Top 50 Most Common Phobias

Top 50 Phobias

Phobias are distressing and disorienting emotional response to real and imaginary situations or objects. They are conditioned by faulty generalizations and learning. And the consequence is irrational and involuntary fear. To the sufferer, a phobia can seem insufferable and unbearable or even life-threatening, while others might find these uncanny and unusual phobias quite fascinating. Today, let’s discuss some of the most common phobias in the world, so be prepared to be surprised and startled. First, consider Top 5 phobias of all time.

1. Glossophobia

The fear of public speaking, also known as glossophobia, tops the list as one of the most common phobias in the world. The term comes from the Greek words “glossa” and “phobos.” “Glossa” means “tongue or language,” and “phobos” is the personification of fear in Greek mythology. Glossophobia, along with other social fears, develops in the childhood around the age of 13. “The idea of making a presentation in public is the No. 1 fear reported by people in the U.S.” A glossophobic person is unable to control the overwhelming nervousness, and may have a nervous breakdown whenever confronted with such public speaking engagement. Glossophobia can be directly caused through a related trauma or distress. Almost all the glossophobic people are distressed about being embarrassed in front of public. It can be resulting from any such previous distressful event that happened during speaking in public.

2. Thanatophobia

Thanatophobia is an extreme and irrational fear of death. While it would be reasonable to say that most people fear death at least somewhat, people with thanatophobia fear death to the extent that the normal operation of their lives is severely hindered. A thanatophobic may be so afraid of the prospect of death that he or she refuses to leave home or becomes unreasonably hostile or avoidant when the subject of death is discussed.  Rather, various unique and specific traumatic events are to blame. Thanatophobia stems from various untoward events such as the death of a loved one, the instilling of a magnified fear of death through upbringing, or even religious fanaticism. 

3. Acrophobia

Acrophobia is an extreme or irrational fear of heights. Acrophobia can cause panic attacks and keep the person from leading fulfilling personal and professional life. Typical symptoms include shortness of breath, rapid breathing, irregular heartbeat, sweating, nausea, and overall feelings of dread. Acrophobia can be dangerous, as in situations where the person has a panic attack in a high place and becomes too agitated to get themselves down safely. The most widely accepted explanation is that acrophobia stems from the natural fear of falling and being injured or killed.  A phobia occurs when fear is taken to an extreme, due possibly to unintentional learning, generalization of the fear response, or the result of a traumatic experience.

4. Claustrophobia

Claustrophobia is the irrational fear of confined spaces or enclosed spaces. It’s normal to fear being trapped when there’s a genuine threat, but people with claustrophobia become fearful in situations where there’s no obvious or realistic danger. They’ll go out of their way to avoid confined spaces, such as lifts, tunnels, tube trains and public toilets. However, avoiding these places often reinforces the fear. Like other fears and phobias, claustrophobia is created by the unconscious mind as some sort of defence mechanism.

5. Aerophobia

Aerophobia, also known as Aviophobia, is the fear of flying either in airplanes or helicopters. The fear of flying is often associated with other fears and phobias.  In some patients, Aerophobia may be present along with Claustrophobia. Many people feel mild anxiety before flights. However, in case of Aerophobia, the anxiety takes on a more serious turn. Such people start avoiding vacations or put off business meetings that include flying. This can often have devastating effects on one’s career and personal life.

6. Arachnophobia – The fear of spiders
7. Nyctophobia – The fear of darkness
8. Social Phobia – The fear of social situations
9. Agoraphobia – The fear of open or crowded spaces
10. Astraphobia – The fear of thunder and lightning. Also know as brontophobia.
11. Mysophobia – The fear of germs
12. Cynophobia – The fear of dogs
13. Ophidiophobia – The fear of snakes
14. Trypophobia – The fear of holes
15. Necrophobia – The fear of dead things
16. Trypanophobia – The fear of needles, injections
17. Hemophobia – The fear of blood.
18. Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia – The fear of long words.
19. Xenophobia – The fear of foreigners or strangers
20. Monophobia – The fear of being alone. Even while eating and sleeping.
21. Atychiphobia – The fear of failure. It is the single greatest barrier to success.
22. Achievemephobia – The fear of success. The opposite to the fear of failure.
23. Aquaphobia – The fear of water. Being afraid of water or being near water.
24. Pyrophobia – The fear of fire. A natural/primal fear that can be debilitating.
25. Galeophobia – The fear of sharks in the ocean or even in swimming pools.
26. Katsaridaphobia – The fear of cockroaches.
27. Iatrophobia – The fear of doctors.
28. Phasmophobia – The fear of ghosts AKA Spectrophobia
29. Spheksophobia – The fear of wasps. You panic and fear getting stung by it.
30. Theophobia – The fear of God causes an irrational fear of God or religion.
31. Philophobia – The fear of love. Being scared of falling in love or emotions.
32. Entomophobia – The fear of bugs and insects, also related to Acarophobia.
33. Chronophobia – The fear of the future. A persistent fear of what is to come.
34. Spheksophobia – The fear of wasps. You panic and fear getting stung by it.
35. Gerascophobia – The fear of getting old.
36. Telephonophobia – The fear of talking on the phone. Phobics prefer texting.
37. Zoophobia – The fear of animals.
38. Metathesiophobia – The fear of change.
39. Carcinophobia – The fear of cancer. People with this develop extreme diets.
40. Enochlophobia – The fear of crowds is closely related to Ochlophobia and Demophobia
41. Ornithophobia – The fear of birds. Individuals only fear certain species.
42. Ailurophobia – The fear of cats. This phobia is also known as Gatophobia.
43. Anuptaphobia – The fear of being single
44. Hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia – The fear of the number 666.
45. Bibliophobia – The of fear of books
46. Haphephobia– The fear of being touched
47. Carcinophobia – The fear of Cancer
48. Liticaphobia – The fear of lawsuits
49. Peladophobia – The fear of bald people
50. Sciaphobia – The fear of shadows