10 Phobias You Didn't Know Had Actual Names | SMOSH 10 Phobias You Didn't Know Had Actual Names Tweet Posted: Tue, 10/22/2013 - 4:51pm by Francesco Marciuliano During a routine, yuletide unlicensed psychiatrist session in “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” Lucy asks her patient Charlie Brown, “Do you think you have pantophobia?” otherwise known as the fear of everything. And while you may not fear everything possible, for every possible or seemingly impossible fear you can have there is already a phobia name for it… The fear of long words. And yes, as some sort of cosmic cruel joke, the phobia’s name makes it that much harder for the sufferer to confront—much less say—their own fear. The fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of your mouth. Of course, the fear of peanut butter landing anywhere but your mouth intensifies in direct proportion to your inability to wield a butter knife. Leukophobia The fear of the color white. Melanophobia is the fear of the color black.

In fact, there is a fear for every color, meaning right now somewhere someone is pointing at a Crayola crayon and screaming. The fear of knees. The fear of elbows is ishicascadiggaphobia, the fear of hands is chirophobia, and the fear of chins is geniophobia. In other words, any one of your body parts is just another person’s sheer hell. (source) The fear of gravity, either that it will suddenly stop and you’ll float off into space or it will suddenly increase and you’ll be crushed by the earth’s gravitational pull, meaning each day you either hold on to your bed for dear life or run up as many flights of stairs as possible. The fear of being tickled by feathers, which only makes the image of a pigeon slowly approaching you with wings out while saying “Who wants to laugh?” all the more terrifying. The fear of hearing good news, because some people can only be comfortable in the belief that everything sucks. The fear of sitting down, requiring the need for a convertible while driving. The fear of the great mole rat, which is either silly or sensible (but certainly specific) depending on how much you want to cuddle that little fellow in the above photo.

The fear of Halloween. Or maybe the fear of getting screwed over while trick-or-treating on Halloween. Really, you’re only handing out a single tiny box of Chiclets per person? Shift Long Sleeve Girls Tee What's a Smosh Smosh is the home of the best funny videos , games, photos, memes, blogs and galleries online. See the funniest YouTube videos, pictures and images online or chat with Smosh readers in our online forums. See cartoons and comics daily as well as our original series like Ian Is Bored and Lunchtime w/Smosh. Smosh is the brainchild of Anthony Padilla and Ian Hecox, and Smosh.com focuses on everything humorous, funny, or awesome from around the web. If all that isn't enough, our friends are serving you free movies in HD for your viewing pleasure. Check 'em out! Learn About Phobias – Deep Irrational Fears Phobia SHARE Learn About Phobias – Deep Irrational Fears There are many things in life that need to cause some fear. Fear is a natural part of life – a healthy warning sign that there are things in the world that represent danger. There's nothing wrong with fear. As the saying goes: The problem isn't fear.

The problem is irrational fear. The problem is when your fears cause you to change your lifestyle and run your life in a way that no fear should. When you have something – or many things – that cause you intense, irrational fear, then you have developed a phobia. What is an "Irrational Fear?" The word irrational can be offensive for some people. After all, the fear seems very real – and in some cases, there may be a reason to have that fear. But even a legitimate fear can be irrational depending on the way that it runs your life. For example, let's say you have a fear of snakes – known as Ophidiophobia. Snakes can be dangerous – there are many poisonous snakes – but 99.99% of the time there are no snakes around you, and even if there were, snakes don't bite on a whim. In fact, in the United States, you have a 1 in 48,942,807 chance of being killed by a snake. Read that again: 1 in 48,942,807. You have a better chance of dying in an earthquake (1 in 9,788,561).

You have a better chance of being struck by lightning (1 in 576,000). There are reasons that someone may want to fear a poisonous snake, since snakes can be dangerous and possibly cause pain. But if you actually change your life to address that fear, you're likely suffering from a phobia. There are many examples of these type of phobias. Some of them are based on real fears, some of them are not. Examples include: Arachnophobia (fear of spiders) Mysophobia (fear of germs) Ornithophobia (fear of birds). Phobias don't have to be common either. Almost anything can cause a phobia. There is a phobia known as hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia, or "fear of long words" which, if you have that fear probably forced you to run away from your computer. Phobias generally fall into the following categories: Animal Type Phobias: Fear of dogs, cats, snakes, rats, dogs, mice, or other animals. Natural Environment Type: Fear of heights, firestorms, water, aging, or other natural phenomena.

Blood-Injection-Injury Type: Fear of contamination, seeing blood, needles and similar phenomena. Situational Type: Fear of closed spaces, of the dark, of going to the dentist or other situations. Other Type: Fear of the number thirteen, fear of clowns or mimes, fear of loud noises and other phenomena. Some types of phobias – such as agoraphobia and social phobia – that are considered a bit different than traditional phobias. It's not just the existence of an intense fear that causes the diagnosis of a phobia. The be diagnosed with a phobia, you need to show one or more of the following: You experience severe anxiety when faced with a stimulus (the thing that causes fear). You experience severe anxiety when anticipating the possibility of facing the stimulus. The fear is uncontrollable, to the point where it can escalate – possibly into an anxiety attack. You alter your life in some way to avoid the stimulus. A little bit of fear may still be considered a phobia in the traditional sense, but probably won't require treatment.

