TYPES OF PHOBIAS AND THEIR MEANING - ARTE - 2024

A phobia is a class of anxiety disorder that manifests itself as a very strong and irrational fear of something that actually represents little or no real danger. The definition of phobia can be "a persistent and irrational fear of a specific object, activity or situation that leads to a desire to avoid it."

The types of phobias are classified according to the feared object / circumstance / experience, so that each one that exists has its name. Some are not very rare, because most people are not usually afraid of the object that the person with phobia fears.

The term "specific phobia" means that the fear is not general, but specific to a particular object. For example, a person may have a phobia of heights, but not a phobia of dogs.

People who suffer from some kind of phobic disorder have rapid heartbeat, sweating, shortness of breath, tremors, and a strong desire to flee, when faced with the situation or the object of their phobia.

There are several explanations for why phobias develop, including evolutionary and behavioral theories. Whatever the cause, phobias are treatable conditions that can be minimized and even eliminated with cognitive and behavioral therapy techniques.

List of common types of specific phobias

Simple or specific phobias are irrational fears related to very specific things, such as the presence of certain animals, the fear of flying or the fear of heights.

It should be noted that when there is a phobia, it is not the normal restlessness or anxiety that most people feel in certain situations, but rather an uncontrollable fear that is accompanied by symptoms such as tachycardia and tremors.

Some of the most common phobias.

Here are some examples of the most common and rare specific phobias:

Glossophobia

Glossophobia is the fear of speaking in public and is very common. It is believed that people fear public speaking more than death itself.

It can manifest itself in childhood, and it is estimated that up to 75 percent of people have this fear to some degree.

Arachnophobia

Arachnophobia is a very common type of fear. This phobia is believed to affect women more than men. The sight of a spider can trigger a fear response, but in some cases, just an image of an arachnid or the thought of a spider can lead to feelings of overwhelming fear and panic.

Trypophobia

Trypophobia is the fear of holes or holes in the skin or other objects. Biological revulsion and culturally learned fears are the main causes.

While this fear may seem irrational to "normal" people, the mere sight or thought of holes can trigger a panic attack for the person suffering from it.

Blood phobia or hematophobia

Many people suffer from these types of fears, related to injectables, wounds, blood draws, etc.

This phobia is usually associated with a significant vasovagal response, with a drop in blood pressure and fainting when the person sees blood or must undergo a medical procedure.

Misophobia

Misophobia is the excessive fear of germs and dirt that can lead people to extreme cleaning or compulsive hand washing.

In some cases, this phobia may be related to obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Ophidiophobia

The fear of snakes is quite common and is attributed to evolutionary causes, personal experiences, or cultural influences.

Some suggest that since snakes are sometimes poisonous, our ancestors who avoided such dangers were more likely to survive.

Phobia of heights or acrophobia

It is called acrophobia, and it is not a simple vertigo, but an intense fear and anxiety that can occur in such everyday situations as leaning out of a balcony, observing the landscape from a high viewpoint or simply sitting near the edge of the terrace.

Cynophobia or phobia of dogs

Cinophobia is associated with specific personal experiences, such as being bitten by a dog during childhood. Such events can be quite traumatic and can lead to fear responses that last into adulthood.

Nyctophobia

Nyctophobia is the fear of the dark and is one of the most common fears of childhood. This phobia is caused by the brain's perception of what could happen in the dark.

Emetophobia

Emetophobia is the fear of vomiting. Vomiting phobia can be a disabling condition that severely limits the lives of those who struggle with it.

This specific phobia can also include subcategories of what causes anxiety, including fear of vomiting in public, fear of seeing vomit, fear of vomiting, or fear of nausea.

Aichmophobia

Aicmophobia is the fear of sharp things like pencils, needles, knives…

Atelophobia

Atelophobia is the fear of not doing something right or the fear of not being good enough. Simply put, it is a fear of imperfection. People suffering from this psychological disorder can often be depressed when their perceived expectations do not match reality.

Philophobia

Philphobia is the fear of falling in love or emotional attachment. It generally develops when a person has faced any emotional turmoil related to love in the past.

It affects the quality of life and drives people away from commitment. The worst aspect of the fear of being in love is that it keeps the person lonely.

Entomophobia

Entomophobia is a specific phobia characterized by an excessive or unrealistic fear of one or more kinds of insects and classified as a phobia by the DSM-5.

Claustrophobia

If in doubt, claustrophobia is one of the best known phobias. Those who suffer from it feel terrified when they are in closed spaces, such as an elevator, the subway or a tunnel, for example. It is estimated that between 2% and 5% of the population suffers from this phobia.

Aerophobia

Do you feel a knot in your stomach when you have to get on a plane but still do it? So you don't have aerophobia, although it is also one of the most common phobias. People with aerophobia can't even think about a plane trip without starting to show anxiety symptoms.

