- Sweating too much.
No matter what specific type of phobia you have, it is likely to cause some common types of reactions, such as: –
- A sudden feeling of intense fear, anxiety and panic in the face of a source of fear or even remembering it.
- Even knowing that fear is feeling unprovoked, but feeling unable to control it.
- As soon as the situation or object that causes fear comes closer to you or time, anxiety becomes more serious.
- Do everything possible to avoid that object or situation or try to tolerate anxiety and fear.
- Trouble in normal functioning of the brain due to fear.
- Physical reactions and sensations including sweating, rapid heart rate, chest tightness and difficulty in breathing are also included.
- Seeing injury or blood etc. nausea, stuttering or fainting etc.
- Avoiding irritability, stagnation, shouting or moving away from parents or withstanding their anger in children.
Types Of Phobia
What is the most dangerous phobia? According to the Psychiatric Association of America, there may be more than 100 types of phobias depending on symptoms and problems.(Phobia List)
Agoraphobia
The patient is terrified of going to crowded places due to agoraphobia. He thinks of staying locked at home. Patients of this phobia may feel that someone in the crowd will attack them, from which they will not be able to escape.
At the same time, people struggling with serious medical problems can also have this problem many times. He feels that in the event of a medical emergency among the crowd, he will not get help.(Phobia List)
Social phobia
This phobia is also called a social anxiety disorder. The patient of this phobia is even afraid to meet people, stay in a group, and talk among them. This fear is so much at times that the patient confines himself to a room.
On reaching the peak of social phobia, the patient also feels difficulty in normal conversation such as talking on the telephone, ordering food in restaurants.
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Phobias in Detail
Many people may have a fear of many situations and things. But the real phobia is the one that affects our everyday life. I will tell you about some common phobias.(Phobia List)
Glossophobia
Glossophobia is also commonly referred to as performance anxiety. The patient of this phobia is afraid to speak in front of people. When disturbed people arrive in front of the crowd, their condition can also be identified with many physical symptoms. Glossophobia can be cured with medicines and therapy.
Acrophobia
The human victim of this phobia is afraid of height. The patient of acrophobia is scared of going into mountains, bridges and multi-story buildings. Symptoms of phobia include dizziness, sweating, and a feeling of when they will pass out or become unconscious.
Claustrophobia
The patient of claustrophobia is afraid of going to small places. When this problem occurs at the peak, the patient is also scared to go to the car and lift.(Phobia List)
Aviophobia
A person disturbed by this phobia is afraid to fly in an aeroplane.
Dentophobia
Dentophobia patients are afraid of the dentist or the procedure of treating teeth. This phobia is mostly due to some bad experience. A patient troubled by this problem does not want to go to the doctor even after suffering.(Phobia List)
Hemophobia
A person troubled by hemophobia is scared to see blood. At the peak of this disease, a person starts to feel fear after seeing the red colour.
Arachnophobia
In this type of phobia, humans are terrified of spiders.
Cynophobia
The patient of this phobia is terrified of dogs.
Ophidiophobia
The patient, troubled by this problem, feels scared of snakes and later every creeping creature.
Nyctophobia
In this phobia, people are afraid of night or dark. This fear mostly starts in childhood. But when this fear increases to a great extent, then it becomes a phobia. (Phobia List)
Common Causes of Simple Phobia:
It usually occurs in children between 4 and 8 years of age. In some cases, it is also caused by an event in life.
Confronting something frightening by a family member can also cause phobia for other members, increasing the likelihood in most children.
If the mother of a child is afraid of a spider (Arachnophobia), there is a lot of potential for the child to develop this phobia.
Phobia is also attached to the parents or it can develop in a child by listening to the words of fear.
Common cause of complicated phobias:
The reason that triggers agoraphobia (fearing the crowd) or social phobia is still a mystery, no one knows why they are afraid. According to ISIS (International Study of Infarct Survival) it may also be the reason for the combination of the following.
- Life experiences
- Brain chemistry
- Genetics
Social phobia is most likely due to a highly stressful experience.
