According to the Anxiety Disorders Association of America, 19 million people have specific phobias, such as crossing bridges or tunnels; 15 million have a social phobia, e.g., public speaking; and 2 million have agoraphobia, when sufferers avoid places where they previously had a panic attack. Those who have one phobia likely have others too.It's interesting to note that women are more apt to suffer from phobias than men. But, for men who are over 25 years of age, having a phobia is the second common mental disorder, according to www.unexplainedstuff.com.
The most common phobias are:
#1 Arachnophobia - the fear of spiders, is also the name of a 1990 horror/comedy film directed by Frank Marshall. Even though the fear of spiders is the "Number One Phobia", people flocked to the theaters to see this successful movie.
#2 Acrophobia - the fear of heights.
#3 Agoraphobia - the irrational fear of wide, open spaces, of leaving your home, and of becoming involved in humiliating, uncontrollable situations. Some of the worse sufferers of this phobia are not only unable to leave their homes, but they will only live in one room. According to www.coolquiz.com, actress Kim Basinger has a phobia of wide, open spaces.
#4 Claustrophobia - the fear of being in confined places such as elevators, airplanes, trains and subways. Claustrophobics may have this fear because they were at one time, earlier in their lives, trapped in an enclosed area where there was no way to escape.
#5 Mysophobia ("Germophobia" or "Bacterophobia") - "the unsupportable fear of germs." Singer Michael Jackson is said to suffer from this fear because he often wears a surgeon's mask when he goes out into the public. People who suffer from this phobia often wash their hands constantly in order to remove germs.
#6 Brontophobia is defined in two ways: one definition states that this anxiety disorder is "a fear of thunder" even though people who suffer from this phobia recognize the fact that thunder cannot hurt them. However, other online sources, such as Wikipedia.com, define Brontophobia as the "fear of both thunder and lightning". Whatever the case, sufferers of this disorder often dread seeing warm weather come, a time when thunder and lightning storms are more prevalent. They keep a close watch on the weather, and, anytime a storm does appear, they find a place to hide so they can't hear the thunder boom or see the lightning flash.
#7 Social Phobia - the fear of being watched or scrutinized by other people. Just like other extreme fears, it can bring on a feeling of overwhelming panic among its sufferers. It can cause your heart to race, your skin to sweat, and your stomach to feel nauseous. Severe cases of this disorder can lead to reclusiveness.
#8 Aerophobia – the fear of flying. The Boeing Aircraft Corporation found in a 1980 study that 25 million Americans suffered from Aerophobia. At one time, airlines such as Northwest and U.S. Airways held seminars to help people get over their fear of flying. Unfortunately, tighter budgets forced these programs to be discontinued. Actor Billy Bob Thornton, singer/actress Cher and actress Florence Henderson are just three celebrities who suffer from Aerophobia.
#9 Carcinophobia - the illogical fear of acquiring cancer. While no person wants to suffer from this often-deadly disease, people who have this phobia go to extremes. They take excessive measures to try and increase their immunity to cancer. They may load-up on vitamins, minerals and herbal supplements. Or, they may refuse to eat certain foods or drinks for fear of acquiring cancer.
#10 Necrophobia - the fear of death or anything related to it. Funerals, funeral homes, caskets, dead bodies- anything that reminds them of death can send a Necrophobic into an episode of extreme fright. Things like attending a painful funeral of a loved one can last in a person's memory and cause them to acquire this phobia.
Full list of phobias can be found here - http://www.phobialist.com/index.html#A-
Among those that caught my attention are:
· Russophobia- Fear of Russians. - :):):) Russian bears, I guess :):):)
· Bolshephobia- Fear of Bolsheviks. – I would be scared too if met one :)
· Paraskavedekatriaphobia- Fear of Friday the 13th.
· Anglophobia- Fear of England or English culture, etc. – Huh?!?!
· Anuptaphobia- Fear of staying single.
· Ideophobia- Fear of ideas. – And that’s quite sad :(
· Decidophobia- Fear of making decisions.
· Porphyrophobia- Fear of the color purple. – That one will NEVER be among my phobias :)
As for my top-list, I go with: 1) Fear of metro ticket-barriers 2) Atychiphobia, 3) Scotomaphobia, 4) Mysophobia.
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