If you get a little scared when you see spiders but can still pick them up and throw them outside, it's still a phobia, but it's not one that plays much of a role in your life. But if you're genuinely changing who you are because of your phobias, or you're going out of your way to avoid the fearful stimulus, or you experience severe and uncontrollable anxiety over the idea or the sight of the object that causes you fear, you have a phobia that needs help. Stop What Fears You Take my free 7 minute anxiety test to get started . What Causes These Phobias? As with most anxiety problems, it can be hard to pinpoint an exact cause of the fear. There may be some evolutionary reasons for some of the fears – at one point during evolution, there may have been reasons to fear some of these issues, even though now those fears make less sense. It may also be a misfiring of natural fear. There is reason to have a bit of fear of heights, for example (otherwise you would be jumping off buildings), but it's possible that a phobia is a misfiring of the natural fear system inside you. For others, the fear is learned.

Those that have a parent that shows extreme fear at the sight of a spider will often develop their own fear of spiders. Those that have been attacked by a scary dog may develop phobias of dogs. These are all examples of learned fears. Finally, a fear may also be developed out of nothing, but reinforced by fear itself. This is why phobias are somewhat of a catch-22. What happens is the following: You have a fear that you know is a bit unusual. You tell yourself that it shouldn't cause that much fear. You see the object that causes fear and experience severe anxiety. Your fear is now reinforced – your brain tells yourself that it really IS something that you should fear, and you become more likely to fear the object next time. Fear causes more fear, because fear tells yourself that you're right to fear it. Your brain convinces you that you must be afraid of something very real, because otherwise why would you experience that much fear? In the end, every time you encounter your phobia (even if it's just in a dream), your fear of that stimulus becomes even more pronounced. How Common is it to Experience a Phobia?

Because there are such a broad range of phobias in the world, nearly half of the country has some type of mild phobia. But as far as those that would be diagnosed with a specific phobia, the numbers are still very high. Some estimates put the number at 11% or higher, with many more that don't report it because they don't encounter the stimulus often enough to seek help. It may also be hard to diagnose specific phobias because the person may be suffering from other anxiety disorders. When other anxiety disorders are present, the "phobia" may really be the result of other anxieties, and if you can reduce those disorders, the hardest parts of living with the phobia should go away with them. Check out the chart below. You'll see a simplified way to get an idea of your anxiety: Of course the easiest way to tell what kind of anxiety you're suffering from is to take my free 7 minute anxiety test , where I look at your symptoms and give you an idea of what best characterizes your anxiety. If you haven't yet, take the test now . What Treatment is There For Specific Phobias? There are numerous treatments for phobias.

Cognitive behavioral therapy is one of the best tools, as it deals with the fear itself rather than the cause, which is less unimportant for controlling phobia fears. One of the most common ways to treat phobias in known as "exposure therapy." Exposure therapy seeks to reduce the way that the phobia impacts you – causing you to face your fear in a way that is gradual and easy, until the phobia treatment has had time to work effectively. The best way to explain exposure therapy is with an example, so we'll take a look at treatment for arachnophobia (fear of spiders) and how a therapist or expert may go about reducing your anxiety: First, spiders need to become less of a mystery. So the therapist may have you simply learn more about them. You'll read how they work – the percentage of them that are poisonous (hint, it is EXTREMELY small), where they live, how often people are hurt by them, and so on. You'll read these until you are more comfortable with the idea of moving forward. If you feel anxiety, you'll go through relaxation strategies until you feel calm again. Next, you'll start imagining spiders. You'll be told to think about encountering them.

Even if you feel fear, you'll be told to continue thinking about them until it no longer causes fear. The therapist or counselor will help you if you feel too anxious. You need to keep thinking about them until it almost feels silly – until the idea of a spider annoys you, and isn't something that causes any fear at all. You may also be asked to imagine them on you, etc., until the same result happens. Next you'll move up to start looking at pictures of different spiders. Once again, you'll keep viewing each one until they no longer cause anxiety. If you have a phobia, you'll likely feel much more anxious at the photos. But you'll talk yourself down and use your anxiety reduction strategies until you feel calmer, and once you do you'll move on to the next one. Only when photos don't cause anxiety will you move forward. Next comes the harder step. Your therapist will actually get a spider, and put it in front of you in an enclosed location. It'll be in a cup or a tank so that it can't get on you, but you'll be asked to look at it. You'll likely feel a great amount of fear if your phobia is still very strong.

