Phobias
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In psychology and psychiatry, a phobia is an irrational, abnormal, unwarranted, persistent, or disabling fear as a mental disorder, and is generally a mental disorder. In mental health fields, the suffix -phobia from Greek refers to the fear, the adjective suffix is -phobic (describing a person with such a fear), and the suffix -phobe refers to a person with such a phobia (e.g., acrophobia, acrophobic, acrophobe, for fear of heights).
These suffices are also used in chemistry, medicine, and biology for describing chemical aversions (e.g., hydrophobic), for describing organisms that dislike certain conditions (e.g., acidophobia), or for describing hypersensitivity to a stimulus, usually sensory (e.g. photophobia). In common usage, they also form words that describe dislike or hatred of a particular thing or subject (e.g. homophobia). The antonymic suffixes are -phil, -phile, philic (e.g., photophilic).
Contents
1 Psychological phobias
Below is a list of phobias that are diagnosed in health sciences.[1]
| Phobia | Source of fear |
|---|---|
| Achluophobia | darkness |
| Acousticophobia | noise (a form of phonophobia) |
| Acrophobia | heights |
| Aerophobia | aircraft or flying |
| Agoraphobia | open places |
| Agyrophobia | crossing streets |
| Aichmophobia | sharp or pointed objects such as a needle or knife |
| Ailurophobia | cats (fear or dislike) (a zoophobia) |
| Alektorophobia | chickens (fear or dislike) (a zoophobia) |
| Anatidaephobia | ducks (fear or dislike) (a zoophobia) |
| Algophobia | pain |
| Ancraophobia | wind or drafts |
| Androphobia | adult men |
| Apeirophobia | excessive infinity, eternity, and the uncountable |
| Apiphobia | bees (fear or dislike) (also: melissophobia) |
| Aphenphosmphobia | being touched |
| Apotemnophobia | becoming an amputee |
| Aquaphobia | water [2] |
| Arachnophobia | spiders and other arachnids such as scorpions (a zoophobia) |
| Astraphobia | thunder and lightning |
| Atelophobia | imperfection |
| Autophobia | isolation |
| Bacteriophobia | bacteria |
| Basophobia | fear associated with astasia-abasia (walking/standing erect) and falling (also: basiphobia) |
| Batrachophobia | frogs and other amphibians (fear or dislike) (a zoophobia) |
| Belonephobia | needles (also: trypanophobia, enetophobia) needles or injections [3] |
| Bibliophobia | books |
| Cacophobia | ugliness (also: aschimophobia) |
| Carcinophobia | cancer |
| Catoptrophobia | mirrors |
| Chemophobia | chemicals |
| Cherophobia | happiness |
| Chiroptophobia | bats (fear or dislike) (a zoophobia) |
| Chromophobia | colors (also: chromatophobia) |
| Chronophobia | time and time moving forward |
| Chronomentrophobia | clocks |
| Cibophobia | aversion to food, synonymous with anorexia nervosa (also: sitophobia) |
| Claustrophobia | having no escape and being closed in |
| Coimetrophobia | cemeteries |
| Coitophobia | sexual intercourse (also: genophobia) |
| Coprophobia | feces or defecation |
| Coulrophobia | clowns |
| Cyberphobia | computers |
| Cynophobia | dogs (fear or dislike) (a zoophobia) |
| Dentophobia | dentists |
| Diagraphephobia | deleting files or an extreme losing your computer data |
| Domatophobia | houses |
| Dysmorphophobia | body dysmorphic disorder (a phobic obsession with a real or imaginary body defect) |
| Ecophobia | cataclysmic environmental change |
| Eisoptrophobia | mirrors or seeing one's reflection in a mirror |
| Emetophobia | vomiting |
| Enochlophobia | crowds |
| Entomophobia | insects (fear or dislike) (a zoophobia) |
| Ephebiphobia | youth; inaccurate, exaggerated and sensational characterization of young people |