If for some reason they are forced to fly, fears and anxiety can begin to appear months before the trip, and for some people, it is impossible to make a plane trip directly, because fear paralyzes them completely.

Agoraphobia

Contrary to claustrophobia, agoraphobia is the terror of staying in open spaces. Agoraphobic people leave the house little, because they do not feel safe outside the home.

Often, those who suffer from this disease are afraid in crowded places, open places, such as the field or a square, or they are afraid of being alone and not receiving help if they need it.

Some people with agoraphobia may have a feeling of unreality about their body or the environment in which they are, when they are in one of the situations that causes the phobia.

As in the other types of phobia, the intensity of the symptoms varies from one person to another, and can be mild, moderate or severe.

Brontophobia

The phobia is related to natural phenomena, such as lightning, storms, winds, precipices or deep waters.

In some people, brontophobia is so marked that they do not leave home or go to work if the weather forecast is not what they expected.

It is a condition that usually begins in childhood and can be treated with medication and psychotherapy, like other phobias.

Coulrophobia

Coulrophobia is the fear of clowns. Many people develop this fear in childhood, although it can also occur in adulthood. Clowns are often portrayed in the media as bad guys, as in the movie "It", or in real life as was the case with serial killer John Wayne Gacy.

Thanatophobia

Thanatophobia is the fear of death, which is natural and instinctive in our species, however, there is also an irrational fear of the dead, of death and everything related to it.

Necrophobia

Necrophobia is the fear of death or dead things. It is a very common fear, especially after the loss of a loved one. It is a kind of defense mechanism of the mind. It can be a very difficult phobia to overcome due to the uncertainty surrounding death and the large component of faith associated with it.

Social phobia

It is a persistent and irrational fear of social situations, such as meetings or parties. In general, people who suffer from this phobia fear being observed and judged by other people, within the framework of these social situations.

Many times, social phobia begins in adolescence, favored by the overprotective parents and the lack of opportunities for social contact.

People with this condition feel very anxious and shy in everyday social situations, worry many days before the scheduled day for an event they must attend, and fear eating, drinking, or speaking in public.

This phobia frequently interferes with the normal development of the person's life, affecting school activities, work and causing great difficulty in making and keeping friends.

School phobia

School phobia is highly relevant due to its relationship with school performance. Some children feel great anxiety when going to school due to some specific aspect of the school context and that is why it is said that they suffer from this type of phobia.

It can appear due to relationship problems with teachers, with other children, or problems with one's appearance, fear of rejection, etc.

The child dresses very slowly or does not eat when preparing to go to school, flatly refuses to attend, screams and cries, or in some cases, attends but does not enter the classroom. From a physical point of view, there may be profuse sweating, stomach aches, headaches, high muscle tension, and dizziness or fainting.

If left untreated, phobias will persist throughout life, as they are chronic disorders. Most people improve with appropriate medication, psychotherapy, or both.

Other less frequent specific phobias

Astrophobia: fear of the celestial stars.

Hydrophobia: fear of water.

Astraphobia: fear of being a victim of lightning. It also applies to those with an irrational fear of thunder, storms, or lightning.

Anthropophobia: fear of people or social relationships. It is a subtype of social phobia.

Automatonophobia: exaggerated fear of what personifies a sentient being (dolls, stuffed animals, statues, puppets and other objects, usually inanimate).

Bacteriophobia: fear of bacteria, germs and their consequences.

Cacophobia: irrational fear of everything that is considered ugly (people, objects, animals, etc.).

Chronophobia: fear of the passage of time.

Dendrophobia: irrational fear of trees and their characteristic elements (branches, leaves, roots, foliage, etc.).

Echinophobia: fear of horses.

Gynophobia: fear and aversion to women. It is a phobia that usually affects only men.

Gamophobia: fear of marriage or commitment as a couple.

Hypopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia: fear of the pronunciation of long and / or complicated words.

Locquiphobia: fear of childbirth or giving birth. It is also known as tocophobia.

Microphobia: fear of small things or small things.

Necrophobia: fear of death, the dead or elements related to the possibility of dying (diseases for example).

Obesephobia: fear of being overweight, fat, or gaining weight. Not to be confused with gordofobia (rejection, not fear, the fat)

Octophobia: irrational fear of figure number 8.

Ornithophobia: fear of birds.

Philematophobia: fear of kisses of any kind.

Podophobia: fear of feet, even one's own.

Pyrophobia: extreme fear of fire.

Sociophobia: fear of being rejected or judged negatively by the social environment. It usually occurs in adolescents.

Venustraphobia: fear of attractive and beautiful women.

Zoophobia: fear of animals. It has many subphobias (arachnophobia, ophidiophobia, cynophobia, etc.).

Xenophobia: rejection of the foreigner.