Your therapist will work with you, talking you down, so that you're more comfortable around it. Eventually, being in the spider's presence where you can't avoid it will no longer lead to fear. Finally, in some cases, once you're able to be in the room with one, you'll be asked to go further. You may be asked to touch a spider or place one on your body. Right now, if you're afraid of spiders, the very idea will cause a great deal of anxiety. But through exposure therapy, you'll eventually control that anxiety and be able to have the object of your fear genuinely touching you without causing you to flee or experience severe anxiety attacks. Each type of phobia has a different phobia treatment, so it won't necessarily occur exactly as described above, but exposure therapy uses this type of technique to cure people of their phobias and decrease the amount of fear they experience. Right now, chances are this entire idea causes a great deal of fear, but rest assured that when completed in a controlled environment, this type of system has a high efficacy rate and is a great tool for combatting your specific phobias.

You'll also need to control your overall anxiety, since how you feel in your day to day life can also affect the degree to which your phobias affect you. For that, take my 7 minute anxiety test now. I've used it for years to help people just like you overcome their anxieties and their phobias. References Complete List of known phobias: . Chapman, T. F. (1997). The epidemiology of fears and phobias . In G. C. L. Davey (Ed.), Phobias: A handbook of theory, research and treatment (pp. 415-434). New York: Wiley. Why Anxiety Causes a Fear of Talking The Dangers (and Benefits) of Yohimbe Niacinamide as Treatment for Anxiety Drugs & Medications for Panic Attacks What are Panic Attacks? Sore Muscles May Be Caused By Anxiety The Links Between OCD and Serotonin Deficiency Anxiety As The Cause Of Muscle Tension More... Need help with anxiety? Then take our scientifically based anxiety test - completely free (takes no more than 7 minutes).

After completing it, you will find out whether your anxiety is within "normal range," which parts are out of balance and, most importantly, how to proceed with beating your symptoms. It is made specifically for anxiety sufferers, please make use of it. Top 10 most bizarre phobias | realbuzz Top 10 most bizarre phobias 10 weird and unusual phobias 5 0 A phobia is an intense and irrational fear of a specific situation, object, person or activity. While we are generally familiar with common phobias such as acrophobia (fear of heights) and claustrophobia (fear of small spaces), some phobias are less well known. Here are 10 of the most bizarre phobias. Optophobia: Fear of opening one’s eyes If ever an award was given for Most Inconvenient Phobia, it would have to go to optophobia – the fear of opening one's eyes! Although the act of opening our eyes is something that few of us ever give thought to, for optophobics this simple, daily act can be a nightmare. Luckily, if you are reading this list, you most likely aren't suffering from this condition!

Chorophobia: Fear of dancing If nightclubs, weddings and small children in tutus fill you with an overwhelming sense of dread, you could be suffering from chorophobia – the fear of dancing. Regardless of dance ability and whether or not you are required to hit the dancefloor, any situation or event that relates to dancing can be a source of fear for chorophobics. Geliophobia: Fear of laughter Many studies suggest that laughter is great for our health; helping to build social bonds, improve mental health and look after the heart. However, for those suffering from geliophobia, the act of laughing, or being around those who laugh, can actually cause overwhelming fear and anxiety. Suggested reasons for geliophobia are anxiety about laughing in inappropriate situations or of being laughed at by others. Arachibutyrophobia: Fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of your mouth It may not be a debilitating or life-altering condition, yet no list of weird phobias would be complete without the inclusion of arachibutyrephobia – the inexplicable fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of your mouth.

While peanut butter is clearly not obligatory for a healthy and satisfactory life, arachibutyrophobics could miss out on the speculated health benefits of peanut butter, including its abilities to lower cholesterol and help ward off heart disease. Heliphobia: Fear of sunlight A rare but unfortunate condition, heliphobia refers to the fear of sunlight. Not only does going out in the sun instigate severe feelings of anxiety and panic in sufferers, but heliophobics may also experience fear of bright lights. Most often the fear or condition is associated with an anxiety about the perceived dangers of the sun; however, unless you happen to be a vampire, avoiding the sun entirely is likely to be an impossible and unnecessary task. It can also be dangerous for your wellbeing, as sunlight is good for regulating the mood and protecting bone health. Deipnophobia: Fear of dinner conversations While many people suffer from a general form of social anxiety, deipnophobia takes a rather more specific twist and is restricted to a fear of carrying on a conversation while eating. Although this can cause discomfort and awkwardness for dinner party guests, it seems that deipnophics could be on to something, as remaining silent while eating can actually help benefit digestion.

Neophobia: Fear of new things While many people are wary of change, neophobia is a phobia that refers to an intense and irrational fear of all new things and experiences. Neophobia can impact on happiness and wellbeing as sufferers miss out on many life-enhancing experiences. When applied to the diet it can also mean that sufferers miss out on various healthy foods and nutrients. Research has also shown that the stress of neophobia can shorten life expectancy. Syngenesphobia: Fear of relatives Many of us experience embarrassment or irritation with our families at times. However, those with syngenesphobia suffer from an excessive fear of their relatives. Unless there is a specific, explicable reason for these fears, it is worth seeking help to alleviate this phobia and help you bond with relatives as research shows that forming strong family ties can help to increase life span. Ablutophobia: Fear of washing and bathing Although many children are resistant to being washed, this condition is much less common in adults. However, for a rare few the thought of stepping under a shower is quite literally terrifying! The good news for ablutophobics is that skipping the occasional shower can help to preserve natural oils and good bacteria that protect your skin and help to prevent disease.

