What Is a Phobia? Types and Examples

A phobia is a mental illness causing anxiety about a situation, location, object, animal, or person. Even though the circumstance does not pose any threat, an individual with a phobia experiences an overwhelming response. Despite knowing that the ear is irrational, individuals develop extreme anxiety and fear. Individuals with phobias try to change and reset themselves.  

Types:  

As per the American Psychiatric Association, phobias are classified into the following types.  

• Social phobias are anxiety disorders where a person can be judged in social situations.  
• Agoraphobias are phobias towards places. Ex: Fear of gatherings or crowded locations.      
• Specific phobias are phobias to a particular person, animal, object, or anything.  

Phobia symptoms:

Individuals with phobias may have the following symptoms. They are:

• Exaggerated irrational fear
• Severe distress when facing the situation  
• Trying to avoid the situation
• Panic attack symptoms like increased heartbeat, nausea, increased sweats, numbness, difficulty breathing, lightheadedness, and dizziness
• Anticipatory fear and anxiety are where an individual develops the fear even before facing the situation much ahead of time.  

What is the cause of specific phobia?

Phobias are seen in adolescents and adults. They commonly affect females more than males. They could be a response to a traumatic experience or an adapted and learned behavior.  

Phobia treatment:

A thorough medical, psychological, and physical examination diagnoses phobias. Specific tests are prescribed to rule out phobias caused by diseases. Phobias are treated by psychological counseling that involves:

• Exposure-based therapy is where an individual with a phobia is slowly and gradually exposed to the phobia that triggers the fear. This therapy is done in a simulated model through direct exposure or desensitization.  
• Cognitive behavioral therapy is where an individual unlearns the negative thoughts associated with the phobia and replaces them with more positive thoughts.  
• Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing are done to overcome the phobia by processing and rhythmic eye movements.  
• Medications are also prescribed to calm an individual with a phobia and manage the symptoms.  

Some of the phobia Examples:

• Acrophobia is a phobia of heights
• Aerophobia is a phobia of flying
• Algophobia is a phobia of pain
• Agoraphobia is a phobia of open spaces or crowds
• Androphobia is a phobia of men
• Anthropophobia is a phobia of people or society
• Arachnophobia is a phobia of spiders
• Atychiphobia is a phobia of failure
• Bacteriophobia is a phobia of bacteria
• Bathmophobia is a phobia of stairs or steep slopes
• Batrachophobia is a phobia of amphibians
• Catagelophobia is a phobia of being ridiculed
• Claustrophobia is a phobia of confined spaces
• Climacophobia is a phobia of climbing
• Cynophobia: Fear of dogs
• Daemonophobia is a phobia of demons
• Dentophobia is a phobia of dentists
• Elurophobia is a phobia of cats
• Entomophobia is a phobia of insects
• Erotophobia is a phobia of sex
• Gamophobia is a phobia of marriage
• Glossophobia is a phobia of speaking in public
• Haphephobia is a phobia of touch
• Hemophobia is a phobia of blood
• Hydrophobia is a phobia of water
• Iatrophobia is a phobia of doctors
• Insectophobia is a phobia of insects
• Megalophobia is a phobia of huge things
• Microphobia is a phobia of small things
• Nosocomephobia is a phobia of hospitals
• Nyctophobia is a phobia of the dark
• Obesophobia is a phobia of gaining weight
• Ophidiophobia is a phobia of snakes
• Ornithophobia is a phobia of birds
• Pathophobia: is a phobia of disease
• Pedophobia is a phobia of children
• Phobophobia is a phobia of phobias
• Pyrophobia is a phobia of fire
• Scoptophobia is a phobia of being stared at
• Sociophobia is a phobia of social evaluation
• Technophobia is a phobia of technology
• Trypophobia is a phobia of holes
• Xenophobia is a phobia of strangers or foreigners
• Zoophobia is a phobia of animals