What’s your phobia?
Even if you are like FDR and have nothing to fear but fear itself, you are still in the Phobia Club. You have a phobia called “phobophobia” (the fear of phobias). The DSM-5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) defines specific phobias as “a marked fear or anxiety about a specific object or situation.” The feared object or situation provokes immediate and extreme fear or anxiety, is typically considered an irrational fear (out of proportion compared to the real likelihood of danger), and persistent—lasting six months or longer. These specific phobias can include the fear of blood, fear of dogs, fear of clowns, fear of water, or fear of germs. Ironically, a phobia of healthcare settings or medical procedures can discourage those suffering from seeking help from a mental health professional.
If you have a phobia, relax—you’re not alone. Specific phobias are considered a rather common type of anxiety disorder. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, about 1 in 10 (or 6.3 million) Americans have a diagnosed phobia. Symptoms of phobias are quite similar to a panic attack and include an increased heart rate, intense fear, shortness of breath, sweating, or feeling lightheaded. Treatment options range from the psychiatric, such as antidepressants and beta blockers, to psychotherapy, such as cognitive behavioral therapy or exposure therapy.
So, as we took down our Halloween decorations, we started wondering which types of phobias are the most popular. (This is how blog ideas are born at ProEdit.) As Thanksgiving approaches, it’s interesting to note that fear of family members can also develop into a phobia. Is yours on the list of the top 10 most common phobias? Let’s look at this list of phobias.
10 Most Common Phobias
- Glossophobia: The fear of public speaking.
- Necrophobia: The fear of death or corpses.
- Arachnophobia: The fear of spiders.
- Nyctophobia: The fear of the dark or night.
- Acrophobia: The fear of heights.
- Sociophobia: The fear of people or social situations. Also known as social phobia or social anxiety disorder.
- Aerophobia: The fear of flying.
- Claustrophobia: The fear of confined spaces.
- Agoraphobia: The fear of open spaces, or not being able to escape.
- Astraphobia: The fear of thunder and lightning.
Didn’t find yours on the list? Maybe you’ve got an especially weird one.
10 Least Common Phobias
Let’s shoot over to the other end of the spectrum and look at the top 10 least common phobias.
- Alektorophobia: The fear of chickens.
- Metrophobia: The fear of poetry or rhyming verse.
- Ephebiphobia: The fear of youths.
- Ergasiophobia: The fear of work.
- Optophobia: The fear of opening one’s eyes.
- Neophobia: The fear of newness.
- Anthophobia: The fear of flowers.
- Pteronophobia: The fear of being tickled by feathers.
- Vestiphobia: The fear of clothing.
- Phronemophobia: The fear of thinking.
Stay brave!
More Top 10s
- 10 Top Pet Names
- 10 Misheard Lyrics
- 10 Things to Give Up
- 10 Evolving Words
- 10 Key Scrabble Words
- 10 Surprising Words
Sources: psychology.about.com, voices.yahoo.com