However, making it a regular habit is unlikely to benefit either your health or social life. Geniophobia: Fear of chins Geniophobia is an overwhelming fear of chins. Yes, that innocuous body part attached to the lower part of your face! Further phobias of seemingly innocent body parts include genuphobia (fear of knees), chirophobia (fear of hands) and ishicascadiggaphobia (fear of elbows). As these phobias can make normal social interaction extremely difficult, treatment through therapy is highly recommended. The Phobia List Amaxophobia- Fear of riding in a car. Ambulophobia- Fear of walking. Amychophobia- Fear of scratches or being scratched. Anablephobia- Fear of looking up. Ancraophobia- Fear of wind. (Anemophobia) Androphobia- Fear of men. Anemophobia- Fear of air drafts or wind.(Ancraophobia) Anginophobia- Fear of angina, choking or narrowness. Anglophobia- Fear of England or English culture, etc. Angrophobia - Fear of anger or of becoming angry. Ankylophobia- Fear of immobility of a joint.

Anthrophobia or Anthophobia- Fear of flowers. Anthropophobia- Fear of people or society. Antlophobia- Fear of floods. Anuptaphobia- Fear of staying single. Apeirophobia- Fear of infinity. Aphenphosmphobia- Fear of being touched. (Haphephobia) Apiphobia- Fear of bees. Apotemnophobia- Fear of persons with amputations. Arachibutyrophobia- Fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of the mouth. Arachnephobia or Arachnophobia- Fear of spiders. Arithmophobia- Fear of numbers. Cainophobia or Cainotophobia- Fear of newness, novelty. Caligynephobia- Fear of beautiful women. Cancerophobia or Carcinophobia- Fear of cancer. Cardiophobia- Fear of the heart. Carnophobia- Fear of meat. Catagelophobia- Fear of being ridiculed. Catapedaphobia- Fear of jumping from high and low places. Cathisophobia- Fear of sitting. Cenophobia or Centophobia- Fear of new things or ideas.

Ceraunophobia or Keraunophobia- Fear of thunder and lightning.(Astraphobia, Astrapophobia) Chaetophobia- Fear of hair. Cheimaphobia or Cheimatophobia- Fear of cold.(Frigophobia, Psychophobia) Chemophobia- Fear of chemicals or working with chemicals. Cherophobia- Fear of gaiety. Chiraptophobia- Fear of being touched. Chirophobia- Fear of hands. Cholerophobia- Fear of anger or the fear of cholera. Chorophobia- Fear of dancing. Chrometophobia or Chrematophobia- Fear of money. Chromophobia or Chromatophobia- Fear of colors. Chronophobia- Fear of time. Cibophobia- Fear of food.(Sitophobia, Sitiophobia) Claustrophobia- Fear of confined spaces. Cleithrophobia or Cleisiophobia- Fear of being locked in an enclosed place. Cleptophobia- Fear of stealing. Climacophobia- Fear of stairs, climbing, or of falling downstairs. Clinophobia- Fear of going to bed. Clithrophobia or Cleithrophobia- Fear of being enclosed. Cnidophobia- Fear of stings.

Decidophobia- Fear of making decisions. Defecaloesiophobia- Fear of painful bowels movements. Deipnophobia- Fear of dining or dinner conversations. Dementophobia- Fear of insanity. Demonophobia or Daemonophobia- Fear of demons. Demophobia- Fear of crowds. (Agoraphobia) Dendrophobia- Fear of trees. Dermatophobia- Fear of skin lesions. Dermatosiophobia or Dermatophobia or Dermatopathophobia- Fear of skin disease. Dextrophobia- Fear of objects at the right side of the body. Diabetophobia- Fear of diabetes. Didaskaleinophobia- Fear of going to school. Dikephobia- Fear of justice. Dinophobia- Fear of dizziness or whirlpools. Diplophobia- Fear of double vision. Dipsophobia- Fear of drinking. Dishabiliophobia- Fear of undressing in front of someone. Disposophobia- Fear of throwing stuff out. Hoarding. Domatophobia- Fear of houses or being in a house.(Eicophobia, Oikophobia) Doraphobia- Fear of fur or skins of animals. Doxophobia- Fear of expressing opinions or of receiving praise.

