PHOBIAS

 Agoraphobia is an anxiety disorder characterized by symptoms of anxiety in situations where the

person perceives the environment to be unsafe with no easy way to get away. These situations
can include open spaces, public transit, shopping malls, or simply being outside the home.
 Counterphobic attitude is a response to anxiety that, instead of fleeing the source of fear in the
manner of a phobia, actively seeks it out, in the hope of overcoming the original anxiousness.
Contrary to the avoidant personality disorder, the counterphobic represents the less usual, but
not totally uncommon, response of seeking out what is feared: codependents may fall into a
subcategory of this group, hiding their fears of attachment in over-dependency.
Dare-devil activities are often undertaken in a counterphobic spirit, as a denial of the fears
attached to them, which may be only partially successful. Acting out in general may have a
counterphobic source, reflecting a false self over-concerned with compulsive doing to preserve a
sense of power and control.
 The Dorian Gray syndrome (DGS) denotes a cultural and societal phenomenon characterized by
a man's extreme pride in his personal appearance and the fitness of his physique, which is
accompanied by difficulties in coping with the requirements of psychological maturation and
with the aging of his body; the man afflicted with DGS tends to consume cosmetic products and
services, hair-restoration procedures, anti-impotence drugs, and cosmetic surgery; hence, he
might resist the psychosomatic and psychodynamic explanations of the syndrome.
 Ablutophobia (from Latin ablutere 'to wash off") is the persistent, abnormal and unwarranted
fear of bathing, washing, or cleaning. This phobia is a situational specific phobia. Ablutophobia
tends to be more common in children and females than in males.
 The abnormal fear of crossing streets or roads is a type of specific phobia. It is sometimes called
dromophobia from Greek dromos, 'running', 'racetrack'. or agyrophobia
Dromophobia may result from experiencing a road accident and thus may be classified as a
subtype of panic disorder with agoraphobia (PDA). As such, dromophobia, especially fear of
crossing streets alone may be a component of accident-related posttraumatic stress disorder, as
a reaction to a situation reminding the past traumatic event.
 Agraphobia (also contreltophobia) is the abnormal fear of sexual abuse; a type of phobia.
Sufferers of agraphobia may have had an experience linking emotional trauma with sexual
abuse. Such experiences do not have to happen to the sufferer: watching sexual abuse occur can
act as a trigger to the condition.
 Ailurophobia is a type of specific phobia: the persistent, irrational fear of cats. The name comes
from the Greek αἴλουρος (ailouros), "cat" and φόβος (phóbos), "fear". Other names include
felinophobia, elurophobia, and cat phobia.
 Aichmophobia (pronounced /ˌeɪkməˈfoʊbiːə/) is a kind of specific phobia, the morbid fear of
sharp things, such as pencils, needles, knives, a pointing finger, or even the sharp end of an
umbrella and different sorts of protruding corners or sharp edges in furnitures and building
constructions/materials. It is derived from the Greek aichmē (point) and phobos (fear). This fear
may also be referred to as belonephobia or enetophobia.
 Sometimes this general term is used to refer to what is more specifically called fear of needles,
or needle phobia. Fear of needles is the extreme and irrational fear of medical procedures
involving injections or hypodermic needles.
 Phonophobia, also called ligyrophobia or sonophobia, is a fear of or aversion to loud sounds—a
type of specific phobia. It can also mean a fear of voices, or a fear of one's own voice. It is a very
rare phobia which is often the symptom of hyperacusis. Sonophobia can refer to the
hypersensitivity of a patient to sound and can be part of the diagnosis of a migraine.
Occasionally it is called acousticophobia.
The term phonophobia comes from Greek φωνή - phōnē, "sound" and φόβος - phobos, "fear".
 Algophobia is a phobia of pain - an abnormal and persistent fear of pain that is far more
powerful than that of a normal person. Algophobia is much more common in elderly people. It
can be treated with behavioral therapy and anti-anxiety medication. The term comes from the
Greek: ἄλγος, álgos, "pain" and φόβος, phóbos, "fear".
