A phobia is a fear of a specific thing, which may or may not be rational. Alongside causing mental stress, phobias also cause a lot of worries. A type of anxiety disorder, phobias can be of different types.
Unlike genuine fear, phobia results in anxiety that is exponentially greater than the gravity of the fear itself. Moreover, phobias not only lead to mental duress, but it also has an impact on physical health, leading to problems like sweating, shaking, etc.
While some phobias can be dealt with more easily, as the conditions that present them are rarer, some phobias can be extremely disruptive. These phobias lead to a lot of anxiety and thus require treatment to be managed.
Top phobias to know
There are some phobias that are more prevalent than others. These include:
Atychiphobia
Atychiphobia refers to the fear of failure. While we all can get apprehensive about taking the leap of faith and trying new things, however, those with Atychiphobia have an extremely hard time making new decisions.
Their fear of failure then prevents them from getting ahead in their life. They remain rooted in a rut, as any attempts towards change causes debilitating fear in them.
Claustrophobia
The fear of small and confined spaces is known as claustrophobia. It not only causes people to undergo mental stress, but it also leads to physical symptoms like shortness of breath and panic.
There are different places where people can get claustrophobia; some experience the symptoms in enclosed spaces like an elevator, and others also get it in crowded places.
Aerophobia
Aerophobia is the fear of flying. It makes people hard to not just fly to places, but they are also then frightened of heights as well. Aerophobia can lead to a panic attack as well.
Acrophobia
Among the top phobia is also, acrophobia, which is the fear of heights. People with acrophobia have a hard time going places with high altitude, using bridges, climbing to the rooftop, etc.
In some people, acrophobia is so severe that it may lead to panic attacks as well.
Social phobia
Social phobia is the extreme fear of people. Those with this condition have a tough time interacting with others. While some find it harder to be in crowds, others have a fear of any sort of interaction.
Since networking and interacting with people is a vital component of life, social phobia then presents as a barrier to people’s growth.
Vehophobia
Vehophobia is the fear of driving. It is especially potent when the area is slightly tricky, like the highway. Often, people go on to develop vehophobia in the aftermath of an accident.
Cynophobia
Amongst the weird phobias is cynophobia, which is the fear of dogs. Of course, going in front of an unleashed feral dog is a genuine fear, however, those with cynophobia often have a personal history of a dog interaction gone wrong; either they were bitten by one or suffered from a traumatic incident involving a dog, which leads to the fear of them.