Dromophobia- Fear of crossing streets. Dutchphobia- Fear of the Dutch. Dysmorphophobia- Fear of deformity. Hagiophobia- Fear of saints or holy things. Hamartophobia- Fear of sinning. Haphephobia or Haptephobia- Fear of being touched. Harpaxophobia- Fear of being robbed. Hedonophobia- Fear of feeling pleasure. Heliophobia- Fear of the sun. Hellenologophobia- Fear of Greek terms or complex scientific terminology. Helminthophobia- Fear of being infested with worms. Hemophobia or Hemaphobia or Hematophobia- Fear of blood. Heresyphobia or Hereiophobia- Fear of challenges to official doctrine or of radical deviation. Herpetophobia- Fear of reptiles or creepy, crawly things. Heterophobia- Fear of the opposite sex. (Sexophobia) Hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia- Fear of the number 666. Hierophobia- Fear of priests or sacred things. Hippophobia- Fear of horses. Hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia- Fear of long words.

Hobophobia- Fear of bums or beggars. Hodophobia- Fear of road travel. Hormephobia- Fear of shock. Homophobia- Fear of sameness, monotony or of homosexuality or of becoming homosexual. Hoplophobia- Fear of firearms. Hydrargyophobia- Fear of mercurial medicines. Hydrophobia- Fear of water or of rabies. Hydrophobophobia- Fear of rabies. Hyelophobia or Hyalophobia- Fear of glass. Hygrophobia- Fear of liquids, dampness, or moisture. Hylephobia- Fear of materialism or the fear of epilepsy. Hylophobia- Fear of forests. Hypengyophobia or Hypegiaphobia- Fear of responsibility. Hypnophobia- Fear of sleep or of being hypnotized. Hypsiphobia- Fear of height. Iatrophobia- Fear of going to the doctor or of doctors. Ichthyophobia- Fear of fish. Illyngophobia- Fear of vertigo or feeling dizzy when looking down. Iophobia- Fear of poison. Isolophobia- Fear of solitude, being alone. Isopterophobia- Fear of termites, insects that eat wood.

Ithyphallophobia- Fear of seeing, thinking about or having an erect penis. Metrophobia- Fear or hatred of poetry. Microbiophobia- Fear of microbes. (Bacillophobia) Microphobia- Fear of small things. Misophobia or Mysophobia- Fear of being contaminated with dirt or germs. Mnemophobia- Fear of memories. Molysmophobia or Molysomophobia- Fear of dirt or contamination. Monophobia- Fear of solitude or being alone. Monopathophobia- Fear of definite disease. Motorphobia- Fear of automobiles. Musophobia or Muriphobia- Fear of mice. Mycophobia- Fear or aversion to mushrooms. Mycrophobia- Fear of small things. Myctophobia- Fear of darkness. Mythophobia- Fear of myths or stories or false statements. Myxophobia- Fear of slime. (Blennophobia) Nebulaphobia- Fear of fog. (Homichlophobia) Necrophobia- Fear of death or dead things. Nelophobia- Fear of glass. Neopharmaphobia- Fear of new drugs. Neophobia- Fear of anything new. Nephophobia- Fear of clouds.

Noctiphobia- Fear of the night. Nomatophobia- Fear of names. Nosophobia or Nosemaphobia- Fear of becoming ill. Nostophobia- Fear of returning home. Novercaphobia- Fear of your step-mother. Nucleomituphobia- Fear of nuclear weapons. Nudophobia- Fear of nudity. Nyctohylophobia- Fear of dark wooded areas or of forests at night Nyctophobia- Fear of the dark or of night. If you appreciate the Phobia List, please help support it. Obesophobia- Fear of gaining weight.(Pocrescophobia) Ochlophobia- Fear of crowds or mobs. Ochophobia- Fear of vehicles. Octophobia - Fear of the figure 8. Odontophobia- Fear of teeth or dental surgery. Odynophobia or Odynephobia- Fear of pain. (Algophobia) Oenophobia- Fear of wines. Oikophobia- Fear of home surroundings, house.(Domatophobia, Eicophobia) Olfactophobia- Fear of smells. Ombrophobia- Fear of rain or of being rained on. Ommetaphobia or Ommatophobia- Fear of eyes.

Omphalophobia- Fear of belly buttons. Oneirophobia- Fear of dreams. Oneirogmophobia- Fear of wet dreams. Onomatophobia- Fear of hearing a certain word or of names. Ophidiophobia- Fear of snakes. (Snakephobia) Ophthalmophobia- Fear of being stared at. Opiophobia- Fear medical doctors experience of prescribing needed pain medications for patients. Optophobia- Fear of opening one's eyes. Ornithophobia- Fear of birds. Osmophobia or Osphresiophobia- Fear of smells or odors. Ostraconophobia- Fear of shellfish. Peladophobia- Fear of bald people. Pellagrophobia- Fear of pellagra. Pentheraphobia- Fear of mother-in-law. (Novercaphobia) Phagophobia- Fear of swallowing or of eating or of being eaten. Phalacrophobia- Fear of becoming bald. Phallophobia- Fear of a penis, esp erect. Pharmacophobia- Fear of taking medicine. Phasmophobia- Fear of ghosts. Phengophobia- Fear of daylight or sunshine. Philemaphobia or Philematophobia- Fear of kissing.

