A phobia is an abnormal fear of a specific object or a certain situation. Kendra cherry, ms, is an author, educational consultant, and speaker focused on helping students learn about psychology. Types of phobia mind, the mental health charity help for. Top books on phobia score a books total score is based on multiple factors, including the number of people who have voted for it and how highly those voters ranked the book. A phobia is an overwhelming and debilitating fear of an object, place, situation, feeling or animal phobias are more pronounced than fears.
Other common phobias that dont fit neatly into any of the four categories include. Types of phobia mind, the mental health charity help. While listing all of the phobias that may exist is not possible, it can be helpful to look through a list of some of the more commonly described phobias. Phobia list the ultimate list of phobias and fears. There are three main categories that a phobia can fall under. Usually, the fear is proportionally greater than the actual danger or threat. The three types of phobias are social phobia fear of public speaking, meeting new people, or other social situations, agoraphobia fear of being outside. These include fear of choking, fear of getting a disease such as cancer, and fear of clowns. A phobia is a morbid on pathological fear which the patient realizes to be absurd but nevertheless is unable to explain and overcome it.
You know whats about to happen and theres no way to avoid it now. The affected person goes to great lengths to avoid the situation or object, to a degree greater than the actual danger posed. Agoraphobia is a fear of places or situations that you cant escape from. Common specific phobias include animals, insects, heights, thunder, driving, public transportation, flying, dental or medical procedures, and elevators. This patient handout may be photocopied or printed out by a doctor free of charge for patient information purposes. Agoraphobia fear of open spaces or of being in crowded, public places like markets. Understanding phobias what are the different types of phobias. Any list of phobias could grow with the addition of newly coined terms for previously unnamed specific phobias. A phobia is a type of anxiety disorder that describes an excessive and irrational fear of a specific object, activity, or situation. If you have a phobia, you may experience a deep sense of dread or panic when you encounter the source of your fear. The term, which we use, for describing irrational and excessive fear is, phobia. Phobias are irrational fears of an activity, situation, or thing.
In this series of articles, we will discuss about different kinds of phobias found in people. It is a type of anxiety disorder which can precipitate a panic attack. Almost everyone has an irrational fear or twoof spiders, for example, or your annual dental checkup. The national institute of mental health suggests that eight percent of u. All the phobia names on this list have been found in some reference book. Here is a list of all phobias and their meanings, which will help you to get familiarized with the terminologies related to various phobias, and at the same time, will increase your knowledge about them. For information about agoraphobia and social phobia, visit what is a specific phobia. During treatment, it is a workbook in which individuals can record their own experience of their disorder, together with the.
The phobia typically results in a rapid onset of fear and is present for more than six months. People with a specific phobia have an excessive and unreasonable fear in the presence of or in anticipation of a specific object, place, or situation. There are hundreds of different psychological phobias that can appear in patients for different reasons. The fear of little people or objects or midgets is called achondroplasiaphobia. On the other hand, an undue inclination towards a specific object, place, thing, occurrence, etc.
Larger text size large text size regular text size. If a phobia becomes very severe, a person may organise their life around avoiding the thing thats causing them anxiety. It contains a large list of phobias and teaches how to cope with and ultimately cure your fear. For information about agoraphobia and social phobia go to what is a specific phobia. Phobias are a very common type of anxiety disorder. Go through the list and try to remember as many terms as you can. As you can see by looking at this list, almost any object or situation can. Gain a better understanding of both common and rare phobias so youre best equipped to manage your fear. They often develop in childhood or adolescence, and for many people they will lessen as they get older. Specific phobias the anxiety disorders association of america adaa is a national 501c3 nonprofit organization whose mission is to promote the prevention, treatment, and cure of anxiety disorders and to improve the lives of all people who suffer from them. When someone has a phobia, they experience intense fear of a certain object or situation. Aerophobia fear of drafts, air swallowing, or airbourne noxious substances.
The fear is so bad it limits a persons activities and life. For example, you may know that it is safe to be out on a balcony in a highrise block, but feel terrified to go out on it or even enjoy the view. Common phobias gk notes in pdf different people react differently to various stimuli. People who suffer from generalized anxiety disorder experience excessive, unrealistic worry almost constantly, even when there is little or nothing to provoke. Unreasonable fear and anxiety around a specific object or situation, generally causing its complete avoidance. But when fears become so severe that they cause tremendous anxiety and interfere with your normal life, theyre called phobias. Unlike general anxiety disorders, a phobia is usually connected to something specific. Social phobia also called social anxiety or social anxiety disorder a lot of people can find social situations difficult, or feel shy or awkward at certain times this is completely normal. Aug 03, 2016 phobias are irrational fears of an activity, situation, or thing. The roller coaster hesitates for a split second at the peak of its steep track after a long, slow climb. Steven gans, md is boardcertified in psychiatry and is an active supervisor, teacher, and mentor at massachusetts general hospital.
If you have social phobia, you will feel a sense of intense fear in social. Some phobias, however, dont fall into one of the four common categories. She might feel terrible distress and fear when the sky turns cloudy. A phobia is an irrational fear of something thats unlikely to cause harm. Anxiety is the state in which an individual is inordinately apprehensive, tense, and uneasy about the prospect of something terrible happening. People have had phobias for thousands of years, but only recently have we learned about those fears or even known enough to call them phobias. Automatonophobia fear of ventriloquists dummies, animatronic creatures, representions of sentient beings.