Phobia and survival:
There can be many types of explanations for many types of phobias. Social phobia can also be a life trend. The tendency to stay indoors, especially for young children, for those suffering from AIDS. This is a natural tendency to find strangeness and danger in harmony.
Mechanism of developing phobia in the brain
Some areas of the brain settle some dangerous and potentially fatal events in their minds or remember them again and again. When confronted with a similar event during an occasion in the future, those areas revive those memories, which causes the body to feel that it is happening again. Areas of the brain that operate under fear and stress regain these catastrophic events inappropriately.
In some people, if an event is happening repeatedly, they may feel phobia, phobia is an irrational phenomenon in which the brain over-reacts to an event. (Phobia List)
Risk Factor Of Phobias
People with genetic or hereditary anxiety problems can easily have phobias. Age, socioeconomic status and gender can also have dangerous effects in some phobias.
For example, women mostly have phobias associated with animals whereas children and some adults are also found to have social phobia. Low socioeconomic status can also make this phobia frightening.
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The fear of increases the risk
British scientists have discovered many important things in an attempt to unravel the mystery of anxiety and fear. According to scientists, the brain’s response to any threat is dependent on the distance, direction and hazard estimate of the danger.
Research has shown that the different parts of our brain’s fear network are responsible for different responses to various threats.
Dean Mobs, who leads the research team, says that there is not just one structure in mind, but different parts of the fear network and they work together to show the response to fear. The mistake of making false guesses of the danger is the reason for increasing phobias in people.
An absolute, intense and constant fear of something, people, animals and situations are called phobia. Mobs say that the fear of great fear only increases the size of the threat in the brain.(Phobia List)
How is phobia diagnosed?
While diagnosing phobia, doctors try to determine whether an object or condition creates any kind of fear in the patient.
People who have phobia almost always know that they are feeling fear and they can easily tell their symptoms to the doctor.
How phobias are treated?
Phobias Treatment
Doctors often resort to therapy, medications, or both to treat the phobia. Phobia is not an untouchable disease. This is a common problem that can be cured with treatment.
Cognitive-behavioral therapy
Cognitive-behavioral therapy or CBT techniques are mostly used in the treatment of phobias. In this therapy, the patient is confronted in a controlled situation with what he fears. With this treatment, the patient starts to return to normal, and his anxiety problem starts to disappear.
Phobia Medication
Stress relievers and anti-anxiety medications may be useful in treating phobias. They provide emotional and physical support to the patient. But never take these medicines without doctor’s advice. These medicines can also make you a victim of other serious problems. (Phobia List)
Beta blockers
These drugs reduce problems such as phobia symptoms and nervousness (such as rapid and stiff heartbeat) and also reduce the condition of legs and arms trembling. Many patients said that these drugs also help in recovering their suppressed voice.
Antidepressants
SSRI’s (serotonin reuptake inhibitors) drugs are generally given only to people suffering from phobias. These drugs affect serotonin in the brain, which results in a good mood.
Sedatives
Benzodiazepines help reduce the symptoms of anxiety. Those who are consuming alcohol etc. should not take sedative medicines.
Behavioral Therapy-
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
This therapy is the most commonly used medical therapy for the treatment of phobias. Therapists teach victims different ways of understanding the cause of their phobias, which makes them easier to face their fears. Other alternative ways of seeing and understanding fear are explained.
The patient is taught what the effect of a wrong attitude can have on the quality of his life and how a new way can change life. The whole emphasis of therapy is to detect and change the reaction of negative thoughts, useless perceptions and phobias within the patient.
Desensitization (Exposure Therapy)
If this therapy is done properly, it can help the victims to change their response to fear. Patients are gradually exposed to the causes of their fear. People who are afraid to travel in a plane, they start with just thinking about flying.
After that, looking at the plane, then going to the airport and then sitting in the practice simulated plane cabin, traveling in the end plane, etc. (Phobia List)
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Summary
If you have a phobia, it may be difficult to seek treatment for it. It is also challenging to get out of phobias. But there is always hope. With the right treatment and care, you can control your fear and live a full life.