Philophobia- Fear of falling in love or being in love. Philosophobia- Fear of philosophy. Photoaugliaphobia- Fear of glaring lights. Photophobia- Fear of light. Phonophobia- Fear of noises or voices or one's own voice; of telephones. Phronemophobia- Fear of thinking. Phthiriophobia- Fear of lice. (Pediculophobia) Phthisiophobia- Fear of tuberculosis. Sarmassophobia- Fear of love play. (Malaxophobia) Satanophobia- Fear of Satan. Scatophobia- Fear of fecal matter. Scelerophibia- Fear of bad men, burglars. Sciophobia Sciaphobia- Fear of shadows. Scoleciphobia- Fear of worms. Scopophobia or Scoptophobia- Fear of being seen or stared at. Scotomaphobia- Fear of blindness in visual field. Scotophobia- Fear of darkness. (Achluophobia) Scriptophobia- Fear of writing in public. Selachophobia- Fear of sharks. Selaphobia- Fear of light flashes. Selenophobia- Fear of the moon. Seplophobia- Fear of decaying matter. Sesquipedalophobia- Fear of long words.

Sexophobia- Fear of the opposite sex. (Heterophobia) Siderodromophobia- Fear of trains, railroads or train travel. Siderophobia- Fear of stars. Sinistrophobia- Fear of things to the left or left-handed. Sinophobia- Fear of Chinese, Chinese culture. Sitophobia or Sitiophobia- Fear of food or eating. (Cibophobia) Snakephobia- Fear of snakes. (Ophidiophobia) Soceraphobia- Fear of parents-in-law. Social Phobia- Fear of being evaluated negatively in social situations. Sociophobia- Fear of society or people in general. Somniphobia- Fear of sleep. Soteriophobia - Fear of dependence on others. Spacephobia- Fear of outer space. Spectrophobia- Fear of specters or ghosts. Spermatophobia or Spermophobia- Fear of germs. Spheksophobia- Fear of wasps. Stasibasiphobia or Stasiphobia- Fear of standing or walking. (Ambulophobia) Staurophobia- Fear of crosses or the crucifix. Stenophobia- Fear of narrow things or places. Stygiophobia or Stigiophobia- Fear of hell.

Suriphobia- Fear of mice. Taeniophobia or Teniophobia- Fear of tapeworms. Taphephobia Taphophobia- Fear of being buried alive or of cemeteries. Tapinophobia- Fear of being contagious. Taurophobia- Fear of bulls. Teleophobia- 1) Fear of definite plans. 2) Religious ceremony. Telephonophobia- Fear of telephones. Teratophobia- Fear of bearing a deformed child or fear of monsters or deformed people. Testophobia- Fear of taking tests. Tetanophobia- Fear of lockjaw, tetanus. Teutophobia- Fear of German or German things. Textophobia- Fear of certain fabrics. Thaasophobia- Fear of sitting. Thalassophobia- Fear of the sea. Thanatophobia or Thantophobia- Fear of death or dying. Theatrophobia- Fear of theatres. Theophobia- Fear of gods or religion. Thermophobia- Fear of heat. Tocophobia- Fear of pregnancy or childbirth. Tomophobia- Fear of surgical operations. Tonitrophobia- Fear of thunder. Topophobia- Fear of certain places or situations, such as stage fright.

Toxiphobia or Toxophobia or Toxicophobia- Fear of poison or of being accidently poisoned. Traumatophobia- Fear of injury. What Causes Fear? What Causes Fear? A potential for pain, or an unrecognizable event, causes fear. The amygdalae, organs in the limbic system, detect such possibilities and send the signals which generate the fear emotion, which sets off avoidance activities. Unlike the rational brain, emotions trigger a variety of instinctual attitudes and behaviors. Each such emotion is chosen by the limbic brain to meet a particularly demanding contingency in life. The anger emotion switches on attitudes and behaviors which support confrontation. Fear, on the other hand, responds to danger by recalling fearful images, preparing the body for flight and by signaling avoidance activity, directing the muscles to freeze, or flee. Fear acts instantly. It will stiffen your muscles before you can walk to the edge of a precipice. While fear signals act swiftly to avoid danger, they intensify when danger is unavoidable. In such situations, fear signals inhibit conscious thinking and set off subconscious searches for escape routes, while preparing the body to freeze, flee, or to defend itself. Those subconscious searches flash images of the results of failure.

