How many fears are there in the world

The following phobias are ten of the most common objects or situations that lead to marked fear and symptoms such as dizziness, nausea, and breathlessness.

In some cases, these symptoms escalate into a full-blown panic attack. Social phobia social anxiety disorder and agoraphobia are in their own category of anxiety disorders, where the remaining eight phobias are considered "specific phobias," related to a particular object or situation. These common phobias typically involve the environment, animals, fears of injections and blood , as well as certain other situations.

Arachnophobia is the fear of spiders and other arachnids. The sight of a spider can trigger a fear response, but in some cases, simply an image of an arachnid or the thought of a spider can lead to feelings of overwhelming fear and panic. So why are so many people terrified of arachnids? While there are an estimated 35, different spider species, only around a dozen pose any type of real threat to humans. One of the most common explanations for this and similar animal phobias is that such creatures once posed a considerable threat to our ancestors who lacked the medical know-how and technological tools to address injuries from animals and insects.

As a result, evolution contributed to a predisposition to fear these creatures. Ophidiophobia is the fear of snakes. This phobia is quite common and often attributed to evolutionary causes, personal experiences, or cultural influences. Some suggest that since snakes are sometimes poisonous, our ancestors who avoided such dangers were more likely to survive and pass down their genes.

Another theory suggests that the fear of snakes and similar animals might arise out an inherent fear of disease and contamination. People who suffer from this phobia may go to great lengths to avoid high places such as bridges, towers, or tall buildings. While in some cases this fear of heights may be the result of a traumatic experience, current thinking suggests that this fear may have evolved as an adaptation to an environment in which a fall from heights posed a significant danger.

While it is common for people to have some degree of fear when encountering heights, this phobia involves a severe fear that can result in panic attacks and avoidance behaviors.

Some of the common symptoms associated with this phobia include trembling, rapid heartbeat, and feeling disoriented. The fear of flying sometimes causes people to avoid flying altogether. It is often treated using exposure therapy , in which the client is gradually and progressively introduced to flying. Cynophobia , or the fear of dogs, is often associated with specific personal experiences such as being bitten by a dog during childhood.

Such events can be quite traumatic and can lead to fear responses that last well into adulthood. This particular phobia can be quite common.

This phobia is not just a normal apprehension of unfamiliar canines; it is an irrational and excessive fear that can have a serious impact on a person's life and functioning. For example, a person with cynophobia might feel unable to walk down a certain street because they know that there is a dog living in that neighborhood.

This avoidance can impact the individual's ability to function in their daily life and make it difficult to get to work, school, or other events outside of the home. Astraphobia is a fear of thunder and lightning. People with this phobia experience overwhelming feelings of fear when they encounter such weather-related phenomena. Symptoms of astraphobia are often similar to those of other phobias and include shaking, rapid heart rate, and increased respiration.

During a thunder or lightning storm, people with this disorder may go to great lengths to take shelter or hide from the weather event such as hiding in bed under the covers or even ducking inside a closet or bathroom. People with this phobia also tend to develop an excessive preoccupation with the weather.

They may spend a great deal of time each day tracking the local and national weather in order to know when any type of storm might take place. In some instances, this phobia may even lead to agoraphobia in which people are so afraid of encountering lightning or thunder that they are unable to leave their homes. This is typically done by combining a Greek or sometimes Latin prefix that describes the phobia with the -phobia suffix.

For example, a fear of water would be named by combining hydro water and phobia fear. This is actually more common than you might imagine. These panic attacks can be so uncomfortable that people do everything they can to avoid them in the future. For example, if you have a panic attack while sailing, you may fear sailing in the future, but you may also fear panic attacks or fear developing hydrophobia. Studying specific phobias is a complicated process.

A survey of more than 8, respondents published in the British Journal of Psychiatry found that some of the most common phobias include:. Specific phobias tend to be incredibly specific. Some so much so that they may only affect a handful of people at a time.

The most effective treatment for specific phobias is a type of psychotherapy called exposure therapy. During exposure therapy, you work with a psychologist to learn how to desensitize yourself to the object or situation that you fear. This treatment helps you change your thoughts and feelings about the object or situation, so that you can learn to control your reactions.

This process is done with the help of a qualified mental health professional, who knows how to guide you slowly through increasing levels of exposure coupled with relaxation exercises. If you fear spiders, you will begin by simply thinking of spiders or situations where you may encounter one.

Then you may progress to pictures or videos. Then perhaps go to a place where spiders may be, such as a basement or wooded area. Your doctor may recommend certain anxiety-reducing medications that can help you through exposure therapy. Medications that may help reduce uncomfortable feelings of anxiety, fear, and panic include beta-blockers and benzodiazepines. While avoidance may make you feel better in the short-term, it prevents you from learning that your phobia may not be as frightening or overwhelming as you think.

You never get the chance to learn how to cope with your fears and experience control over the situation. As a result, the phobia becomes increasingly scarier and more daunting in your mind. The most effective way to overcome a phobia is by gradually and repeatedly exposing yourself to what you fear in a safe and controlled way.

The phobia begins to lose its power. Make a list. Make a list of the frightening situations related to your phobia. Build your fear ladder. Arrange the items on your list from the least scary to the most scary. When creating the ladder, it can be helpful to think about your end goal for example, to be able to be near dogs without panicking and then break down the steps needed to reach that goal.

Work your way up the ladder. If possible, stay in the situation long enough for your anxiety to decrease. If a step is too hard, break it down into smaller steps or go slower. The more often you practice, the quicker your progress will be. Go at a pace that you can manage without feeling overwhelmed.

And remember: you will feel uncomfortable and anxious as you face your fears, but the feelings are only temporary. If you stick with it, the anxiety will fade. These physical sensations can be frightening themselves—and a large part of what makes your phobia so distressing.

However, by learning how to calm yourself down quickly, you can become more confident in your ability to tolerate uncomfortable sensations and face your fears. Perform a simple deep breathing exercise. By breathing deeply from the abdomen, you can reverse these physical sensations and feel less tense, less short of breath, and less anxious. One of the quickest and most reliable ways to relieve anxiety is by engaging one or more of your senses—sight, sound, taste, smell, touch—or through movement.

Movement — Go for a walk, jump up and down, or gently stretch. Dancing, drumming, and running can be especially effective at relieving anxiety. Sight — Look at anything that relaxes you or makes you smile: a beautiful view, family photos, cat pictures on the Internet. Sound — Listen to soothing music, sing a favorite tune, or play a musical instrument.

Or enjoy the relaxing sounds of nature either live or recorded : ocean waves, wind through the trees, birds singing. Smell — Light scented candles. Smell the flowers in a garden. Breathe in the clean, fresh air. Spritz on your favorite perfume. Taste — Slowly eat a favorite treat, savoring each bite. Sip a cup of coffee or herbal tea. Chew on a stick of gum. Enjoy a mint or your favorite hard candy. Touch — Give yourself a hand or neck massage.

Cuddle a pet. Wrap yourself in a soft blanket. Sit outside in the cool breeze. Use precise geolocation data. Select personalised content. Create a personalised content profile. Measure ad performance. Select basic ads. Create a personalised ads profile. Select personalised ads. Apply market research to generate audience insights.

Measure content performance. Develop and improve products. List of Partners vendors. Phobias are one of the most common mental illnesses in the United States.

Women are more likely to experience phobias than men. Typical symptoms of phobias can include nausea, trembling, rapid heartbeat, feelings of unreality, and being preoccupied with the fear object. The American Psychiatric Association APA identifies three different categories of phobias: social phobias, agoraphobia, and specific phobias.