You can have a phobia of pretty much anything, but there are over 400 recognised phobias out there! Some, however, are much more common than others.
* There are over 500 named phobias, listed at the Phobia List web site . Most are extremely rare.
Each list explores around 20-40 types of phobias.
1. Acrophobia. Acrophobia is the fear of heights and it affects more than 6% of people. People who have acrophobia can have anxiety attacks, which causes them to avoid high places, such as bridges, towers, or tall buildings.
Around 7.7% to 12.5% of the population will experience a specific phobia in their lifetime.
Spectrophobia is the fear of mirrors. As a result of this fear, people may avoid any situation where they might encounter a mirror. This can create significant disruptions in an individual's life, making it difficult to enter different social settings or even leave the house.
1. Arachibutyrophobia (Fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of your mouth) Arachibutyrophobia is the fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of your mouth. While the phenomenon has happened to everyone at one point or another, people with arachibutyrophobia are extremely afraid of it.
More than 60 per cent of Australians fear public spaces or large crowds.
Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia is one of the longest words in the dictionary, and ironically, it means the fear of long words.
Yotaphobia is the fear of the letter y.
Phobias can develop around any object or situation. Some people may experience multiple phobias.
How Common is Apeirophobia? Apeirophobia is very rare. Even on sites like Reddit, where you can connect with anyone, there are very few people that are seeking help for apierophobia. And while it's not the most common fear, the study of apeirophobia may offer insight into some larger theories in psychology.
Is trypophobia real? Trypophobia — the fear of repetitive patterns of closely packed holes or protrusions — is not recognized as an official diagnosis, though many who experience it will fit the criteria of having a specific phobia.
Macrophobia. This is a fear of long waits—which will likely afflict most people headed to the DMV.
666: Fear of 666 (hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia) is also widespread in Western cultures. The book of Revelation in the Bible lists 666 as the “number of the beast.” Many horror or doomsday films incorporate the number into plotlines as a mark of evil or the end of the world.
An estimated 5 per cent of Australians have arachnophobia, but there are plenty of others happy to get close to the creepy crawlies.
Anxiety disorders (such as Social Phobia) are the most common type of disorder, affecting 1 in 6 (17%, or 3.3 million) Australians, followed by Affective disorders (such as Depressive Episode) (8%), and Substance Use disorders (such as Alcohol Dependence) (3.%).
How common is phobophobia? It's hard knowing exactly how many people have a specific phobia, like phobophobia, but it's rare. We do know that about 1 in 10 American adults and 1 in 5 teenagers will deal with a specific phobia disorder at some point in their lives, though.
What is nyctophobia? Nyctophobia is an extreme fear of the dark. The name comes from the Greek word for night. Children and adults with nyctophobia may fear being alone in the dark.
THE PHOBIA
For many, Novinophobia – the fear of running out of wine – is very real.