Anyone can experience fear from time to time. Whether it be flying through turbulence, having an injection at the doctor’s office, a bolt of lightning and even in high places. And at some point in our lives, we can all go through stresses and anxiety whenever we experience these types of fear.

However, when you know specifically your fears, you will likely have a deep sense of panic and leads to phobia.  A phobia is a radical and irrational fear of something and is classified as anxiety disorders.

Here’s the list of common phobias and some guide on how to face them:

 

1.       Arachnophobia.

It is the extreme fear of spiders and other eight-legged arachnids. People with severe arachnophobia have intense anxiety to the point that they don’t want to explore dark places because spiders may be present. And if they encounter one, they may leave the house rather than deal with the fear. This type of fear is often to face through a combination of proper medication and counselling. Cognitive therapy is applied in this situation, replacing the negative thoughts with spiders with more rational thoughts.

2.                   Acrophobia.

It is defined as the fear of heights. This can cause you to fear different things related to being far from the ground. In order for you to fully face this fear, you need to undergo psychotherapy, proper medication, great meditations and even an actual exposure.

3.                   Mysophobia

Mysophobia or the fear of germs, and sometimes refers to an unhealthy fear of contamination. For some people, it is reasonable to fear severe health issues and maintain proper hygiene; however, if you have mysophobia, these usual concerns became overblown. It can be successfully managed, visit a mental health professional and ask for a prescription.

4.                   Hypochondria

It is characterized as the fear of suffering from severe physical illness. This includes heart attacks, strokes and elevated blood counts. This fear happens temporarily, but at some point, it can last longer. Persistent visits to the doctor as well as constant checking will help you in dealing with this kind of fear.

5.                   Cynophobia

This is defined as the fear of dogs that can be both irrational and persistent. This fear may usually interfere with the number of symptoms like dizziness and trouble of breathing. Better to find helpful ways on how to overcome this fear.

6.                   Aquaphobia

Aquaphobia is an irrational fear of any water. This includes a lake, swimming pool, an ocean or even in a bathtub. This fear is treated with cognitive therapy and exposure therapy to face it fully.

7.                   Aerophobia

This is the type of anxiety disorder that involves the extreme sense of fear and panic for some people when they fly or anticipate flying. Anti-anxiety medications are given to patients with this kind of trauma, and the good thing is that aerophobia is treatable.

8.                   Claustrophobia

This situational phobia is triggered by an intense fear of tight or crowded spaces—common examples of this fear like being stuck in the elevator and being locked in the windowless room. If you experience it, you’ll mostly feel panic. This is usually faced with psychotherapy and consistent counselling.

9.                   Ailurophobia

Ailurophobia is described as the intense fear of cats that can cause anxiety and panic. Having this phobia doesn’t necessarily mean medications, you need to give yourself time to avoid cats and eventually develop a habit of exposure.

10.               Scoleciphobia

This means irrational and persistent fear of worms. Gradually exposing yourself to infections can help desensitize this usual fear.

11.               Metathesiophobia

This is described as the fear of change or changing things, and it is linked with the fear of moving. Proper mental guidance is advised to people experiencing this to adapt to change.

12.               Ombrophobia

It is referred to as the fear of rain and is a common fairly disorder to kids, and the fear of lightning and thunder accompanies it. People with a fear of rain try to expose themselves to mild rain to relearn ways on how to overcome it.

13.               Emetophobia

This is the disproportionate fear of vomiting and is characterized by a tendency to avoid situations that might increase the risk of vomiting. This phobia is best accomplished through response prevention and cognitive therapy.

If you have a phobia or know someone who does, it is important to face the fear as soon as possible so that you can conquer it. There are many ways of doing this and everyone’s experience will be different but there are some general guidelines that may help in your journey towards recovery. Seek professional help if needed or try hypnosis to overcome fear and remember to take baby steps at first.