How did you like our article? You can feel free to contact us in the comment box for any solution or suggestion for any mental health problem. We personally will try our best to help you.(The Phobia List)
Amazing Facts About Phobia
- Do you know Papaphobia is the fear of the Pope.
- Phobophobia is the fear of being frightened.
- Hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia number 666 is feared.
- Nomophobia is the fear of losing your smartphone/ mobile phone or losing its signal.
- You may be surprised to know that Anatidaephobia has a strange fear that somewhere, somehow, a duck is watching you.
- Caligynephobia is a fear of beautiful women.
- Cenosillicaphobia is the fear of an empty glass of beer.
- Cherophobia is afraid of being very happy because “something tragic” will happen.
- Love it for you! Philophobia is afraid of falling in love.
- Do you know? According to new research, DNA may contain phobias, or memories of fear, through generations.
- You will be surprised to know that Alexander the Great, Napoleon, Mussolini and Hitler all suffered from a fear of cats i.e. Ailurophobia.
- Didaskaleinophobia is the fear of going to school.
- Pistanthrophobia is the fear of trusting people due to bad past experiences.
- Ommatophobia is the fear of the eyes.
- Odontophobia is the fear of dental treatment and the fear of receiving dental care.
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Common Myths And Facts About Phobia
Common myths about phobias develop because whenever rationally rational people develop completely irrational habits, one may question their holiness.
At the opposite extreme, family, friends and loved ones may have your clinical psychiatric disorder just downed and brushed as a vein. Here you need to separate the information from the narrative.
If you have a phobia, then you are “crazy.”
“Crazy” is a loaded term sometimes thrown carelessly by the general public to describe people who have a variety of mental health challenges. The time combines long-term, incurable psychological disorders as well as images of an insane asylum and potentially dangerous behavior.
All types of phobias are highly treatable with the guidance of a physician, and there are a variety of successful approaches, such as cognitive-behavioral therapy techniques. Treatment of specific phobias may take as little as one to three sessions.(Phobia List)
Phobias are just overrated fears
How often are people with phobias asked to “deal with it” or “to eliminate it”? People who have never been a victim of phobia may find it challenging to understand the depth of panic that can lead to phobia.
The difference between a phobia and a phobia is the latter life-limiting and affects you:
Personal relationship
Ability to work or go to the school
Ability to do the essential daily tasks, including taking a shower or going to the grocery store
Simply coping with a pure fear can be helpful, but successfully dealing with a phobia usually requires the help of mental health professional.
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Phobias are in-depth routed personality trends.
Those who misunderstand the myth that you cannot overcome phobia and “this is the way it is,” maybe a common reaction to your fears from friends and family.
Although some phobias are more challenging to treat than others, there is little evidence to support this personality trait theory. Both short-term and long-term phobia treatments have very high success rates.
Phobias are genetic
There may be some truth in this long-standing myth, although research is conclusive. According to the researchers, Wilfuret and Bremister named in their presentation “Untangling Genetic Networks of Panic, Phobia, Fear and Anxiety,” in which first-degree relatives of people with a phobia are more likely to have phobia. This was especially true in twins.(The Phobia List)
Children develop paternal phobias automatically
While there is some evidence that children are more likely to develop phobia if their parents have it, one or both parents have detected phobia as one of several risk factors.
You can also have a bad experience of seeing a stranger, such as falling off a flight of stairs or watching an unfortunate incident with someone in a movie.
As some people believe that both nature and nutrition play a role in the development of phobias, it is unsurprising that much depends on the influence of other adults in the child’s life, the individual personality of the child and the parents’ own How to present phobia at home.
There are myths about phobias and other mental health disorders, and information from family or friends may be inaccurate. If you fear to affect your life, consider getting professional guidance. By proper treatment, you can successfully overcome most phobias.
