THOUGHTS AND COMMENTARY
A Book Excerpt From
The Road to Neuroplasticity and Change to Heal Trauma, Improve Cognitive Capacity and Maximize Performance
ABOUT THE BOOK
Irrational Fears - Common, Uncommon and Bizarre
See Also:
Thoughts and Awareness of Self
Anatomy Of the Self: Part 1 ~ Part 2 ~ Glossary
Your Memory Holds the Secrets
The Power of Positive Thought - Neuroplasticity
Practice Positive Self Affirmations Thoughts, Perceptions and Delusions Complexity of Human Emotion
Thoughts and Awareness of Self
Anatomy Of the Self: Part 1 ~ Part 2 ~ Glossary
Your Memory Holds the Secrets
The Power of Positive Thought - Neuroplasticity
Practice Positive Self Affirmations Thoughts, Perceptions and Delusions Complexity of Human Emotion
A phobia by definition is an irrational fear of an object or a situation. The word itself comes from the Greek word phobos, which means fear or horror. It can range from something small like the fear of the number 13 or massive like the fear of sunshine. The individual affected is filled with panic and dread - far beyond simply being scared.
A phobia is an unreasonable fear caused by the presence of thought of the object or situation even though it may pose little to no actual danger. Adults with a specific phobia recognize that the fear is irrational or unreasonable yet they are unable to overcome it. The distress can interfere with their ability to function.
According to the DSM, specific phobias typically fall within five general categories:
There’s no official list of phobias beyond what’s outlined in the DSM, so clinicians and researchers make up names for them as the need arises. This is typically done by combining a Greek (or sometimes Latin) prefix that describes the phobia with the -phobia suffix.
IN THIS LIST:
THE MOST COMMON PHOBIAS
Some of the most common phobias include:
MORE BUT NOT SO COMMON PHOBIAS
BIZARRE PHOBIAS
Nomophobia is the fear of being out of a phone’s range of service, not having one’s phone charged, having no credit on one’s phone or misplacing it. It is believed that over 50 percent of cell phone users are affected by nomophobia.
Ancraophobia is defined as the fear of wind. People who suffer from ancraophobia tend to become anxious out of doors and near open windows. Anxious feelings can also manifest themselves when passing hand dryers or overhead air vents.
Spectrophobia is a fear of mirrors and one’s own reflection. The phobia tends to stem from a traumatic event involving mirrors, perhaps the fear of apparitions or ghosts being in the mirror or low self-esteem related to one’s physical appearance.
Linonophobia refers to the fear of string. As with all phobias, the fear stems from a negative association with the item.
Ablutophobia is the persistent fear of cleaning, washing or bathing and occurs more in children and women than men.
Didaskaleinophobia is a legitimate fear of going to school. Commonly known as a “school phobia,” the fear is more prevalent in younger students (ages 7 to 11), and is believed to stem from anxiety triggered by being separated from their parents. It can also be the result of bullying.
Optophobia is the fear of opening one’s eyes. Yes, there are people scared of opening their eyes.
Allodoxaphobia is the fear of opinions. The phobia is believed to be associated with previous encounters wherein the person affected has not been able to properly express their opinion, or has had their opinion rejected. It is visible in social situations when the affected person refuses to involve themselves in discussions and can also reflect a fear of confrontation.
Arachibutyrophobia is the fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of the mouth. As with all other phobias, the symptoms of arachibutyrophobia involve panic, dread, terror, anxiety, rapid heartbeat and shortness of breath when the peanut butter is wedged on the roof of one’s mouth.
Chorophobia is the fear of dancing and is something that, unfortunately, even alcohol can’t fix. It also manifests itself into a fear of any situation, event or person that is associated with dancing.
Alliumphobia is the feeling of shaking or feeling unable to breathe when around garlic or other pungent plants like onions and chives.
Phobophobia is the fear of developing a phobia.
Sesquipedalophobia: Fear of long words. A twisted irony.
Dextrophobia: Fear of having objects to your right. With a form of obsessive-compulsive disorder, some people can’t stand to have objects at the right side of their body, which could make it hard to drive in the fast lane with vehicles to the right. On the flip side, levophobia is defined by fear of things to the left side of the body.
