20 Most Common Types Of Fears And Their Characteristics

Arachnophobia refers to fear of spiders. This is one of the most common specific phobias, understanding specific phobia as an anxiety disorder in which fear appears due to the presence or anticipation of a feared object or situation, in this case, spiders.

Arachnophobia: symptoms

The symptoms of arachnophobia can appear when seeing spiders or in an anticipatory manner, that is, before seeing them, for example, if the person approaches a place where they had previously seen spiders. Thus, people with arachnophobia usually present some of the following symptoms: avoidance, nausea, anxiety, sweating, tachycardia, crying among others.

One of the most common types of fear is apiphobia. The term apiphobia refers to fear of bees and the wasps. It is a fear very similar to arachnophobia, although in this case spiders are changed for bees and wasps. People who are afraid of these insects experience symptoms very similar or identical to the symptoms suffered by people who are afraid of spiders. This is a very common fear. What causes fear is possibly the fact that people cannot control these insects and cannot get rid of them with a simple step, a fact that increases the chances of receiving a bite.

He fear of birds or ornithophobia refer to another of the most common fears, to which people respond, in the presence of birds, with symptoms typical of anxiety (sweating, tachycardia, accelerated heart rate…). In this case, as in apiphobia, people do not have control of these animals, a fact that can promote greater anxiety. Fear of birds can be directed at both predatory birds (eagles…) and harmless birds (pigeons, parakeets…).

what is the name of the phobia to the animals ? Zoophobia. Zoophobia includes all the most common fears directed towards animals. Within zoophobia there are both arachnophobia, apiphobia and ornithophobia, these being the most common. However, fears of other animals are also included, such as phobia of animals. dogs (cynophobia) phobia of cats (ailurophobia) phobia of horses (hypophobia) irrational fear of snakes (ophidiophobia) phobia of sharks (selakophobia), among others. This type of fear can be explained by the experience of a traumatic situation with a specific animal or, on the contrary, it can be an irrational and inexplicable fear.

Following the thread of fear of animals, entomophobia must be taken into account, which refers to the fear of insects in general. It is one of the most common types of fear that is included in zoophobia. However, within entomophobia you can find different types of fear, among which are the fear of bees (apiphobia), the fear of ants (myrmecophobia) the fear of butterflies (motephobia) among others.

Another of the most common types of fear is agoraphobia, considered an anxiety disorder. People who suffer from agoraphobia are afraid of two or more of the following situations: going on public transport, being in open or closed spaces, standing in line (for example, at a supermarket checkout), being in a crowd, being alone outside the home in other situations. When these situations generate excessive fear, people who suffer from it usually avoid these types of situations and, to face them, the presence of a companion is almost always necessary.

Agoraphobia: symptoms

People tend to be fearful in these situations due to disabling thoughts and symptoms or humiliating in circumstances in which escape would be difficult or circumstances in which the person is aware that no help would be available. Some of these thoughts and symptoms may be the following: dizziness, fainting, sweating, tremor, tachycardia palpitations, accelerated heart rate, feeling of difficulty breathing, feeling of suffocation, pain or discomfort in the chest, nausea, instability, derealization (feeling of unreality), fear of losing control, fear of dying, among others.

Another of the most common specific phobias is hematophobia. In this case, the fear is directed at the vision of blood, needles and wounds, although rather, fear is directed towards fear due to the anticipation of the unpleasant consequences of situations in which needles, blood and/or wounds are witnessed, such as dizziness or fainting. Thus, in this type of fear, avoidance and/or escape behaviors also occur, related to places, objects and situations, such as, for example, a blood donation room, hospital, violent movies, among others.

The most notable physiological responses or physical symptoms of hematophobia or blood phobia are divided into two phases. In the first phase there is a increased heart rate, blood pressure and breathing. Next, in the second and last phase, a rapid decline of these three aspects already mentioned, especially heart rate and blood pressure. This abrupt decrease is what can lead people to dizziness and, sometimes, Fainting to see blood

Another of the most common types of fears is brontophobia. What is the meaning of brontophobia? Brontophobia refers to fear of weather phenomena, such as storms, thunder and lightning. In cases of non-excessive fear, people may feel anxiety and/or discomfort. However, in extreme cases of fear of meteorological phenomena, people’s daily lives can be interfered with, since during times of the year when these phenomena are more common, people can feel completely unprotected, a fact that leads them to To be unable to carry out normal activities of their daily lives, such as getting up and going to work, going out to buy bread, among others.

Claustrophobia is one of the most common types of fear. It consists of the fear of be in a closed space. Although there are different types of claustrophobia, in general, claustrophobic people will try to escape or avoid situations such as the following: being in small or windowless rooms, using the elevator, wearing a full-face helmet (those that cover the entire face), and other situations in which they are in closed or small places that cause them the sensation of difficulty escaping.

The difficulties presented by people who have this fear are breathing difficulties, fear of suffocation, restriction or inability to move or leave a place, fear of having a panic attack, fear of getting hurt due to nerves, fear of losing control or go crazy, among others. In addition, these people also often perform defensive behaviors to reduce the intensity of their fear, such as leaving a window open, not locking the door, etc.

Scotophobia is defined as fear of the dark. It is a very common fear in childhood, although it can also be suffered in adulthood. If the fear is very persistent, it can significantly interfere with the development of the individual and considerably affect family functioning, especially when it is a fear of the dark in childhood, since, on some occasions, with such In order to get the child to sleep, inappropriate solutions are carried out, such as letting the child sleep with the parents.