List of Phobias – Phobia List
Below is the Phobia List from A to Z in sequence.
| A | |
| Achluophobia | Fear of darkness |
| Acrophobia | Fear of heights |
| Aerophobia | Fear of flying |
| Algophobia | Fear of pain |
| Alektorophobia | Fear of chickens |
| Agoraphobia | Fear of public spaces or crowds |
| Aichmophobia | Fear of needles or pointed objects |
| Amaxophobia | Fear of riding in a car |
| Androphobia | Fear of men |
| Anginophobia | Fear of angina or choking |
| Anthophobia | Fear of flowers |
| Anthropophobia | Fear of people or society |
| Aphenphosmphobia | Fear of being touched |
| Arachnophobia | Fear of spiders |
| Arithmophobia | Fear of numbers |
| Astraphobia | Fear of thunder and lightning |
| Ataxophobia | Fear of disorder or untidiness |
| Atelophobia | Fear of imperfection |
| Atychiphobia | Fear of failure |
| Autophobia | Fear of being alone |
| B | |
| 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 |
| C | |
| Cacophobia | Fear of ugliness |
| Catagelophobia | Fear of being ridiculed |
| Catoptrophobia | Fear of mirrors |
| Chionophobia | Fear of snow |
| Chromophobia | Fear of colors |
| Chronomentrophobia | Fear of clocks |
| Claustrophobia | Fear of confined spaces |
| Coulrophobia | Fear of clowns |
| Cyberphobia | Fear of computers |
| Cynophobia | Fear of dogs |
| D | |
| Dendrophobia | Fear of trees |
| Dentophobia | Fear of dentists |
| Domatophobia | Fear of houses |
| Dystychiphobia | Fear of accidents |
| E | |
| Ecophobia | Fear of the home |
| Elurophobia | Fear of cats |
| Entomophobia | Fear of insects |
| Ephebiphobia | Fear of teenagers |
| Equinophobia | Fear of horses |
| F, G | |
| Gamophobia | Fear of marriage |
| Genuphobia | Fear of knees |
| Glossophobia | Fear of speaking in public |
| Gynophobia | Fear of women |
| H | |
| Heliophobia | Fear of the sun |
| Hemophobia | Fear of blood |
| Herpetophobia | Fear of reptiles |
| Hydrophobia | Fear of water |
| Hypochondria | Fear of illness |
| I-K | |
| Iatrophobia | Fear of doctors |
| Insectophobia | Fear of insects |
| Koinoniphobia | Fear of rooms full of people |
| L | |
| Leukophobia | Fear of the color white |
| Lilapsophobia | Fear of tornadoes and hurricanes |
| Lockiophobia | Fear of childbirth |
| M | |
| Mageirocophobia | Fear of cooking |
| Megalophobia | Fear of large things |
| Melanophobia | Fear of the color black |
| Microphobia | Fear of small things |
| Mysophobia | Fear of dirt and germs |
| N | |
| Necrophobia | Fear of death or dead things |
| Noctiphobia | Fear of the night |
| Nosocomephobia | Fear of hospitals |
| Nyctophobia | Fear of the dark |
| O | |
| Obesophobia | Fear of gaining weight |
| Octophobia | Fear of the figure 8 |
| Ombrophobia | Fear of rain |
| Ophidiophobia | Fear of snakes |
| Ornithophobia | Fear of birds |
| P | |
| Papyrophobia | Fear of paper |
| Pathophobia | Fear of disease |
| Pedophobia | Fear of children |
| Philophobia | Fear of love |
| Phobophobia | Fear of phobias |
| Podophobia | Fear of feet |
| Pogonophobia | Fear of beards |
| Porphyrophobia | Fear of the color purple |
| Pteridophobia | Fear of ferns |
| Pteromerhanophobia | Fear of flying |
| Pyrophobia | Fear of fire |
| Q-S | |
| Samhainophobia | Fear of Halloween |
| Scolionophobia | Fear of school |
| Selenophobia | Fear of the moon |
| Sociophobia | Fear of social evaluation |
| Somniphobia | Fear of sleep |
| T | |
| Tachophobia | Fear of speed |
| Technophobia | Fear of technology |
| Tonitrophobia | Fear of thunder |
| Trypanophobia | Fear of needles or injections |
| U-Z | |
| 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 |