| Equinophobia | horses |
| Ergophobia | work or functioning, or a surgical operations (also: ergasiophobia) |
| Erotophobia | sexual love or sexual abuse |
| Erythrophobia | the color red, or blushing (also: erytophobia, ereuthophobia) |
| Eurotophobia | aversion to female genitals |
| Frigophobia | becoming too cold |
| Gamophobia | marriage |
| Gelotophobia | being laughed at |
| Gephyrophobia | bridges |
| Genophobia | sexual intercourse (also: coitophobia) |
| Genuphobia | knees or the act of kneeling |
| Gerascophobia | growing old or aging |
| Germophobia | germs or contaminaiton (also: mysophobia) |
| Gerontophobia | growing old, or a hatred or the elderly |
| Globophobia | balloons |
| Glossophobia | speaking in public or of trying to speak |
| Gymnophobia | nudity |
| Gynophobia | adult women |
| Halitophobia | bad breath |
| Haphephobia | being touched |
| Heptadekaphobia | the number 17 (also: heptadecaphobia) |
| Hedonophobia | obtaining pleasure |
| Heliophobia | the sun or sunlight |
| Helminthophobia | worms (a zoophobia) (also: scoleciphobia, vermiphobia) |
| Hemophobia | blood (also: haemophobia)[4] |
| Herpetophobia | reptiles or amphibians (fear or dislike) (a zoophobia) |
| Hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia | the number 666 |
| Hippophobia | horses (fear or dislike) (a zoophobia) |
| Hodophobia | travel |
| Hypnophobia | sleep or nightmares (also: somniphobia) |
| Ichthyophobia | fish, including eating fish, or dead fish (a zoophobia) |
| Insectophobia | insects |
| Koumpounophobia | buttons on clothing |
| Lilapsophobia | tornadoes or hurricanes |
| Lepidopterophobia | butterflies and moths |
| Mageiricophobia | cooking |
| Masklophobia | people in masks, costumes and mascots |
| Melanophobia | the color black |
| Melissophobia | bees (fear or dislike) (a zoophobia) (also: apiphobia) |
| Monophobia | being alone or isolated or of one's self |
| Musophobia | mice or rats (fear or dislike) (a zoophobia) (also: murophobia, suriphobia) |
| Mycophobia | mushrooms |
| Myrmecophobia | ants |
| Mysophobia | germs, contamination or dirt (also: germophobia) |
| Necrophobia | death or the dead |
| Neophobia | newness, novelty, change or progress (also: cainophobia, cainotophobia, centophobia, kainolophobia, kainophobia, metathesiophobia, prosophobia) |
| Noctiphobia | nighttime, the night |
| Nomophobia | being out of mobile phone contact |
| Nosocomephobia | hospitals |
| Nosophobia | contracting a disease |
| Nostophobia | returning home (also: ecophobia) |
| Numerophobia | numbers |
| Nyctophobia | darkness (also: achluophobia, lygophobia, scotophobia) |
| Obesophobia | gaining weight |
| Odontophobia | dentists and dental procedures |
| Oikophobia | home surroundings and household appliances |
| Odontophobia | dental fear |
| Ommetaphobia | eyes |
| Oneirophobia | dreams |
| Ophidiophobia | snakes (fear or dislike) (a zoophobia) |
| Ophthalmophobia | being stared at |
| Ornithophobia | birds (fear or dislike) (a zoophobia) |
| Osmophobia | odors (also: olfactophobia) |
| Ostraconophobia | shellfish (fear or dislike) (a zoophobia) |
| Panphobia | everything or constant an unknown cause |
| Pedophobia | babies and children (also: paedophobia, pediaphobia) |
| Phagophobia | swallowing |
| Phallophobia | erections |
| Pharmacophobia | medications |
| Phasmophobia | ghosts or phantoms |
| Philophobia | love |
| Phyllophobia | leaves |
| Phobophobia | fear itself or of having a phobia |
| Phonophobia | loud sounds or voices |
| Pogonophobia | beards |
| Pornophobia | pornography (fear or dislike, or opposition to visual nudity) |
| Porphyrophobia | the color purple |
