Health and Fitness

Understanding Fear: What Are Phobias and How Common Are They?


Phobia – From the Greek: φόβος, Phóbos, meaning “fear” or “morbid fear”
Phobias: a persistent (and often irrational) fear of an object or situation.
Greek physician Hippocrates (470-410 B.C.E.) first described phobias
500 years after Hippocrates, Roman doctor, Celsus used the word hydrophobia for a patient who feared water.

NOW:

400: number of phobias recognized by the medical profession.

Top 10 Phobias

Percent of US Population

  1. Fear of public speaking – Glossophobia 74 %
  2. Fear of death – Necrophobia 68 %
  3. Fear of spiders – Arachnophobia 30.5 %
  4. Fear of darkness – Achluophobia, Scotophobia or Myctophobia 11 %
  5. Fear of heights – Acrophobia 10 %
  6. Fear of people or social situations – Sociophobia 7.9 %
  7. Fear of flying – Aerophobia 6.5 %
  8. Fear of confined spaces – Claustrophobia 2.5 %
  9. Fear of open spaces – Agoraphobia 2.2 %
  10. Fear of thunder and lightning – Brontophobia 2 %

3 Categories of Phobias

Specific Phobias

Persistent fear and avoidance of a specific object or situation. (examples: Spiders, Flying, Water, Heights, or contracting a specific illness)

Typical age of onset: 7

Affects: 19.2 million American adults age 18 and over.

Fear and Worry Statistics

Percent of things feared that will never take place 60 %
Percent of things feared that happened in the past and can’t be changed 30 %
Percent of things feared that are considered to be insignificant issues 90 %
Percent of things feared in relation to health that will not happen 88 %

Social

AKA Social Anxiety Disorder: a persistent fear of being judged, watched and criticized by others, or of public situations leading to embarrassment or humiliation.

Typical age of onset: 13

Affects: 15 million American adults age 18 and over.

The lifetime prevalence rate for developing social anxiety disorder is between 13 and 14 percent.

Symptoms of Social Anxiety Disorder

  • People suffering from social anxiety disorder can experience significant emotional distress in the following situations:
  • Being introduced to new people
  • Being in large groups of people
  • Being teased or criticized
  • Being the center of attention
  • Being watched while doing something
  • Meeting authority figures
  • Most social encounters, especially with strangers
  • Going around the room, or table, in a circle and having to say something
  • Eating or drinking in front of others
  • Writing or working in front of others
  • Being the center of attention. Interacting with people, including dating or going to parties
  • Asking questions or giving reports in groups
  • Using public toilets
  • Talking on the telephone

Physiological Symptoms

The physiological symptoms that can accompany social anxiety may include:

  • Constant and intense anxiety
  • Intense fear
  • Racing heart
  • Turning red or blushing
  • Excessive sweating
  • Dry throat and mouth
  • Trembling
  • Swallowing with difficulty
  • Muscle twitches
  • Panic attack

Agoraphobia

Agoraphobia: intense fear and anxiety of any place or situation where escape might be difficult, leading to avoidance of such situations. (example: Traveling in a car, bus, airplane, elevator, or being in a crowded area)
Typical age of onset: 20

Affects: 1.8 million American adults age 18 and over.

Diagnostic criteria for agoraphobia include a severe fear or anxiety about two or more of the following situations:

  • Using public transportation, such as a bus, plane or car
  • Being in an open space, such as a parking lot, bridge or large mall
  • Being in an enclosed space, such as a movie theater, meeting room or small store
  • Waiting in a line or being in a crowd
  • Being out of the home alone

Celebrity Phobias

Scarlett Johansson: Ornithophobia – The fear of birds.
Orlando Bloom: Swinophobia – The fear of pigs.
Megan Fox: Bacteriaphobia – The fear of germs and bacteria.
Billy Bob Thornton: Chromophobia – The Fear of bright colors.
Madonna: Astraphobia – The fear of thunder and lightning.
Oprah Winfrey: Chiclephobia – The fear of chewing-gum.
Nicole Kidman: Lepidopterophobia – The fear of butterflies.

Phobias You May Not Have Heard Of

Anablephobia- Fear of looking up
Anuptaphobia- Fear of staying single.
Bibliophobia- Fear of books.
Cathisophobia- Fear of sitting
Ephebiphobia- Fear of teenagers.
Genuphobia- Fear of knees
Hellenologophobia- Fear of Greek terms or complex scientific terminology.
Helminthophobia- Fear of being infested with worms
Logizomechanophobia- Fear of computers.
Meningitophobia- Fear of brain disease.
Omphalophobia- Fear of belly buttons.
Phobophobia- Fear of phobias or fear.

Sources:

http://hiperfdiy.wordpress.com/2012/05/28/the-history-of-phobias/
http://www.statisticbrain.com/fear-phobia-statistics/
http://sierratucson.crchealth.com/
http://www.adaa.org/understanding-anxiety/social-anxiety-disorder
http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/phobias/basics/tests-diagnosis/con-20023478
http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/social-phobia-social-anxiety-disorder/index.shtml
http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/the-numbers-count-mental-disorders-in-america/index.shtml#Social
http://www.ietherapy.com/social-anxiety-disorder/statistics/social-anxiety-disorder-statistics.php
http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2014/01/24/the-10-most-common-phobias.aspx
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-37000/Trapped-web-phobias.html
http://www.ibtimes.com/top-10-weirdest-celebrity-phobias-famous-faces-their-fears-photos-390106


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