Siderophobia: Fear of stars Many people enjoy stargazing on a clear night, but that’s not true for everyone. People with siderophobia have a fear of stars, and might keep their curtains closed to avoid getting overwhelmed by how vast and uncontrollable the universe is.
Arithmophobia: Fear of numbers. For some people, a fear of numbers goes beyond frustrations over solving equations and understanding geometry. People with arithmophobia have an irrational fear of numbers in general.
Logophobia: Fear of reading (or learning how). People with the fear of words function fine in conversation, but when shown written words, they could become breathless, shaky, or paranoid. Most people with logophobia don’t know how to read, and they may refuse to try to learn.
Plutophobia: Fear of money. This is one of those unusual phobias that can manifest as dread around money itself, the chance of getting rich, or wealthy people.
Ideophobia: Fear of reason or ideas. Those with extreme distrust or fear of reason or ideas have ideophobia.
Geliophobia: Fear of laughter. People with the fear of laughter might hate chuckling or the sound of others’ giggles if they have one of these unusual phobias. Some just feel slightly uncomfortable, but others could start to hyperventilate. On the flip side gelotophobia is the fear of being laughed at.
Omphalophobia: Fear of belly buttons. People with the fear of belly buttons try to avoid touching their own, even in the bath, and might cover their belly buttons with a bandage or avoid going to places full of exposed navels, like the beach.
Eleutherophobia: Fear of freedom. People with the fear of freedom generally can’t do anything without taking an order from someone else, making them much more inclined to be followers than leaders. They might be scared of the increased responsibilities that come with freedom.
Chaetophobia: Fear of hair. Whether their own or other people’s hair people with chaetophobia have the fear of hair. They might hate running their fingers through it or even be immobilized by a clump of hair on the floor.
Kathisophobia: Fear of sitting down. While you look forward to sinking into a comfy chair after a long day, some people experience the fear of sitting down.
Aurophobia: Fear of gold. A fancy necklace doesn’t impress anyone with the fear of gold. They could have panic attacks with nausea, sweating, or an irregular heartbeat when they see someone else wearing the metal.
Kinemortophobia: Fear of zombies. These people have a real phobia of the fictional creatures that are generally found only in horror movies (or nightmares).
Neophobiacs feel anxious about new life experiences. For example, a departure from their morning routine may be bothersome. Another fearful feeling may involve meeting friends at a different restaurant instead of the usual corner cafe. New experiences, no matter how large or small, can create serious fear and anxiety
TECHNICAL PHOBIAS
LITERARY PHOBIAS OF WRITERS
A phobia is an unreasonable fear caused by the presence of thought of the object or situation even though it may pose little to no actual danger. Adults with a specific phobia recognize that the fear is irrational or unreasonable yet they are unable to overcome it. The distress can interfere with their ability to function.
According to the DSM, specific phobias typically fall within five general categories:
- fears related to animals (spiders, dogs, insects)
- fears related to the natural environment (heights, thunder, darkness)
- fears related to blood, injury, or medical issues (injections, broken bones, falls)
- fears related to specific situations (flying, riding an elevator, driving)
- other (choking, loud noises, drowning)
There’s no official list of phobias beyond what’s outlined in the DSM, so clinicians and researchers make up names for them as the need arises. This is typically done by combining a Greek (or sometimes Latin) prefix that describes the phobia with the -phobia suffix.