| Pteromerhanophobia | flying |
| Pyrophobia | fire |
| Radiophobia | radioactivity or X-rays |
| Ranidaphobia | frogs (fear or dislike) (a zoophobia) |
| Scopophobia | being looked at or stared at |
| Sexophobia | sexual organs or sexual activities |
| Siderodromophobia | trains or railroads |
| Social phobia | people or social situations |
| Somniphobia | sleep |
| Spectrophobia | mirrors |
| Stasiphobia | standing or walking |
| Submechanophobia | partially or fully submerged man-made objects |
| Taphophobia | graves, or being buried alive (also: taphephobia) |
| Technophobia | advanced technology (sometimes known as a Luddite) |
| Telephone phobia | making or taking telephone calls (fear or reluctance) |
| Teratophobia | giving birth to a monster or a disfigured fetus |
| Tetraphobia | the number 4 |
| Thalassophobia | the sea, or being in the ocean |
| Thanatophobia | dying |
| Thermophobia | intolerance to high temperatures |
| Tokophobia | childbirth or pregnancy |
| Tomophobia | invasive medical procedure |
| Tonitrophobia | thunder |
| Toxiphobia | being poisoned |
| Traumatophobia | injuries, having an injury |
| Trichophobia | hair or hair loss; delusional belief that something is in one's hair roots that stops it from growing |
| Triskaidekaphobia | the number 13 (also: terdekaphobia) |
| Trypanophobia | needles or injections (also: belonephobia, enetophobia) [5] |
| Trypophobia | holes, objects with many holes, or textures with a pattern of holes |
| Vehophobia | driving, or driving anxiety |
| Verminophobia | germs |
| Workplace phobia | the workplace, a subset of ergophobia |
| Xanthophobia | the color yellow |
| Zoophobia | animals |
2 Cultural and ethnic prejudice
2.1 Cultural and social groups
The following terms refer to dislike, hatred, fear, or prejudice toward certain social groups.
| Phobia term | Social group |
|---|---|
| Acephobia | asexual people |
| Biphobia | bisexuality or bisexuals |
| Ephebiphobia | youth |
| Gerontophobia, gerascophobia | aging or the elderly |
| Heterophobia | heterosexuals |
| Homophobia | homosexuality, homosexuals, or gays (as opposed to lesbians) men |
| Lesbophobia | lesbians |
| Pedophobia | babies or children |
| Psychophobia | mental illness or the mentally ill |
| Transphobia | transgender people |
2.2 Ethnic groups
The following terms refer to dislike, hatred, fear, or prejudice toward certain ethnic groups or nationalities.
| Phobia term | Ethnic group or nationality |
|---|---|
| Afrophobia | Africans |
| Albanophobia | Albanians |
| Anglophobia | England or English culture |
| Christianophobia | Christians |
| Germanophobia | Germans |
| Hinduphobia | Hindus |
| Hispanophobia | ispanic people, Hispanic culture and the Spanish language |
| Hungarophobia | of Hungarians |
| Indophobia | India or Indian culture |
| Iranophobia | Iran or Iranian culture |
| Islamophobia | Muslims |
| Judeophobia | Jews |
| Lusophobia | Portuguese, Portuguese culture and the Portuguese language |
| Nipponophobia | Japanese |
| Koryophobia | Koreans |
| Latinophobia | Latin people |
| Negrophobia | black people |
| Polonophobia | Polish |
| Russophobia | Russians |
| Shiaphobia | Shiites |
| Sinophobia | Chinese people |
| Sunniphobia | Sunnis |
| Turcophobia | Turks |
| Xenophobia | foreigners |
3 Other uses of phobia terms
The following terms refer to medical conditions.
- Osmophobia: hypersensitivity to smells causing aversion to odors
- Phonophobia: hypersensitivity to sound causing aversion to sounds
- Photophobia: hypersensitivity to light causing aversion to light
These phobial terms refer not to psychological fears, but cultural and social phenomena.