A lack of escape avenues intensifies the fear emotion. Together, the recalled images, the urges to escape and the bodily preparations for stress feel unpleasant. Fear, triggered by the amygdala, is one of nature's earliest survival mechanisms. A large part of fear is a response to the horror of painful experiences in life. Fear generates a chain of biological events in the body, which engulf the mind. Persistent attacks of fear lead to many health issues. Fear is caused by historically harmful events, pain experiences and the unknown. Fear begins with the startle response. Fear is essentially an outdated response in the modern world. Fear leads to many subconscious behaviors. Scientists have discovered chemicals, which may, one day, mitigate the effects of excessive fear. Self awareness is the key to dealing with fear. What Causes Fear – An Evolutionary Survival Mechanism During the early beginnings of life, nature developed the amygdalae as special purpose organs in the brain to remember and respond to danger signals. They become sensitive to sensory signals, which accompanied past painful events. Such sensitivity in the amygdalae of animals has been extensively verified. In typical experiments, a rat is exposed to a painful foot shock accompanied by a sound.

Later, when the sound alone is heard, its amygdalae will fire fear signals. Such painful experiences were seen to develop “speed dial ( LTP ) circuits,” which later responded instantly to the related sound signal. The organs became over sensitive to such signals. As essential as the vertebrae, these organs were early components of the brains of fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals. As the primary defense response mechanism, the amygdalae recognized danger patterns and impelled animals to fight, freeze, or escape. What Causes Fear – Terror & Horror Fear is expressed at increasing levels as worry, anxiety, dread, terror and panic. These levels are determined by the imminence of danger. Worry and anxiety are triggered by the anticipation of being harmed in the future. Dread, terror and panic concern the immediate present. At the highest levels, terror and panic overwhelm people, causing them to make irrational choices. While terror is an apprehension of impending danger, horror is a sickening and painful experience. Horror is the emotion, which lays the foundations for the amygdalae to sense the backgrounds of painful events.

The amygdalae remember the images, sounds, words and situations, which accompanied the horror of injury, ridicule, social rejection, loss of loved ones, or career failure. Subsequently, the detection of any related signals trigger fear, often without the person knowing the cause of her fear. What Causes Fear – Bodily Responses On receiving fear signals from the amygdalae, the hypothalamus, acts reflexively to control the reproductive, vegetative, endocrine, hormonal, visceral and autonomic functions of the body. Breathing, digestion, blood circulation, brain activity and body fluid flows are instantly affected. The signals from the amygdalae dilate pupils and increase brain wave frequency. They make hairs stand on end. They reduce saliva, drying the mouth. They cause sweating and a decrease in skin resistance. They decrease peripheral blood flow and cause hands to become cold. The signals speed breathing and dilate bronchial tubes to allow more air to the lungs. They tighten stomach muscles, slow digestion and close down the excretory system. They increase acids in the stomach, causing diarrhoea.

The signals travel to the adrenal gland, which produces cortisol, causing an increase in glucose production to provide additional fuel for the muscles and brain to deal with the potential stress. The signals increase blood pressure, release sugar into the blood and increases the tendency for blood clotting. The signals increase red blood cells. They tense postural muscles, causing hand and body tremors. They dilate blood vessels to skeletal muscles to allow greater blood flow. They slow the working of the immune system. The amygdalae trigger a chain of biological events and engulf the mind in the fear emotion, even before the conscious mind can assess the situation. In the modern world, such persistent fear signals are not set off by real physical danger. They are triggered by an instinctive brain, which tries to overcome social and career issues by foolishly preparing the body to freeze, flee or defend itself. What Causes Fear – Long Term Effects A persistent lack of escape routes from danger lead to the insistent fear signals of anxiety, which raise heart rate and blood pressure over time. Such conditions are believed to lead to heart palpitations, fatigue, nausea, chest pain, shortness of breath, stomach aches, or headaches.

Escalating fear signals trigger panic attacks, which have indications similar to the symptoms of heart attacks. Anxiety over the years has been linked to health issues, including arthritis, migraines, allergies, stomach ulcers and thyroid disease. What Causes Fear – Inherited, Acquired & The Unknown The amygdala triggers fear signals, which drive you to escape from danger. It responds to three types of events. The first inherited set of circuits fire on identifying historically harmful events. The second group of neurons develop LTP circuits, which learn to fire on identifying events, which accompanied painful experiences. The last group of circuits trigger fear, when the system is unable to identify the impact of an event. What Causes Fear – Historic Triggers Over millions of years, nature has assembled in the amygdala a memory for harmful events. On recognizing signals of such events, the amygdala instinctively responds by triggering fear. So, most people have an inherited fear of falling, of being suffocated in enclosed spaces, of drowning in water and of being attacked by rats, cockroaches, or snakes. Even stage fright and a fear of public speaking originate from an instinctive fear of becoming a focus of attention of predators.

