Common Phobias
Recognizing the Difference Between Healthy Fears and Phobic Behavior
Common phobias include fear of heights, fear of small spaces, & fear of snakes. Do you have a common phobia, or simply a healthy fear of dangerous things?
Common phobias are irrational, but popular. If you regularly display phobic behavior, don't despair: you're not alone. One out of eight Americans struggles with common phobias.
Common Phobias: Gary Larson's Luposlipaphobia
According to The Complete Idiot's Guide to Psychology, "a person with a phobia suffers from an ongoing, irrational fear of something that is so strong it creates a compelling desire to avoid it." Some common phobias simply go away over time. Other common phobias become a big part of people's lives - and stay that way.
The Far Side cartoonist Gary Larson jokes that luposlipaphobia is the fear of being pursued by timberwolves around a kitchen table while wearing socks on a newly waxed floor. This isn't a common phobias and may seem a tad far-fetched, but it's real in the sense that involves common objects. Most common phobias usually involve an unreasonable, extreme fear of everyday objects or events – which is why common phobias are irrational.
How do you know if you have a common phobia, and how can you overcome it?
What Are Some Common Phobias?
Common phobias can center around almost anything. Some irrational fears that don’t seem to make much sense include arachibutyrophobia, the fear of getting peanut butter stuck to the roof of your mouth, or geniophobia, the fear of chins. Another irrational fear is being afraid of Friday the 13th – not the movie, the actual day – which is called paraskavedekatriaphobia. Most people who have common phobias are intellectually aware that their fears are irrational, but they just can’t help feeling paralyzed by fear, anxiety, and helplessness.
Other common phobias seem understandable. For instance, I’m scared of developing ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease) or cancer, which could indicate I’m panthophobic. When I lived in Africa, my roommate Tracy was myrmecophobic (she feared and hated ants more than anything, and millions of them fed her angst) – but this seemed understandable since a friend of ours once woke up covered with creepy-crawly ants. Common phobias often stem from everyday situations.
Where do common phobias come from?
Most common phobias develop in adulthood, but can stem out of a childhood fear. The most most common phobia in North America is arachnophobia, or the fear of spiders. Speaking in public or glossophobia is another common phobia, as is agoraphobia (the fear of open spaces). Birds is another fairly common phobia: I knew someone who couldn’t look at, hear, or even say the word “bird” without hyperventilating and crying (she was ornithophobic). Common phobias range from animals to food.
Common phobias versus healthy fears
Healthy fears and common phobias are two different things. You can be worried about, say, being single for the rest of your life - this can be a healthy fear. Or, you can display phobic behavior and be anuptaphobic (irrationally afraid of staying single). Healthy fear keeps you alive and well, alert and energized. Unhealthy fear can cause paralysis and suffering – and can develop into common phobias.
Do you have a common phobia?
You may have a commom phobia if:
- Your professional or social life is negatively affected by your irrational fears
- Your feelings won’t go away and seem irrational even to you. Common phobias seem unhealthy to everyone, even you.
- You arrange your life to avoid the situation or object. Common phobias are disruptive.
My fear of getting sick and dying a horrible death is just that: a fear (perhaps a healthy one if it causes me to pursue a healthy lifestyle). It’s not a phobia because my life isn’t negatively affected, my feelings stem from personal experiences with chronic illnesses and death and are thus rational, and I haven’t rearranged my life to avoid illness. My old roommate Tracy’s hatred of ants is just that – an intense dislike – but not a phobia. My other friend Angela is definitely ornithophobic, as she can’t look at a picture of a bird without becoming hysterical.
Overcoming common phobias
Overcoming common phobias is possible. Systematic desensitization to beat common phobias is effective for many people. However, if your irrational fear or phobia isn't negatively affecting your life, then maybe you'll choose to simply live with it. Many, many people lead productive lives even with common phobias.
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