- Bibliophobia: fear or hatred of books, as a cultural phenomenon
- Lipophobia: avoidance of fats in food
- Coronaphobia: fear of COVID-19
The following phobia terms are used in biology and health sciences for biological responses in organisms.
- Acidophobia/acidophobic: preference for non-acidic conditions
- Heliophobia/heliophobic: aversion to sunlight
- Hydrophobia/hydrophobic: the property of being repelled by water
- Lipophobicity: the property of fat rejection (sometimes also called lipophobia)
- Oleophobicity: the property of oil rejection
- Photophobia (biology): a negative phototaxis or phototropism response, or a tendency to stay out of the light
- Ultrahydrophobicity: the property given to materials that are extremely difficult to get wet
- Thermophobia: aversion to heat
Finally, phobial terms are sometimes coined whimsically and find their way around social media and popular culture. The following terms are not official terms or medically recognizied terms, but fictional or colloquial terms that are coined for humor or other purposes.[6]
- Aibohphobia: a humorous term for the fear of palindromes, which is a palindrome itself. The term is a piece of computer humor entered into the 1981 The Devil's DP Dictionary.
- Anatidaephobia: the fictional fear that one is being watched by a duck. The word comes from the name of the family Anatidae, and was used in Gary Larson's comic strip, The Far Side.
- Anoraknophobia: a portmanteau of "anorak" and "arachnophobia". It was used in the Wallace and Gromit comic book Anoraknophobia. Also the title of an album by Marillion.
- Arachibutyrophobia: fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of the mouth, from Latin arachis "peanut" and butyrum "butter". The word is used by Charles M. Schulz in a 1982 installment of his Peanuts comic strip, and by Peter O'Donnell in his 1985 Modesty Blaise adventure novel Dead Man's Handle.
- Charlophobia: the fictional fear of any person named Charlotte or Charlie, mentioned in the comedic book A Duck is Watching Me: Strange and Unusual Phobias (2014), by Bernie Hobbs. The phobia was created to mock name bias, a form of discrimination studied by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley and the University of Chicago.
- Hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia: fear of long words, from the root word sesquipedalophobia combined with monstrum and hippopotamus. This was mentioned on the first episode of Brainiac Series Five as a Tickle's Teaser.
- Keanuphobia: fear of Keanu Reeves, portrayed in the Dean Koontz book, False Memory, where a woman has an irrational fear of Reeves and has to see her psychiatrist, Mark Ahriman, each week, unaware that she only has the fear in the first place because Ahriman implanted it via hypnotic suggestion to amuse himself. He calls her "Keanuphobe" in his head.
- Nihilophobia: fear of nothingness, from Latin nihil and "nothing, none", as described by the Doctor in the Star Trek: Voyager episode "Night". Voyager's morale officer and chef Neelix has this condition, having panic attacks while the ship was traversing a dark expanse of space known as the Void. It is also the title of a 2008 album by Neuronium.
- Robophobia: irrational fear of robots and/or androids, also known as "Grimwade's Syndrome". It was first used in "The Robots of Death", the fifth serial of the 14th season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who.
- Semaphobia: fear of average web developers to use Semantic Web technologies.
- Venustraphobia: fear of beautiful women, according to a 1998 humorous article published by BBC News. Venustraphobia is also the title of a 2006 album by Casbah Club.
4 See also
- ↑ The lists on this page are adapted from the list of phobias on Wikipedia.
- ↑ Aquaphobia is distinct from hydrophobia, a scientific property that makes chemicals averse to interaction with water, as well as an archaic name for rabies.
- ↑ A related phobia can be so-called blood-injection-injury (BII) type phobia, a DSM-IV subtype of specific phobias.
- ↑ A related phobia can be so-called blood-injection-injury (BII) type phobia, a DSM-IV subtype of specific phobias.
- ↑ A related phobia can be so-called blood-injection-injury (BII) type phobia, a DSM-IV subtype of specific phobias.
- ↑ This is from the Wikipedia page https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_phobias