IN THIS LIST:
- Common and not so common phobias
- Bizarre Phobias
- Technical Phobias
- Literary Phobias
THE MOST COMMON PHOBIAS
Some of the most common phobias include:
- acrophobia, fear of heights
- aerophobia, fear of flying
- agoraphobia - Fear of open spaces or crowds
- arachnophobia, fear of spiders
- astraphobia, fear of thunder and lightning
- autophobia, fear of being alone
- claustrophobia, fear of confined or crowded spaces
- coulrophobia - fear of clowns
- hemophobia, fear of blood
- hydrophobia, fear of water
- ophidiophobia, fear of snakes
- zoophobia, fear of animals
MORE BUT NOT SO COMMON PHOBIAS
- Achluophobia - Fear of darkness
- Acrophobia - Fear of heights
- Aerophobia - Fear of flying
- Algophobia - Fear of pain
- Aichmophobia - Fear of needles or pointed objects
- Amaxophobia - Fear of riding in a car
- Androphobia - Fear of men
- Anginophobia - Fear of angina or choking
- Anthrophobia - 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
- 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
- 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
- Cyberphobia - Fear of computers
- Cynophobia - Fear of dogs
- Dendrophobia - Fear of trees
- Dentophobia - Fear of dentists
- Domatophobia - Fear of houses
- Dystychiphobia - Fear of accidents
- Ecophobia - Fear of the home
- Elurophobia - Fear of cats
- Entomophobia - Fear of insects
- Ephebiphobia - Fear of teenagers
- Equinophobia - Fear of horses
- Gamophobia - Fear of marriage
- Genuphobia - Fear of knees
- Glossophobia - Fear of speaking in public
- Gynophobia - Fear of women
- Heliophobia - Fear of the sun
- Hemophobia - Fear of blood
- Herpetophobia - Fear of reptiles
- Hydrophobia - Fear of water
- Hypochondria - Fear of illness
- Iatrophobia - Fear of doctors
- Insectophobia - Fear of insects
- Koinoniphobia - Fear of rooms
- Leukophobia - Fear of the color white
- Lilapsophobia - Fear of tornadoes and hurricanes
- Lockiophobia - Fear of childbirth
- 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
- Necrophobia - Fear of death or dead things
- Noctiphobia - Fear of the night
- Nosocomephobia - Fear of hospitals
- Nyctophobia - Fear of the dark
- Obesophobia - Fear of gaining weight
- Octophobia - Fear of the figure 8
- Ombrophobia - Fear of rain
- Ophidiophobia - Fear of snakes
- Ornithophobia - Fear of birds
- Papyrophobia - Fear of paper
- Pathophobia - Fear of disease
- Pedophobia - Fear of children
- Philophobia - Fear of love
- Podophobia - Fear of feet
- Porphyrophobia - Fear of the color purple
- Pteridophobia - Fear of ferns
- Pteromerhanophobia - Fear of flying
- Pyrophobia - Fear of fire
- Samhainophobia - Fear of Halloween
- Scolionophobia - Fear of school
- Selenophobia - Fear of the moon
- Sociophobia - Fear of social evaluation
- Somniphobia - Fear of sleep
- Tachophobia - Fear of speed
- Technophobia - Fear of technology
- Tonitrophobia - Fear of thunder
- Trypanophobia - Fear of needles/injections
- 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
BIZARRE PHOBIAS
Nomophobia is the fear of being out of a phone’s range of service, not having one’s phone charged, having no credit on one’s phone or misplacing it. It is believed that over 50 percent of cell phone users are affected by nomophobia.
Ancraophobia is defined as the fear of wind. People who suffer from ancraophobia tend to become anxious out of doors and near open windows. Anxious feelings can also manifest themselves when passing hand dryers or overhead air vents.
Spectrophobia is a fear of mirrors and one’s own reflection. The phobia tends to stem from a traumatic event involving mirrors, perhaps the fear of apparitions or ghosts being in the mirror or low self-esteem related to one’s physical appearance.
Linonophobia refers to the fear of string. As with all phobias, the fear stems from a negative association with the item.
Ablutophobia is the persistent fear of cleaning, washing or bathing and occurs more in children and women than men.
Didaskaleinophobia is a legitimate fear of going to school. Commonly known as a “school phobia,” the fear is more prevalent in younger students (ages 7 to 11), and is believed to stem from anxiety triggered by being separated from their parents. It can also be the result of bullying.
Optophobia is the fear of opening one’s eyes. Yes, there are people scared of opening their eyes.
Allodoxaphobia is the fear of opinions. The phobia is believed to be associated with previous encounters wherein the person affected has not been able to properly express their opinion, or has had their opinion rejected. It is visible in social situations when the affected person refuses to involve themselves in discussions and can also reflect a fear of confrontation.
