The sense of fear that comes from someone or something posing an immediate threat to your well-being or survival is a rational fear. Whether that threat is a vicious dog or a burglar with a gun, fear is meant to compel you to take actions that increase your chances of survival.
When you experience extreme fear of someone or something that does not pose an immediate threat to your survival, that fear may be considered irrational. The psychological term for an irrational fear is phobia.
Many people have mild phobias that do not interfere with their daily activities. For example, you may feel uncomfortable in the dark so you place nightlights throughout your house. Another person might feel slightly anxious when they get on an elevator and the doors close. However, they can manage their anxiety by telling themselves the doors will open in a few seconds. In other words, fearing the closed doors of an elevator doesn’t stop them from using an elevator.
Criteria for Diagnosing Phobia
The DSM-V outlines specific symptoms necessary for a clinical diagnosis of phobia:
- Anxiety and fear that is disproportionate to the actual threat or danger posed by a certain situation, object, or individual
- Rigid avoidance of the phobic situation
- Feeling intense distress, panic, and anxiety when confronted with the phobia
- Significant disruption to the individual’s routine, occupational performance, social activities, or relationships occurs due to avoidance of the phobia.
- Avoidance behavior, accompanied by anxiety and fear, persists for at least six months
- Phobic symptoms cannot be attributed to another mental illness, such as PTSD or separation anxiety disorder
A classic example of a phobia that may seriously interfere with a person’s life is agoraphobia. People with agoraphobia can be so terrified of crowds and public spaces that they refuse to leave their homes and become housebound.
Treatment for Phobia
Standard treatment options for phobias include cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), antidepressants, and anti-anxiety medications. Systematic desensitization therapy is a form of behavioral therapy that involves gradually exposing the individual to the feared object or situation while teaching relaxation techniques. The goal of systemic desensitization therapy is to replace the anxiety response with more relaxed response by showing the person that their phobia poses no real danger to themselves or others.
List of Phobias: A to Z
A
Aerophobia – fear of flying
Achluophobia – fear of darkness
Acrophobia – fear of heights
Ailurophobia – fear of cats (either domesticated or wild)
Aichmophobia – fear of pointed objects, like needles, knives, and safety pins
Algophobia – fear of pain
Androphobia – fear of men (could include fear of male mannequins or pictures of male faces)
Anthophobia – fear of flowers
Aphenphosmphobi – fear of being touched (could be people, animals, plants, or inanimate objects)
Autophobia – fear of being alone
Arachnophobia – fear of spiders
Astraphobia – fear of thunder and lightning
Arithmophobia – fear of numbers
Anthrophobia – fear of people (fear could involve making eye contact, crowds, and extreme anxiety about being judged by others)
Aquaphobia – fear of water
Astrophobia – fear of the stars, the universe, and/or space
Automatonophobia – fear of ventriloquist’s dummies, wax figures, or animatronic-type robots
B
Botanophobia – fear of plants
Batrachophobia – fear of amphibians (toads, frogs, salamanders, and newts)
Bathmophobia – fear of steep hills or slopes; fear of stairs (could include small stepladders or anything with a series of stairsteps)
Bibliophobia – fear of books, or anything associated with a book, such as the spine, pages, or covers
C
Cynophobia – fear of dogs
Chionophobia – fear of snow
Coulrophobia -fear of clowns
Chromophobia – fear of colors
Chronophobia – fear of time and/or clocks, watches or other timepieces
Chirophobia – fear of hands
Cyberphobia – fear of computers or technology
Catoptrophobia – fear of mirrors
Cacophobia – fear of ugliness or ugly things
Cyberchondria – fear of having a serious health problem based on online research
Chorophobia – fear of dancing (usually watching others dance or watching videos of people dancing)
Claustrophobia – fear of enclosed places; fear of being trapped in an enclosed space with no way out
Chiroptophobia – fear of bats
D
Domatophobia – fear of houses
Dementophobia – fear of insanity or going insane
Dipsophobia – fear of drinking alcohol or being around alcohol
Dishabiliophobia – fear of undressing in front of someone
Daemonophobia – fear of demons or other demonic supernatural entities
Dendrophobia – fear of trees
Dentophobia – fear of dentists or dental procedures (one of the most common phobias reported in the U.S.)