According to Sabino Metta, a behavioral psychologist, the phobic reaction is a learned behavior.
A common example of this would be an elderly person who hears about all of their friends
suffering from various ailments and pains. This person will begin to anticipate the problems and
experience the results before anything actually happens to them. People suffering from this
probably have hyperalgesia.
 Androphobia is is an abnormal fear of men, a type of specific social phobia. The word is from
Ancient Greek: ἀνήρ, anēr, genitive ἀνδρός, andros, "man"; and φόβος, phóbos, "fear".
In he past the word "androphobia" also has been used to refer to fear of crowds of people or
mankind. Androphobia was also used in reference of a distress for a woman who was "made
uncomfortable at the sight of men, from hearing their voices, or knowing they are in the house."
 Anthophobia is an abnormal and persistent fear of flowers. The term comes from the Greek
roots anthos, flower, and phobos, fear.
 Atychiphobia /əˌtɪkᵻˈfoʊbiə/ is the abnormal, unwarranted, and persistent fear of failure, a type
of specific phobia.[1] As with many phobias, atychiphobia often leads to a constricted lifestyle,
[2] and is particularly devastating for its effects on a person’s willingness to attempt certain
activities. The term atychiphobia comes from the Greek phóbos, meaning "fear" or "morbid
fear" and atyches meaning "unfortunate".
Persons afflicted with atychiphobia considers the possibility of failure so intense that they
choose not to take the risk.
 Autophobia, also called monophobia, isolophobia, or eremophobia, is the specific phobia of
isolation; a morbid fear of being egotistical, or a dread of being alone or isolated. Sufferers need
not be physically alone, but just to believe that they are being ignored or unloved. Contrary to
what would be implied by a literal reading of the term, autophobia does not describe a "fear of
oneself". The disorder typically develops from and is associated with other anxiety disorders.
 Fear of flying is a fear of being on an airplane (aeroplane), or other flying vehicle, such as a
helicopter, while in flight. It is also referred to as flying phobia, flight phobia, aviophobia or
aerophobia (although the last also means a fear of drafts or of fresh air).
 Haphephobia (also known as aphephobia, haphophobia, hapnophobia, haptephobia,
haptophobia, thixophobia) is a rare specific phobia that involves the fear of touching or of being
touched. It is an acute exaggeration of the normal tendencies to protect one's personal space,
 expressed as a fear of contamination or invasion, and extending even to people whom its
sufferers know well.
 Blood phobia (also AE: hemophobia or BE: haemophobia) is the extreme and irrational fear of
blood, a type of specific phobia. Severe cases of this fear can cause physical reactions that are
uncommon in most other fears, specifically vasovagal syncope (fainting). Similar reactions can
also occur with trypanophobia and traumatophobia. For this reason, these phobias are
categorized as "blood-injection-injury phobia" by the DSM-IV. Some early texts refer to this
category as "blood-injury-illness phobia."
 Gerontophobia is the fear of growing old, or a hatred or fear of the elderly. Many people have
this phobia. The term comes from the Greek γέρων – gerōn, "old man" and φόβος – phobos,
"fear".
 Gephyrophobia is the anxiety disorder or specific phobia characterized by the fear of bridges. As
a result, sufferers of gephyrophobia may avoid routes that will take them over bridges.
Some possible explanations of gephyrophobia may be the fear of driving off the bridge, the fear
of a gust of wind taking one off the bridge, a fear of the structural integrity of the bridges itself,
or the fear that the bridge will collapse if they try to cross it. The fear
with acrophobia, the fear of heights, as gephyrophobia tends to be exacerbated in tall bridges
vs. ones close to the water/ground beneath.
