Phobias – You’re Afraid of What?!

Many people have phobias. They can be a slight annoyance in a person’s life or a debilitating fear that causes daily anxiety. However, phobias are real and deserve the attention they receive.

What Are Phobias?

Phobias are anxiety disorders. They involve an irrational and excessive fear of specific objects or situations. The reaction can be anything from mild discomfort to extreme fear if a subject comes in contact with the cause of their phobia. In severe cases, the person with the phobia will experience significant distress as severe as panic attacks.

The etymological origin of the word phobia is from the Ancient Greek language. It meant “irrational fear” or “aversion“. The typical way to name a phobia is by deciding on a Greek or sometimes Latin prefix and adding the word phobia as a suffix. So, as we will see later, anyone can combine one or more words with “phobia” at the end and call it a phobia. So take real phobias seriously, but do not confuse them with some contrived word combination made up by someone in jest.

A person can have more than one phobia. About 75% of people with phobias have more than one. But what causes phobias? Unfortunate or mistaken exposures during childhood where the child felt unsafe could result in a phobia later in life. However, even a feeling of compromised safety in adulthood could also lead to a phobia.

Types of Phobias

There are three types or classifications of phobias:

1. Specific (simple) phobias are the most common and refer to the fear of a particular object.
2. Social phobia refers to the fear of public or social situations.
3. Agoraphobia is the fear of being alone in a public place or scenario with the feeling that there is no escape.

Let’s look at some phobias in each of the three classifications.

Specific (simple) Phobias

As mentioned earlier, this is the most common type of phobia because there are many things to fear in this scary old world. This type of phobia develops because of something the subject has seen, heard, personally experienced, or received incorrect information about the topic. The treatment is usually gradual exposure to the feared object or situation.

• Acrophobia – the fear of heights
  Many people are afraid of falling, which is a common theme in many dreams. Falling represents a lack of control because nothing can save you once you begin to fall, especially from heights.

• Aerophobia – the fear of flying
  Many people fear flying, especially when they hear of a plane crash that kills everyone on board. If your plane goes down, your chance of surviving is very close to nil, but statistics show that air travel is safe.

• Aquaphobia – the fear of water
  Aquaphobia is one of the most common phobias. It is fear of being in the water, such as a lake, a swimming pool, or even a bathtub. The probable cause of this phobia is a near-drowning experience.

• Cynophobia – the fears of dogs
  Some dogs are to be feared because they are big and vicious and would take your arm off without a second thought. However, this phobia refers to all dogs. A previous bad experience with a dog, now associated with all dogs, is likely the cause of this phobia.

• Ophidiophobia – the fear of snakes
  This one baffles me. When we owned the pet shop many years ago, people would come in and watch us handling the snakes. Now, the snakes we had were only little, non-poisonous fellas, but most people who wandered into the shop were terrified at the mere sight of them. It was surprising to me, but the fear was unmistakable.

Social Phobias

People with social phobias are afraid of what others might think of them. They especially don’t want to be embarrassed in front of their peers. The treatment for this type of phobia is cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and possibly medication. The anxiety associated with social phobias may subside slightly with age. Still, it will not likely go away on its own without treatment.

• Glossophobia – the fear of public speaking
  Fear of speaking in public is by far the most common social phobia. It is a phobia that I experience. A few years ago, my friend asked me to be the master of ceremonies at her wedding. I reluctantly agreed. When the time came, my knees were shaking so badly from nerves that I could hardly stand.
  
• Deipnophobia – the fear of eating in front of others
  When I was in high school, I noticed many individual students eating alone in the bleachers. I was one of them. Early teens are by far the most self-conscious age group.

Agoraphobia

Although many people think agoraphobia is the fear of open spaces, it is much more complicated. It is the fear of being in a place or a situation where there appears to be no comfortable means of escape. It can be as diverse as being in an uncomfortable social situation where you feel all eyes are upon you, waiting for a crowded train, or even in an elevator. In extreme cases, a person may even be afraid to leave their house, fearing what may be out there. Professionals use Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) for the treatment of agoraphobia.

Really! No, I Mean, Really!

Phobias are real, and they can be severe. You have powerful and mixed feelings when exposed to the cause of your phobia or phobias. These feelings can destroy your sense of self-worth, self-consciousness, and self-control, and it can be a very traumatic experience. I would never ridicule anyone for having a phobia because their reaction is authentic, even though it may be illogical.

