A phobia is a type of anxiety disorder, usually defined as a persistent fear of an object or situation in which the sufferer commits to great lengths in avoiding, typically disproportional to the actual danger posed, often being recognized as irrational. In the event the phobia cannot be avoided entirely the sufferer will endure the situation or object with marked distress and significant interference in social or occupational activities. Here are some of them –
1) Papaphobia: fear of the Pope –
The persons suffering from this disorder feel persistent fear of the Pope. And its symptoms are shortness of breath, irregular heartbeat, rapid breathing, nausea and sweating.
2) Arachibutyrophobia –
Fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of the mouth. The word is used by Charles M. Schulz in a 1982 installment of his “Peanuts” comic strip and by Peter O’Donnell in his 1985 Modesty Blaise adventure novel Dead Man’s Handle.
3) Trichophobia: fear of loose hairs –
It’s a morbid disgust caused by the sight of loose hairs.
4) Nomophobia: fear of being out of mobile phone contact –
Nomophobia is the fear of being out of mobile phone contact. The term, an abbreviation for “no-mobile-phone phobia”, was coined during a study by the UK Post Office who commissioned YouGov, a UK-based research organisation to look at anxieties suffered by mobile phone users. The study found that nearly 53 percent of mobile phone users in Britain tend to be anxious when they “lose their mobile phone, run out of battery or credit, or have no network coverage”.The study found that about 58 percent of men and 48 percent of women suffer from the phobia, and an additional 9 percent feel stressed when their mobile phones are off. The study sampled 2,163 people. Fifty-five percent of those surveyed cited keeping in touch with friends or family as the main reason that they got anxious when they could not use their mobile phones.
5) Ephebiphobia: fear of teenagers –
The fear of youth is called ephebiphobia. First coined as the “fear and 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.
6) Scopophobia: fear of being looked at –
In this the patients fear of being looked at or stared at.
7) Spectrophobia: fear of mirrors –
Spectrophobia (from Latin: spectrum, “ghost”) is a kind of specific phobia involving a morbid fear of mirrors and one’s own reflections. Generally, an individual that deals with Spectrophobia has been traumatized in an event where they believe they have seen or heard apparitions or ghosts. The individual could also become traumatized by horror films, television shows, or by nightmares.
8) Phagophobia: fear of swallowing –
Phagophobia is a psychogenic dysphagia, a fear of swallowing. It is expressed in various swallowing complaints without any apparent physical reason detectable by physical inspection and laboratory analyses. An obsolete term for this phobia is choking phobia,but it was suggested that the latter term is confusing and it is necessary to distinguish the fear of swallowing (i.e., of the propulsion of bolus) from fear of choking.
9) Emetophobia: fear of vomiting –
Emetophobia meaning “fear”) is an intense, irrational fear or anxiety pertaining to vomiting. This specific phobia can also include subcategories of what causes the anxiety, including a fear of vomiting in public, a fear of seeing vomit, a fear of watching the action of vomiting or fear of being nauseated. Emetophobia is clinically considered an “elusive predicament” because limited research has been done pertaining to it. It is considered to be one of the most common phobias in the world.
10) Triskaidekaphobia: fear of the number 13 –
Triskaidekaphobia (from Greek tris meaning “3”, kai meaning “and”, deka meaning “10” and phobia meaning “fear” or “morbid fear”) is fear of the number 13; it is a superstition and related to a specific fear of Friday the 13th, called paraskevidekatriaphobia or friggatriskaidekaphobia. The term was first used by Isador Coriat in Abnormal Psychology.
11) Heliophobia – Fear of Sunlight (Vampire Madness)-
Heliophobia is a problem that afflicts hundreds of people, but one that suffers from a lack of true research. Sufferers of Heliophobia would keep out of the sun and would mostly be just thought of as ‘night owls’. Television, movies and especially vampire stories have come quite handy in inflicting Heliophobia. Heliophobia was considered a “telltale sign” of vampires in many cultures. So I guess the new twilight vibe can also inflict Heliophobia.
12) Ablutophobia – Fear of Bathing-
Ablutophobia 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 women than in men and especially with those people who are very emotional. It is different from fear of water or hydrophobia as the person is not afraid of the water, but the cleaning.Those suffering form Ablutophobia experience – dizziness, breathlessness, excessive sweating, heart palpitations, nausea, dry mouth, feeling sick, shaking, becoming mad or losing control.
13)Anthophobia – Fear of Flowers-
Anthophobia is a persistent fear of flowers. Though sufferers generally understand that they face no threat from flowers, they invariably experience anxiety at the sight or thought. Any genus or species of flowers can instill fear, as can any flower part, such as a petal or stem. Anthophobia is also referred to as the fear of small harmless things, such as a small torn piece of paper.
14) Chorophobia – Fear of Dancing-
Dancing is a very common part of our lives. It’s an expression of our mood, joy and energy. Asking someone to prom, annual dance or even dancing together at a wedding is a swell way to find a mate. But, what if someone is afraid of the very core of the idea? Chorophobia is an persistent fear of dancing. It might be any form of dancing, couple or even single. Mostly sufferers believe that they don’t feel like dancing, but they don’t realize that they are afraid of it.15) Genophobia – Fear of Se*ual Relations-
Genophobia is the physical or psychological fear of se*ual relations or se*ual intercourse. The word comes from the Greek terms genos, meaning “offspring,” and phobos, meaning “fear.”Genophobia may stay away from getting involved in relationships to avoid the possibility of intimacy. This can lead to feelings of loneliness. Genophobic people may also feel lonely because they may feel embarrassed or ashamed of their personal fears. This type of phobia can be developed due to any trauma sustained during s*x. People that were molested as children are mostly found to be Genophobic.