 Aquaphobia or waterfright is a persistent and abnormal fear of water. Aquaphobia is a specific
phobia that involves a level of fear that is beyond the patient's control or that may interfere with
daily life. People suffer aquaphobia in many ways and may experience it even though they
realize the water in an ocean, a river, or even a bathtub poses no imminent threat. They may
avoid such activities as boating and swimming, or they may avoid swimming in the deep ocean
despite having mastered basic swimming skills. This anxiety commonly extends to getting wet or
splashed with water when it is unexpected, or being pushed or thrown into a body of water.
 Hylophobia, also known as xylophobia, ylophobia, and dendrophobia, is a psychological
disorder defined by an irrational fear of wood, forest or trees. It is a type of specific phobia. The
term hylophobia is derived from the Greek ὕλη hylo-, meaning "wood or forest", and phobo-
meaning "fear".
 Hoplophobia is a political neologism coined by retired American military officer Jeff Cooper as a
pejorative to describe an "irrational aversion to weapons." It is also used to describe the "fear of
firearms" or the "fear of armed citizens." Hoplophobia is a political term and not a recognized
medical phobia.
 Dental fear (also called dental phobia, odontophobia, dentophobia, dentist phobia, and dental
anxiety) is the fear of dentistry and of receiving dental care. However, it has been suggested that
use of the term dental phobia should not be used for people who do not feel that their fears are
excessive or unreasonable, and instead resemble individuals with post-traumatic stress disorder,
caused by previous traumatic dental experiences.
 Decidophobia is, according to Princeton University philosopher Walter Kaufmann, a fear of
making decisions. He coined the term in his 1973 book Without Guilt and Justice in which he
writes about the phenomenon at length.
 Claustrophobia is the fear of being enclosed in a small space or room and unable to escape. It
can be triggered by many situations or stimuli, including elevators crowded to capacity,
 windowless rooms, small cars and even tight-necked clothing. It is typically classified as an
anxiety disorder, which often results in panic attacks. The onset of claustrophobia has been
attributed to many factors, including a reduction in the size of the amygdala, classical
conditioning, or a genetic predisposition to fear small spaces.
 Coprophobia is fear of or aversion to feces or defecation. Unlike coprophilia or coprophagy,
coprophobia appears to be unknown in the animal world, with the exception of humans. In fact,
the attitude to feces and defecation has become a cultural taboo.
 Xenophobia is the fear and distrust of that which is perceived to be foreign or strange.
Xenophobia can manifest itself in many ways involving the relations and perceptions of an
ingroup towards an outgroup, including a fear of losing identity, suspicion of its activities,
aggression, and desire to eliminate its presence to secure a presumed purity. Xenophobia can
also be exhibited in the form of an "uncritical exaltation of another culture" in which a culture is
ascribed "an unreal, stereotyped and exotic quality"..
Dictionary definitions of xenophobia include: "deep-rooted fear towards foreigners" (Oxford
English Dictionary; OED), and "fear of the unfamiliar" (Webster's). The word comes from the
Ancient Greek words ξένος (xenos), meaning "strange", "foreigner", and φόβος (phobos),
meaning "fear".
 Mysophobia, also known as verminophobia, germophobia, germaphobia, bacillophobia and
bacteriophobia, is a pathological fear of contamination and germs. The term was coined by Dr.
William Alexander Hammond in 1879 when describing a case of obsessive-compulsive disorder
(OCD) exhibited in repeatedly washing one's hands. Mysophobia has long been related to
compulsive hand washing. Names pertaining directly to the abnormal fear of dirt and filth
include molysmophobia or molysomophobia, rhypophobia, and rupophobia, whereas the terms
bacillophobia and bacteriophobia specifically refer to the fear of bacteria and microbes in
general.
 Necrophobia is a specific phobia which is the irrational fear of dead things (e.g., corpses) as well
as things associated with death (e.g., coffins, tombstones, funerals, cemeteries). With all types of
emotions, obsession with death becomes evident in both fascination and objectification. In a
cultural sense, necrophobia may also be used to mean a fear of the dead by a cultural group,
e.g., a belief that the spirits of the dead will return to haunt the living.