The fear responses of the amygdala for such events are often accompanied by the startle response. What Causes Fear – Pain Experiences Over a lifetime, the amygdala builds an additional sensitivity to pain experiences. Pain may have been caused by physical injury, painful confrontations, loss of loved ones, loss of social status, or through social rejection. Mirror neurons also trigger pain within us, on seeing the painful experiences of others. Whenever such pain has been experienced, the amygdala stores memories of the related sensory signals. Fear can be triggered by the fleeting image of an angry face. People suffer fears of failing, of being ridiculed, of the loss of loved ones. If a person suffered trauma, when left alone as a child, she may fear loneliness. What Causes Fear – The Unknown Without the actual experience of such events, people fear death, nuclear wars, terrorism, or even threatened changes in their work environments. The inability to identify the significance of an event also triggers fear. Archy de Berker reports on the role of uncertainty in triggering fear. He tracked stress levels in subjects by measuring changes in pupil diameter, directly linked to the release of the stresss hormone noradrenaline in the brain.

He discovered that pain and uncertainty have roughly equal roles to play in stress. Subjects felt less fear when they knew that they were going to suffer pain than when they did do not know whether they would escape the pain experience. When fear envelops you for a reason you are unable to fathom, it is useful to list the issues, which bother you. You will find that by locating the cause of such fear and facing up to it will free you from the emotion. Even accepting uncertainty as an inevitable facet of your environment will also reduce your fear. What Causes Fear – The Startle Response Fear begins with the startle response . It is the fastest response (20 milliseconds) of the mind to danger through a direct amygdala fear pathway as reported by Joseph E. LeDoux. He identified a second route (300 milliseconds) through the reasoning processes of the cortex, which can proceed to still a sudden onset of fear. Mere movements, sounds or images can trigger the fearful startle response. The reflex is present from birth. When a newborn senses a possibility of falling, her back arches and her arms and legs flail out.

Doctors test the reflex to be sure of an infant's nervous system by simulating a sense of falling by allowing its head to drop slightly. The startle signals from the amygdala activates the sympathetic system, which heightens emotional arousal. Later, the cortical signals may energize the parasympathetic system, dampening down emotional tension. Unthinking fear set off by the startle response may be stilled by the reasoned cortical signals, such as when a coiled snake is identified to be just a garden hose. What Causes Fear – An Outdated Response While physical danger was ever present in the primitive world, it is less relevant today. Unfortunately, while justified by a tiger in the vicinity, fear responses are unsuitable and unhealthy for a person facing career problems. The possibility of dismissal from work requires a calm and collected reaction. Fear triggers images of unpaid bills and sets off a tightness in your chest, which serve no useful purpose. If a solution to the problem was available to you, you would immediately know it. Worry and anxiety set off by fear rarely find solutions, but affect your health. Except for avoiding sudden physical injury, fear is an irrelevant animal response.

The cause of such fear is a primitive neural signal from the amygdala, which can be stilled through the practice of self awareness . What Causes Fear – Subconscious Avoidance In the instant in which an animal senses danger, its mind identifies a course of action – possibly to slip under a rock. Fear is a creative process, which subconsciously searches your mind for ways to escape pain. Your impulsive decisions, when triggered by fear, may not present you with any conscious awareness of the particular pain that you wish to avoid. Pain is triggered by many social emotions, including sadness, disgust, contempt, embarrassment, guilt, and shame. A fear of being ridiculed can make a person decide not to take part in conversation. Fear of experiencing the fear emotion may make a person avoid challenging assignments. What Causes Fear – Chemical Links Fear is triggered within the amygdalae, because its nerve junctions develop special sensitivity to particular sensory signals. Even faint sounds may trigger unbearable fear reactions for patients suffering post-traumatic stress syndrome. Richard Huganir discovered that timely manipulation of specific molecules which regulate synaptic plasticity in the amygdalae of animals can remove the fear response.

He identified an unusual protein, which appeared in the amygdala of animals, which had been conditioned to respond to sounds accompanying a foot shock. That molecule, which remained for only a few days, appeared to strengthen the fear circuits in the amygdalae. When the researchers eliminated the protein during this period, the animals permanently lost those induced fearful memories. A combination of behavioral and pharmacological therapies aimed at those molecular targets may one day be used to help patients. Scientist from Zurich also found that the hormone oxytocin related to stress and sex also reduced amygdalae activity. What Causes Fear – Dealing With Fear Self awareness can reduce the causes of fear. The intense activity in the amygdalae, which causes the fear experience, can be reduced by the attention center of the brain – the rostral anterior cingulate cortex (rACC). Columbia University researchers observed that when fear stimuli was perceived consciously, rACC acted to dampen down amygdalae activity. Self awareness and a few mind control practices can make the global effect of fear visible and so still its impact. For normal people, conscious awareness and acceptance of the fear experience will still amygdala activity.

With the conviction that fearlessness can become an acquired habit, the practice of self awareness can bring a calm and still mind. Creative management requires alertness, not fear. Fear tends to paralyze. Every vista appears dangerous and threatening. In any threatening situation, you can only do one of three things. Do something about it, avoid it, or live with it. A quiet evaluation will define your response and still the fear. The awareness of danger will still be present. Common sense appears, when fear is stilled. It is the ability to take those calculated risks, which make a project successful. This page was last updated on 01-Apr-2016

Question: Chirophobia is the irrational fear of which part of the body?
Answer: Hands