There are many phobias out there, some more common than others. Some of the most common ones are arachnophobia, claustrophobia, and trypanophobia (fear of needles). In this article, i’ll be talking about some common, and some uncommon fears.

First, let’s talk about the differences with phobias and fears. Though they might seem like the same thing, they aren’t. A phobia is more intense than a fear, the person who has the phobia usually over exaggerates the danger that the subject of the phobia holds. Sometimes the phobia is so intense that it affects your daily life.

Arachnophobia

Arachnophobia is one of the more common phobias. About 3%-15% of the population has arachnophobia, more females than males. When you have arachnophobia, the thoughts of spiders and spider webs keep you up at night, and you feel anxious about seeing them. Some symptoms of arachnophobia are anxiety or panic attacks. Some causes of arachnophobia are an encounter with an spider, your parent has arachnophobia, or you have a family history of anxiety disorders, this would increase your chance of having a phobia.

Claustrophobia

Claustrophobia is another common phobia, it’s the fear of being in tight spaces. About 12.5% of the population has claustrophobia, more females than males (again!).  Some things that cause claustrophobia is maybe some trauma from a young age where you were trapped in a tight space, an event after childhood where you were perhaps trapped in an elevator, or maybe your parent(s) alwo have it.

Agoraphobia

Agoraphobia is VERY uncommon, 0.8% of adults have agoraphobia, more common in women than in men. 40% of the cases are severe. Agoraphobia is an anxiety disorder that makes people avoid places or situations that make them feel scared, embarrassed, uncomfortable, panicked, or helpless. People with agoraphobia tend to not leave their house that much and they often have symptoms such as panic attacks. We don’t know what the main cause of agoraphobia is, but some causes could be depression, other phobias, some other type of anxiety disorder, a history of abuse (either sexual or physical), or a family history of agoraphobia.

There are many phobias out there, these are just 3 of them, but it gives us a glimpse of the world that some people live in. Now I have a few questions for you, what is dodecaphobia the phobia of? What is hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia the phobia of (you can search these up)?

Related Articles:

https://www.verywellmind.com/list-of-phobias-2795453

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases?q=phobia&dFR[type][0]=Diseases

https://www.healthline.com/health/agoraphobia

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/21746-claustrophobia

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/21852-arachnophobia-fear-of-spiders

Take Action:

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/specific-phobias/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20355162