Arachibutyrophobia is the fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of the mouth. As with all other phobias, the symptoms of arachibutyrophobia involve panic, dread, terror, anxiety, rapid heartbeat and shortness of breath when the peanut butter is wedged on the roof of one’s mouth.
Chorophobia is the fear of dancing and is something that, unfortunately, even alcohol can’t fix. It also manifests itself into a fear of any situation, event or person that is associated with dancing.
Alliumphobia is the feeling of shaking or feeling unable to breathe when around garlic or other pungent plants like onions and chives.
Phobophobia is the fear of developing a phobia.
Sesquipedalophobia: Fear of long words. A twisted irony.
Dextrophobia: Fear of having objects to your right. With a form of obsessive-compulsive disorder, some people can’t stand to have objects at the right side of their body, which could make it hard to drive in the fast lane with vehicles to the right. On the flip side, levophobia is defined by fear of things to the left side of the body.
Siderophobia: Fear of stars Many people enjoy stargazing on a clear night, but that’s not true for everyone. People with siderophobia have a fear of stars, and might keep their curtains closed to avoid getting overwhelmed by how vast and uncontrollable the universe is.
Arithmophobia: Fear of numbers. For some people, a fear of numbers goes beyond frustrations over solving equations and understanding geometry. People with arithmophobia have an irrational fear of numbers in general.
Logophobia: Fear of reading (or learning how). People with the fear of words function fine in conversation, but when shown written words, they could become breathless, shaky, or paranoid. Most people with logophobia don’t know how to read, and they may refuse to try to learn.
Plutophobia: Fear of money. This is one of those unusual phobias that can manifest as dread around money itself, the chance of getting rich, or wealthy people.
Ideophobia: Fear of reason or ideas. Those with extreme distrust or fear of reason or ideas have ideophobia.
Geliophobia: Fear of laughter. People with the fear of laughter might hate chuckling or the sound of others’ giggles if they have one of these unusual phobias. Some just feel slightly uncomfortable, but others could start to hyperventilate. On the flip side gelotophobia is the fear of being laughed at.
Omphalophobia: Fear of belly buttons. People with the fear of belly buttons try to avoid touching their own, even in the bath, and might cover their belly buttons with a bandage or avoid going to places full of exposed navels, like the beach.
Eleutherophobia: Fear of freedom. People with the fear of freedom generally can’t do anything without taking an order from someone else, making them much more inclined to be followers than leaders. They might be scared of the increased responsibilities that come with freedom.
Chaetophobia: Fear of hair. Whether their own or other people’s hair people with chaetophobia have the fear of hair. They might hate running their fingers through it or even be immobilized by a clump of hair on the floor.
Kathisophobia: Fear of sitting down. While you look forward to sinking into a comfy chair after a long day, some people experience the fear of sitting down.
Aurophobia: Fear of gold. A fancy necklace doesn’t impress anyone with the fear of gold. They could have panic attacks with nausea, sweating, or an irregular heartbeat when they see someone else wearing the metal.
Kinemortophobia: Fear of zombies. These people have a real phobia of the fictional creatures that are generally found only in horror movies (or nightmares).
Neophobiacs feel anxious about new life experiences. For example, a departure from their morning routine may be bothersome. Another fearful feeling may involve meeting friends at a different restaurant instead of the usual corner cafe. New experiences, no matter how large or small, can create serious fear and anxiety
TECHNICAL PHOBIAS
- Abibliophobia: Fear of running out of reading matter.
- Asymmetriphobia: Fear of Asymmetrical things
- Apeirophobia: Fear of Infinity
- Cyberphobia: Fear of computers
- Drosmartoiphobia: Fear of dropping your cellphone down the toilet.
- Electrophobia: Fear of Electricity
- Enterophobia: Fear of the hitting the send button on an email.
- Ergophobia: Fear of work.
- Expensivetechophobia: Fear of paying for an expensive technology you have little or no knowledge about
- Expiraphobia: Fear of forgetting to renew a domain name and it expires.
- FOMO: Fear of missing out (related to social media)
- Foransequephobia: Fear of forgetting the answer to your secret question.