 Nomophobia is a proposed name for the phobia of being out of cellular phone contact. It is,
however, arguable that the word "phobia" is misused and that in the majority of cases it is
another form of anxiety disorder.
 Paruresis (/ˌpɑːrəˈriːsɪs/ PAR-ə-REE-sis) is a type of phobia in which the sufferer is unable to
urinate in the real or imaginary presence of others, such as in a public restroom. The analogous
condition that affects bowel movement is called parcopresis.
 Pyrophobia is an irrational fear of fire, beyond what is considered normal. This phobia is ancient
and primordial, perhaps since mankind's discovery of fire.
 Radiophobia is an obsessive fear of ionizing radiation, in particular, fear of X-rays. While in some
cases radiation may be harmful (i.e. radiation-induced cancer, and acute radiation syndrome),
the effects of poor information, understanding, or a traumatic experience may cause
unnecessary or even irrational fear. The term is also used in a non-medical sense to describe the
 opposition to the use of nuclear technology (i.e. nuclear power) arising from concerns
disproportionately greater than actual risks would merit.
 Fear of being buried alive is the fear of being placed in a grave while still alive as a result of
being incorrectly pronounced dead. The abnormal, psychopathological version of this fear is
referred to as taphophobia (from Greek τάφος - taphos, "grave, tomb" and φόβος - phobos,
"fear"), which is translated as "fear of graves".
 An elevator control panel in a residential apartment building in Shanghai with floor numbers 4,
13 and 14 missing. Floor 4 is missing because of the very similar pronunciation of "four" and
"death" in Mandarin Chinese. Floor 13 is missing for many reasons. Floor 14 is missing because 4
is included in 14. Note that there is a "negative first" floor.
Tetraphobia (from Greek τετράς—tetras, "four" and φόβος—phobos, "fear") is the practice of
avoiding instances of the number 4. It is a superstition most common in East Asian nations.
The Chinese word for four (四, pinyin: sì, jyutping: sei3), sounds quite similar to the word for
death (死, pinyin: sǐ, jyutping: sei2), in many varieties of Chinese. Similarly, the Sino-Japanese,
Sino-Korean, and Sino-Vietnamese words for four, shi (し, Japanese), and sa (사, Korean), sound
similar or identical to death in each language (see Korean numerals, Japanese numerals,
Vietnamese numerals).
Special care may be taken to avoid occurrences or reminders of the number 4 during everyday
life, especially during festive holidays, or when a family member is ill. Just mentioning the
number 4 around a sick relative is strongly avoided. Giving four of something is strongly
discouraged, and a popular idiom states that "you don’t do things in fours…". Elevators in Asia
and Asian neighborhoods will often skip the 4th floor or any floor whose number contains the
digit "4" (as 14, 24, etc.). Military aircraft and ships will also avoid the number 4 (such as the
South Korean and Taiwanese navies) due to its extreme negative connotations of death. April 4 is
also considered an exceptionally unlucky day (much like Friday the 13th in the West).
 Tokophobia, or the fear of pregnancy and childbirth, is the suggested name for a form of specific
phobia. It is also known as "maleusiophobia" (though this is certainly a variant of
"maieusiophobia", from the Greek "maieusis", literally meaning "delivery of a woman in
childbirth" but referring generally to midwifery), "parturiphobia" (from Latin "parturire"
meaning "to be pregnant", and "lockiophobia".
 Trypophobia is a proposed phobia (intense, irrational fear, or anxiety) of irregular patterns or
clusters of small holes or bumps. The term is believed to have been coined by a participant in an
online forum in 2005. The word is from the Greek: τρύπα, trýpa, meaning "hole" and φόβος,
phóbos, meaning "fear".