Another of the most common types of fears is hydrophobia. The meaning of hydrophobia is to experience fear of water. It is not about water as a drink, but from sea or pool water, where people can swim. People with this type of fear are afraid of falling into the water, of being pushed, of not being able to swim and of choking or drowning if they swallow water, among others. For this reason, people who are afraid of water avoid going to the beach or places where they may find themselves in front of a swimming pool. However, in cases where they are faced with a feared situation, the behaviors that they usually perform to reduce their fear are: carrying a float or inflatable that allows them not to drown, being accompanied by a trusted person, not entering in the water and stay on the shore.

He fear of flying on airplanes It is commonly called aerophobia or fear of flying. Among people who are afraid of flying, two types can be differentiated: people who avoid flying and people who do so with intense and considerable discomfort. Within this fear you can find other fears that vary depending on each person, such as thinking about the possibility of having an accident (therefore, fear of getting hurt or dying in the accident), being locked up for a certain time in a small space, dizziness and nausea due to the instability of the plane, the height, not having control or losing it (for example, screaming), among others.

Another of the most common types of fears is acrophobia. Acrophobia is characterized by being commonly called fear of heights. There are different aspects that can foster this type of fear in people, such as the distance at which they are from the ground, transparent floor or floor with grates (non-solid floor), the lack of railings, looking down, certain attractions. of theme parks, looking out of a balcony or a window, among others.

People with a fear of heights, as with many other fears, usually avoid finding themselves in situations where they are placed at a certain level in relation to the ground. However, when people cannot avoid these situations, they usually respond to them with psychological discomfort and symptoms typical of anxiety. In this article you will find how to overcome the fear of heights.

Carcinophobia or fear of cancer, is characterized by the presence of anxiety when faced with medical tests, the search for information about the disease, among others. In this sense, carcinophobia can negatively affect the well-being and quality of life of people who suffer from this fear. On the one hand, it may be a fear of developing a relapse or the reappearance of a tumor from a disease already suffered previously. On the other hand, it may be a fear of developing the disease without ever having suffered from it before.

Another of the most common types of fear is thanatophobia. Thanatophobia is known as the fear of death, caused by the presence or anticipation of objects or situations related to death (coffin, hearse, funeral home, funeral,…). Witnessing situations or objects related to death causes anxiety in people with thanatophobia. It is common for these people to try to avoid situations of this type. Normally, people who suffer from fear of death are people who are in a vital period close to the end of life.

Thus, they are usually elderly people or those who suffer from an illness serious and incurable those who usually suffer from this type of fear. Therefore, it could be said that thanatophobia is closely related to carcinophobia (fear of suffering from cancer) or the fear of falling ill, whether from cancer or any other type of serious, life-threatening illness. of the person.

glossophobia or Scared of speaking in public is one of the most common types of fear among adults and adolescent students who dedicate themselves to doing conferences, exhibitions and else. People with this type of fear consider that having to appear in front of an audience and speak is one of the most difficult situations to which they are exposed. The fear of speaking in public is an anxiety response to different aspects (the public’s reaction, the teacher’s evaluation, etc.).

Amaxophobia is defined as fear of driving, both during and before driving, that is, fear also appears in advance of the action. These people can demonstrate having a great fear of having an accident, getting hurt waiting in line in a traffic jam with the feeling of being trapped, aspects of the road (curves, potholes, slope…), speed, among others.

It should be noted that people who feel anxiety when getting into the car but manage to drive it do not suffer from amaxophobia, it is simply a slight fear of driving but that is easily overcome. On the other hand, when people suffer from excessive and disabling fear, it can be considered amaxophobia.

Trypophobia is characterized by fear of the repetitive succession of geometric figures very close together and in large quantities, especially if they are small gaps and/or holes (for example, a honeycomb). These are patterns of geometric shapes that have an asymmetrical appearance. People who have this type of fear express repulsion and/or anxiety when faced with these types of patterns.

Another of the most common types of fears is hapaxophobia. Hapaxophobia is the fear of someone entering the house, fear of thieves or to be robbed. Crime is perceived as a threat that makes people feel insecure and/or defenseless against possible aggressors. In this sense, the fear of thieves or of being robbed goes further, since it is closely related to the fear of the possibility or people’s perception of being attacked with violence. Therefore, it can be closely related to the experience of previous experiences, depending on whether we have previously been robbed with or without violence or, on the contrary, if we have never been robbed or, we create ideas related to movies, experiences of friends or family, among others.

Coulrophobia is the name given to the fear of clowns. This type of fear can be mocked by other people, especially when it comes to children, but people who suffer from this fear really go through unpleasant and negative situations when they see the figure of a clown. These people generally experience anxiety, tremors, discomfort, a feeling of intense fear, tachycardia, accelerated heart rate, breathing difficulties, among others. People with a fear of clowns try to avoid finding themselves in situations where they may come across such a figure, but in children it is more difficult to avoid, since it is a very common figure at birthday parties.

There are psychological treatments to overcome fear, the most common: exposure, a cognitive-behavioral technique that has shown good results in the treatment of phobias. How do you know if it is necessary to see a specialist? The different types of psychological fears require to be treated by specialists when these:

• They are experienced disproportionately: intense and excessive fears, which can incapacitate the person.
• They do not have a logical explanation: patients are aware of how absurd their fear can be but, even so, they are unable to overcome it.
• They are uncontrollable: when the fears are beyond the patient’s reach and the patient is unable to control them voluntarily.
• They try to avoid: when patients understand that the only way to feel good is by avoiding their fears and everything that may provoke them.

This article is merely informative, at PsychologyFor we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.

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