- Formaspassphobia: Fear of forgetting your master password.
- Gnosiophobia: Fear of knowledge.
- Hellenologophobia: Fear of Scientific terminology, complex
- Ideophobia: Fear of ideas.
- Interophobia: Fear of the internet.
- Loremophobia: the fear of losing the remote control for the TV.
- Mechanophobia: Fear of Machines
- Metallophobia: Fear of Metal
- Meteorophobia: Fear of Meteors
- Nointernetophobia: Fear of not having access to the internet.
- Nomophobia: Fear of being without a mobile device
- Phonophobia: Fear of Telephones, noises or voices, or speaking aloud
- Phronemophobia: Fear of thinking.
- Plagiarophobia: Fear of plagiarism. Of stealing your idea.
- Selfiephobia: Hating how you look in a selfie
- Sophophobia: Fear of Learning
- Spacephobia: Fear of Outer space
- Symmetrophobia: Fear of Symmetry
- Technophobia: Fear of technology
- Telephonophobia: Fear of the telephone.
LITERARY PHOBIAS OF WRITERS
- Abibliophobia: Fear of running out of reading matter.
- Agentophobia: Fear of literary agents.
- Allodoxaphobia: Fear of opinions.
- Amazophobia: Fear of bad reviews.
- Anthropophobia: Fear of people
- Atelophobia: Fear of imperfection.
- Bibliophobia: Fear of books.
- Catagelophobia or katagelophobia: Fear of being ridiculed.
- Cyberphobia: Fear of computers
- Deuterophobia: Fear that your second book won’t be anywhere near as good as your first. Also the fear of long and difficult books of the Bible.
- Drosmartoiphobia: Fear of dropping your cellphone down the toilet.
- Enterophobia: Fear of the hitting the send button on an email.
- Ergophobia: Fear of work.
- Expensivetechophobia: Fear of paying for an expensive technology you have little or no knowledge about
- Expiraphobia: Fear of forgetting to renew a domain name and it expires.
- FOMO: Fear of missing out (related to social media)
- Foransequephobia: Fear of forgetting the answer to your secret question.
- Formaspassphobia: Fear of forgetting your master password.
- Glossophobia: Fear of public speaking.
- Gnosiophobia: Fear of knowledge.
- Graphophobia: Fear of handwriting.
- Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia: Fear of long words.
- Hypegiaphobia: Fear of responsibility
- Ideophobia: Fear of ideas.
- Interophobia: Fear of the internet.
- Kakorrhaphiaphobi: Fear of failure.
- Logophobia: Fear of words.
- Metrophobia: Fear of poetry.
- Mythophobia: Fear of myths and mythology.
- Neophobia: Fear of new things.
- Nointernetophobia: Fear of not having access to the internet.
- Nomophobia: Fear of being without a mobile device
- Onomatophobia: Fear of names.
- Papyrophobia: Fear of paper.
- Philosophobia: Fear of philosophy.
- Phobiaphobia: Fear of fear itself.
- Phronemophobia: Fear of thinking.
- Plagiarophobia: Fear of plagiarism. Of stealing your idea.
- Publiophobia:!Fear of being published.
- Redinkophobia: Fear of editors, editing, and marked-up manuscripts.
- SASEphobia : Fear of rejection.
- Scriptophobia:!Fear of writing in public.
- Sesquipedalophobia: Fear of long words.
- Sophophobia: Fear of learning.
- Symbolophobia: Fear of figurative and symbolic ideas.
- Technophobia: Fear of technology
- Telephonophobia: Fear of the telephone.
- Tropophobia: Fear of making changes.
STARLIGHT POETRY BY KAI
View Me on Twitter @kairosoflife
See Creativity Chaos - a Creativity Blog by Kai
About | Reprints & Copyrights | Home
© 2019-2020 Copyright Starlight Poetry
VIEW FULL SITE DIRECTORY
View Me on Twitter @kairosoflife
See Creativity Chaos - a Creativity Blog by Kai
About | Reprints & Copyrights | Home
© 2019-2020 Copyright Starlight Poetry
VIEW FULL SITE DIRECTORY