However, as mentioned above, anyone can claim they are afraid of something, create a word based on Greek and end with the suffix phobia, no matter how obscure or bizarre the fear is. Again, there is no disrespect intended if the fear is genuine. But let’s look at a few of these unusual “phobias”.

Arachibutyrophobia is the fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of your mouth. I can relate to this. I was encouraged to try mochi on New Year’s Eve when I lived in Japan. Mochi is sticky rice; the more you chew it, the bigger it gets. Many older adults die every year from choking on mochi. Now, the solution to the mochi or peanut butter problems is don’t stick that gooey stuff in your mouth.

I find two more phobias to be strange, individually and in combination. First, Anatidaephobia is the fear of being watched by a duck. Then, don’t sit on a park bench with a paper bag full of dried pieces of bread. Second, Xanthophobia is fear of the colour yellow. Now, there is the potential for some serious bathtime issues. Look at the little guy just to the right of the center in the picture below. He is staring and looks a little surprised at what he sees.

Phobia Misnomers

Fear is the essential criterion of a phobia. That’s what phobias are all about. However, some phobias come to mind where ignorance is the only fear. The reality behind these phobias is hate. There are three so-called phobias that I can think of off the top of my head:

1. Xenophobia is a deep dislike of foreigners.
2.  Islamophobia is a hatred or fear of Islam or Muslims.
3.  Homophobia is a hatred or fear of or prejudice against homosexuals or homosexuality.

There must be more, but I am leaving you with these three to consider.

The above essay is for entertainment and English language study only. For suggestions on how to use this post to improve your English reading and listening comprehension, click here.

Vocabulary

• phobia – noun; an abnormal or morbid fear or aversion; a very strong fear of something
• debilitating – adjective; feeble, esp. of health; disabled or handicapped; weak or stressed
• irrational – adjective; illogical; unreasonable; not reasonable
• excessive – adjective; more than what is normal or necessary; too much
• etymological adjective; the historically verifiable sources of the formation of a word and the development of its meaning; the origin of a word
• aversion – noun; an object of dislike; something you don’t like
• prefix – noun; a verbal element placed at the beginning of a word to adjust or qualify its meaning; syllable added to the beginning of an existing word
• suffix – noun; a verbal element added to the end of a word to form a derivative; syllable added to the end of an existing word
• contrived – adjective; so obviously planned as to seem unnatural, artificial; not normal or natural
• in jest – adverb; in fun; for fun; as a joke
• compromised – adjective; feeling of unsafe (in this context)
• nil – noun; nothing; no number or amount; zero
• baffle – transitive verb, 3p; confuse or perplex; confuse
• mere – attributive adjective (merest); having no greater extent or importance than the designation implies; only because of that
• peer – noun; a person who is equal in ability, standing, rank or value; someone from the same group or class
• subside – intransitive verb; become calm or tranquil; die down; abate; become less
• traumatic – adjective; emotionally disturbing; very difficult emotionally
• ridicule – transitive verb; make fun of; laugh at; make fun of
• authentic – adjective; reliable or trustworthy; real
• obscure – adjective; undistinguished, hardly known; rare (in this context)
• bizarre – adjective; strange in appearance or effect; unusual or strange
• genuine – adjective; sincere; real feelings (in this context)
• criterion – noun; a principle or standard that a thing is judged by; a very important part of an idea

Comprehension Questions

1. Is a phobia an anxiety disorder?
   Yes or No
2. Can panic attacks be the result of a phobia?
   Yes or No
3. Which language does the word “phobia” come from?
   (a) French, (b) Spanish, (c) Ancient Greek, or (d) Old English
4. Is “phobia” a prefix or a suffix?
5. How many types of phobias are there?
   (a) one, (b) two, (c) three, or (d) four
6. Do you have any phobias? If yes, what phobia(s) do you have?
   Yes or No
7. Do you have a rubber duckie?
   Yes or No
8. Have you ever had a panic attack? If yes, what was the cause?
   Yes or No

Answers

Resources

• Wikipedia – Phobia
• Mental Health America
• healthline
• The Recovery Village
• The Coolist
• Your Dictionary – Examples of Xenophobia (recommended reading)