Phobias: The ten most common fears people hold
Social phobias are the most common type of fear. Up to one in 20 people have a social phobia. They are considered an anxiety disorder and include excessive self-consciousness in social situations, excessive judgement, and social anxiety disorder, such as social anxiety.
Agoraphobia
it is a fear of open spaces
- It is a serious anxiety disorder that can trap people in their homes or make leading a normal life next to impossible
- Some people have it so severe that they avoid specific places or venues, making it difficult to live normally.
Trypanophobia: fear of needles
Many people develop a strong aversion to needles.
- However, needles are typically worth the pain with them either delivering vaccinations, delivering blood donations or helping to investigate a potential illness – even creating a tattoo.
- E.g. a sharp piece of metal stuck in your arm.
Pteromerhanophobia
Fear of flying
- With all the media coverage of air disasters it is understandable many fear being in a plane crash and hence have a fear of flying.
- However, with more than 100,000 commercial flights around the world each day, the chances of being struck by lightning are higher than dying in a crash.
Claustrophobia
Fear of enclosed spaces
- More closely linked to a fear of flying
- People with this fear say they feel like the walls are closing in on them
- Some theories suggest a genetic link to specific phobias as a kind of dormant survival mechanism