 Triskaidekaphobia (pronunciation: /ˌtrɪskaɪˌdɛkəˈfoʊbiə, ˌtrɪskə-/, tris-kye-dek-ə-foh-bee-ə or
tris-kə-dek-ə-foh-bee-ə; from Greek tris meaning "three", kai meaning "and", deka meaning
"10" and phobos meaning "fear" or "morbid fear") is fear of the number 13 and avoidance to
use it; it is a superstition and related to the specific fear of the 13th person at the Last Supper
being Judas, who betrayed Jesus Christ and ultimately hanged himself. It is also a reason for the
fear of Friday the 13th, called paraskevidekatriaphobia (from Παρασκευή Paraskevi, Greek for
Friday) or friggatriskaidekaphobia (after Frigg, the Norse goddess after whom Friday is named in
English). The term was first used by Isador Coriat in Abnormal Psychology.
 Medication phobia, also known as pharmacophobia, is a fear of the use of pharmacological
treatments. In severe, excessive and irrational, cases it may be a type of specific phobia.
 Phobophobia is the fear of phobia(s) and, more specifically, of the internal sensations associated
with that phobia and anxiety, which binds it closely to other anxiety disorders, especially with
generalized anxiety disorders (free floating fears) and panic attacks.
 Chemophobia (or chemphobia or chemonoia) is an aversion to or prejudice against chemicals or
chemistry. The phenomenon has been ascribed both to a reasonable concern over the potential
adverse effects of synthetic chemicals, and to an irrational fear of these substances because of
misconceptions about their potential for harm. People marketing products react to widespread
chemophobia with products marketed with an appeal to nature.
 Chronophobia is anxiety over the passage of time. Chronophobia is especially common in prison
inmates and the elderly, but it can manifest in any person who has an extreme amount of stress
and anxiety in their life.
In the book Chronophobia: On Time in the Art of the 1960s by Pamela Lee, Chronophobia is
described as “an experience of unease and anxiety about time, a feeling that events are moving
too fast and are thus hard to make sense of.”
 Spectrophobia (from Latin: spectrum, n. specio, an appearance, form, image of a thing; an
apparition, spectre) or catoptrophobia (from Greek κάτοπτρον kátoptron, "mirror") is a kind of
specific phobia involving a morbid fear of mirrors. This phobia is distinct from eisoptrophobia,
which is the fear of one's own reflection.
 As a clinical phobia, 'erotophobia' describes an irrational and potentially debilitating fear of
some object, person or act that is related to sex. This fear either impairs a person's desire or
ability to have sexual relationships, or completely prevents a person's ability to have sex.
Erotophobia can also in some (but not all) individual cases, be a part of larger patterns of any of
the following psychological problems—social phobia, avoidant personality disorder, body
dysmorphic disorder, or general social anxiety problems. Erotophobia can also, for others, be
very specific to love making with another person and not be related to any of these other social
anxiety disorders. In the case of specific erotophobia, only the fear of something related to sex
would be present without any other fears or syndromes.
 Ephebiphobia is the fear of youth. First coined as the "fear or loathing of teenagers", today the
phenomenon is recognized as the "inaccurate, exaggerated and sensational characterization of
young people" in a range of settings around the world. Studies of the fear of youth occur in
sociology and youth studies.
 Zoophobia or animal phobia is a class of specific phobias to particular animals, or an irrational
fear or even simply dislike of any non-human animals.
Examples of specific zoophobias would be entomophobias, such as that of bees (apiphobia).
Fears of spiders (arachnophobia), birds (ornithophobia) and snakes (ophidiophobia) are also
common. See the article at -phobia for the list of various phobias. Sigmund Freud mentioned
that an animal phobia is one of the most frequent psychoneurotic diseases among children.
Zoophobia is not the sensible fear of dangerous or threatening animals, such as wild dogs
(example: wolves, dingoes, and coyotes), big cats, bears or venomous snakes. It is a phobia of
animals that causes distress or dysfunction in the individual's everyday life.