Decidophobia – fear of making decisions
Dromophobia – fear of crossing streets
Dolichophobia – fear of long things
Doraphobia – fear of fur or skins of animals
E
Ecclesiophobia – fear of churches
Emetophobia – fear of vomiting
Eisoptrophobia – fear of mirrors or seeing oneself in a mirror
Eosophobia – fear of dawn or daylight
Equinophobia – fear of horses
Erotophobia – fear of sexual love
Entomophobia – fear of insects
Erythrophobia – fear of the color red
F
Frigophobia – fear of cold or cold things
Febriphobia – fear of having a fever or of being around someone with a fever
G
Galeophobia – fear of sharks
Glossophobia – fear of public speaking
Gynophobia – fear of women
Gymnophobia – fear of nudity
Gerontophobia – fear of aging or growing old
Graphophobia – fear of writing or handwriting
Genuphobia – fear of knees and/or kneeling or seeing someone kneel
Gephyrophobia – fear of bridges
H
Hemophobia – fear of blood
Hydrophobia – fear of water
Heliophobia – fear of the sun or sunlight
Hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia – fear of the number 666
Homophobia – fear of homosexuality or of becoming homosexual
Hypnophobia – fear of sleep or of being hypnotized
Hypochondria -fear of getting sick, being sick, or being exposed to infections
I
Ichthyophobia – fear of fish
Iatrophobia – fear of doctors, going to the doctor, and/or medical procedures associated with visiting a physician
Insectophobia – fear of insects
Iophobia – fear of poison or being poisoned
Iridophobia – fear of rainbows
Iatrophobia – fear of going to the doctor
Isopterophobia – fear of termites
J
Japanophobia – fear of anything Japanese, such as people, culture, and architectural styles
Juleophobia – fear of Christmas
K
Koinoniphobia – fear of rooms full of people
Koniophobia – fear of dust
Kymophobia – fear of waves or wave-like motions
Kleptophobia – fear of stealing
Kinetophobia – fear of movement or motion
Kainophobia – fear of anything new
Koumpounophobia – fear of buttons on clothing
L
Lachanophobia – fear of vegetables
Leukophobia – fear of the color white
Ligyrophobia – fear of loud noises
Lilapsophobia – fear of tornadoes and hurricanes
Limnophobia – fear of lakes
Linonophobia – fear of string
Lockiophobia – fear of childbirth
M
Mageirocophobia – fear of cooking
Megalophobia – fear of large things
Melissophobia – fear of bees
Merinthophobia – fear of being bound or tied up
Metallophobia – fear of metal
Meteorophobia – fear of meteors
Microphobia – fear of small things
Mysophobia – fear of dirt or germs
Musophobia – fear of mice or rats
Myrmecophobia – fear of ants
Melanophobia – fear of the color black
N
Necrophobia – fear of death or dead things
Nelophobia – fear of glass
Nephophobia – fear of clouds
Nosocomephobia – fear of hospitals
Nomophobia – fear of being without a mobile phone
Nyctohylophobia – fear of dark wooded areas
Numerophobia – fear of numbers
O
Obesophobia – fear of gaining weight
Ombrophobia – fear of rain
Ommetaphobia – fear of eyes
Oneirophobia – fear of dreams
Ophidiophobia – fear of snakes
Ornithophobia – fear of birds
Octophobia – fear of the figure 8
Omphalophobia – fear of belly buttons
Ophthalmophobia – fear of being stared at
P
Papyrophobia – fear of paper
Pedophobia – fear of children
Pteronophobia – fear of feathers
Pharmacophobia – fear of medications
Podophobia – fear of feet
Pogonophobia – fear of beards
Porphyrophobia – fear of the color purple
Pyrophobia – fear of fire
Pediophobia – fear of dolls
Placophobia – fear of tombstones
Planophobia – fear of the number 13
Pnigophobia – fear of choking or being smothered
Paraskavedekatriaphobia – fear of Friday the 13th
Phasmophobia – fear of ghosts, phantoms, and spectral apparitions
Phonophobia – fear of loud noises, such as firecrackers or explosions
R
Rhytiphobia – fear of getting wrinkles
Retasophobia – fear of hair
Rhinophobia – fear of noses
Rhombophobia – fear of rhombus shapes
S
Scolionophobia – fear of school
Sciophobia or Sciaphobia – fear of shadows
Selenophobia – fear of the moon
Sesquipedalophobia – fear of long words
Siderodromophobia – fear of trains or railroads
Sinistrophobia – fear of things to the left or left-handed
Spheksophobia – fear of wasps
Staurophobia – fear of crosses or crucifixes
Symmetrophobia – fear of symmetry
T
Taeniophobia – fear of tapeworms
Taphophobia – fear of being buried alive
Technophobia – fear of technology
Tachophobia – fear of speed
Thalassophobia – fear of the sea
Thanatophobia – fear of death or dying
Theophobia – fear of gods or religion
Thermophobia – fear of heat
Tomophobia – fear of surgery
Trypophobia – fear of irregular patterns or clusters of small holes
Turophobia – fear of cheese
U
Uranophobia – fear of heaven
Urophobia – fear of urine or urinating
Ursaphobia – fear of bears
V
Vehophobia – fear of driving
Vestiphobia – fear of clothing
Verminophobia – fear of germs
W
Wiccaphobia – fear of witches and witchcraft
X
Xenophobia – fear or dislike of people from other countries or cultures
Xanthophobia – fear of the color yellow
Z
Zeusophobia – fear of God or gods (could be ancient or modern deities)
Zoophobia – fear of animals