Get a printable copy pdf file of the complete article 827k, or click on a page image below to browse page by page. Fear of particular objects or social situations that immediately results in anxiety and can sometimes lead to panic attacks. People with anxiety disorders are incapacitated with chronic and. Specific phobias patient treatment manual this manual is both a guide to treatment and a workbook for persons who suffer from anxiety and panic disorder. The word itself comes from the greek word phobos, which means fear or horror. The examples of some most common phobias are aquaphobia, acrophobia, arachnophobia, etc. People with specific phobias actively seek to avoid the feared object or. If in case they encounter such people, they flee away from that place or have an anxiety attack. Aeronausiphobia fear of vomiting secondary to airsickness. A phobia is an excessive and irrational fear reaction. Typical symptoms of phobias can include nausea, trembling, rapid heartbeat, feelings of unreality, and being preoccupied with the fear object. Read this article to get the important notes on phobia types, symptoms, theories and treatment of phobia. Phobias are one of the most common mental illnesses in the united states. They develop whena person has an exaggerated or unrealistic sense of danger about a situation or object.
Phobias may be irrational, but people with phobias do not fail reality testing. People with a specific phobias have an excessive and unreasonable fear in the presence of or anticipation of a specific object, place, or situation. Specific phobias these are phobias about a specific object or situation, such as spiders or flying. Such people avoid visiting circus, casinos, fairs, or malls due to the presence of dwarf or small people. People with specific phobias are highly distressed about having the fear, and often will go to great lengths to avoid the object or situation in question. Full text full text is available as a scanned copy of the original print version. A specific phobia is an intense, persistent, irrational fear of a specific object, situation, or activity, or person. Phobias are a type of anxiety disorder and differ from generalized anxiety disorders because the anxiety is only experienced when you are faced with the specific objectsituation feared. Women are twice as likely to suffer from them as men. Please dont ask me about curing phobias because i know little about them. The three types of phobias are social phobia fear of public speaking, meeting new people, or other social situations, agoraphobia fear of being outside, and specific phobias fear of particular items or situations. Two of the most common complex phobias are social phobia and agoraphobia. A phobia is defined as the persistent fear of a situation, activity, or thing that causes the sufferer to want to avoid it.
Automysophobia fear of being dirty, unclean, or smelling bad. Phobias can develop around any object or situation, and some people may have multiple phobias. A fear for an alsatian may become a fear of all types of dogs in course of time. Hydrophobia, for example, literally translates to fear of water. Most phobias are classified into three categories and, according to the diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, fifth edition, such phobias are considered subtypes of anxiety disorder. Dishabiliophobia fear of undressing in front of someone. Oct 28, 2019 a specific, or simple, phobia is the fear of a particular object or situation.
The strategies discussed in this book are designed to target these core components of fears and phobias. Anxiety disorders, which include panic attacks and phobias, are among the most common mental illnesses, affecting about 19 million american adults and millions of children. Specific phobias symptoms center for the treatment and. Many people with phobias will go out of their way to avoid the things they fear. The lists are arranged in the alphabetical order of words. In addition to improving your general knowledge, this list will also enhance your vocabulary. Coping with anxiety and phobias 2 on the other hand, never before have there been so many therapies to help control anxiety and preserve the relationships that can be undone by it. A girl with a phobia of thunderstorms might be afraid to go to school if the weather forecast predicts a storm. To revise the list from time to time, you can also download it as pdf. Go through the given lists of fears and check if any of them matches your symptoms. A phobia is an extreme form of fear or anxiety triggered by a particular situation such as going outside or object such as spiders, even when there is no danger. First, specific phobias, which are usually your phobias of something such as spiders, clowns or even something like your dentist. A phobia is a type of anxiety disorder defined by a persistent and excessive fear of an object or situation. Different types of phobias as you may have noticed from the above examples, there are several di.
Medications can, in many cases, reduce or eliminate anxiety symptoms. Autophobia fear of loneliness, being alone or of solitude. For every individual with an anxiety disorder, many more are affected by it, including spouses, children, other relatives, friends, and employers. Jun 05, 2019 phobias are abnormal fear of a specific object, animal, bird, insect, activity or a certain situation.
If youre looking for a phobia name thats not on the listim afraid i dont have it. Phobias involve intense fear surrounding an object or situation that realistically poses little or no real danger. Phobias are specific anxiety disorders when the fear for an object, animal, bird, insect, situation or event is extreme and affect normal living. Women are more likely to experience phobias than men. When a person has a psychological phobia, they will. Neurotic phobias represents a strong tendency and persistence for the fear to generalize similar objects or events. A phobia is an unreasonable fear of something, that in reality, may not be very harmful. There are three main types of phobias specific phobia, a persistent, irrational fear of particular objects or.
Understanding unreasonable fear psychological phobias are what most people think of when the term phobia is mentioned. The english suffixes phobia, phobic, phobe from greek phobos, fear occur in technical usage in psychiatry to construct words that describe irrational, abnormal, unwarranted, persistent, or disabling fear as a mental disorder e. The nature of anxiety disorders fear is an innate alarm response to a dangerous or lifethreatening situation. Social phobia, also called social anxiety disorder, is fear of social situations where you. A phobia is an intense fear of something that, in reality, poses little. Also, a number of psychiatric websites exist that at the first glance cover a huge number of phobias, but in fact use a standard text to fit any phobia and reuse it for all unusual phobias by merely changing the name. Acarophobia fear of itching or of the insects that cause itching. Sometimes it leads to bizarre results, such as suggestions to cure prostitute phobia. First recognised by hippocrates and subsequently discussed by locke, phobias, according. The fear can be of a certain place, situation, or object. A guy with social phobia experiences intense fear of public speaking or interacting, and may be afraid to answer questions in class, give a report, or speak to. Understanding phobias specific simple phobias these are phobias about one thing, such as spiders or flying. Phobias are abnormal fear of a specific object, animal, bird, insect, activity or a certain situation. Place, locked in an enclosed place cleithrophobia, cleisiophobia, or clithrophobia.
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