 Fear of bees (or of bee stings), technically known as melissophobia (from Greek: μέλισσα,
melissa, "honey bee" + , phobos, "fear") and occasionally misspelled as melissaphobia and also
known as apiphobia (from Latin apis for "honey bee" + Greek: φόβος, phobos, "fear"), is one of
the common fears among people and is a kind of specific phobia.
 Arachnophobia is a specific phobia, the fear of spiders and other arachnids such as scorpions.
 Herpetophobia is a common specific phobia, which consists of fear or aversion to reptiles,
commonly lizards and snakes, and similar vertebrates as amphibians. It is one of the most
diffused animal phobias, very similar and related to ophidiophobia. This condition causes a slight
to severe emotional reaction, as for example anxiety, panic attack or most commonly nausea.
 Entomophobia (also known as insectophobia) is a specific phobia characterized by an excessive
or unrealistic fear of one or more classes of insect, and classified as a phobia by the DSM-5.
More specific cases included apiphobia (fear of bees) and myrmecophobia (fear of ants). One
book claims 6% of all US inhabitants suffer from it.
 Cynophobia (from the Greek: κύων kýōn "dog" and φόβος phóbos "fear") is the fear of dogs.
Cynophobia is classified as a specific phobia, under the subtype "animal phobias".
 Myrmecophobia is the inexplicable fear of ants. It is a type of specific phobia. It is common for
those who suffer from myrmecophobia to also have a wider fear of insects in general. Such a
condition is known as entomophobia. This fear can manifest itself in several ways, such as a fear
of ants contaminating a person's food supply, or fear of a home invasion by large numbers
of ants. The term myrmecophobia comes from the Greek μύρμηξ, myrmex, meaning "ant" and
φόβος, phóbos, "fear".
 Helminthophobia, scoleciphobia or vermiphobia is a specific phobia, the fear of worms,
especially parasitic worms. The sight of a worm, or anything that looks like a worm, may cause
someone with this phobia to have extreme anxiety or even panic attacks.
 Anthropophobia or Anthrophobia (literally "fear of humans", from Greek: άνθρωπος,
ánthropos, "human" and φόβος, phóbos, "fear"), also called interpersonal relation phobia or
social phobia, is pathological fear of people or human company.
 Gelotophobia is a fear of being laughed at, a type of social phobia. While most people do not
like being laughed at, there is a sub-group of people that exceedingly fear being laughed at.
Without obvious reasons, they relate laughter they hear to be directed at themselves. Since
2008, this phenomenon has attracted attention from scholars in psychology, sociology, and
psychiatry, and has been studied intensively.
 Glossophobia or speech anxiety is the fear of public speaking or of speaking in general. The
word glossophobia derives from the Greek γλῶσσα glōssa, meaning tongue, and φόβος phobos,
fear or dread. Some people have this specific phobia, while others may also have broader social
phobia or social anxiety disorder. Stage fright may be a symptom of glossophobia.
 Social anxiety disorder (SAD), also known as social phobia, is an anxiety disorder characterized
by a significant amount of fear in one or more social situations, causing considerable distress and
impaired ability to function in at least some parts of daily life.:15 These fears can be triggered by
perceived or actual scrutiny from others.
 Panphobia, omniphobia, pantophobia, or panophobia is a vague and persistent dread of some
unknown evil. Panphobia is not registered as a type of phobia in medical references.
 The term panphobia was first coined by Théodule-Armand Ribot in his 1911 work The
Psychology of the Emotions. He defined it as "a state in which a patient fears everything or
nothing, where anxiety, instead of being riveted on one object, floats as in a dream, and only
becomes fixed for an instant at a time, passing from one object to another, as circumstances may
determine."
 Pediophobia, also known as the fear of dolls, is an anxiety that can be associated with a range of
dolls, from old-fashioned china dolls and porcelain dolls to dolls that talk and move.