According to Forbes Magazine, the number one fear for the average person is that of public speaking. The second fear is death... So maybe you feel more relieved now, knowing that most people would rather die than give a presentation in front of a crowd...
Arachnophobia is the most common phobia – sometimes even a picture can induce feelings of panic. And lots of people who aren't phobic as such still avoid spiders if they can. People with arachnophobia tend to feel very uneasy in settings which could harbour spiders or have visible signs of their presence, such as webs.
A phobia is a type of anxiety disorder, characterized by an uncontrollable, irrational, and intense fear of a specific situation, object, or activity. The most common phobias include claustrophobia, social phobia, and arachnophobia.
More than 60 per cent of Australians fear public spaces or large crowds.
There are only five basic fears, out of which almost all of our other so-called fears are manufactured. These fears include extinction, mutilation, loss of autonomy, separation, and ego death.
(Note: There are five core fears, or “universal themes of loss,” that capture the basic interpretations of danger that we all make. They are 1) fear of abandonment, 2) loss of identity, 3) loss of meaning, 4) loss of purpose and 5) fear of death, including the fear of sickness and pain.)
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.
Androphobia falls under the category of a specific phobic disorder. This means that you are afraid of, or anxious around, a particular entity (in this case, males). As a result, you may avoid situations involving men or experience strong anxiety when these situations occur.
In fact, our most common fears—fear of heights, enclosed spaces, blood or injury, and animals like snakes and spiders—generally involve stimuli that are threatening.
Some phobias are more common, while others are often quite rare. Five of the most common phobias include arachnophobia (the fear of spiders), ophidiophobia (the fear of snakes), glossophobia (the fear of public speaking), acrophobia (the fear of heights), and social phobia (the fear of social interactions).
The Hierarchy of Fears
In a 2022 poll, similar findings emerged. A fear of snakes, heights, spiders, and public speaking rounded out the top four. I suspect many readers know the terror of unwanted, directed attention.
Thanatophobia is an intense fear of death or the dying process. While it's natural to feel anxious about death from time to time, thanatophobia is an anxiety disorder that can disrupt every aspect of your life. Don't be afraid to talk to a healthcare provider about your fears.
Almost everyone has an irrational fear or two—of spiders, for example, or your annual dental checkup. For most people, these fears are minor. But when fears become so severe that they cause tremendous anxiety and interfere with your normal life, they're called phobias.
True fear is the legitimate, survival-based fear of falling off a cliff or getting chased by a tiger. These fears are meant to activate the fight-or-flight response of the sympathetic nervous system, filling your body with stress hormones so you can do what you need to in order to survive.
Spiders, snakes, the dark – these are called natural fears, developed at a young age, influenced by our environment and culture.
Examples of innate fear include fears that are triggered by predators, pain, heights, rapidly approaching objects, and ancestral threats such as snakes and spiders.
Simple phobias are fears about specific objects, animals, situations or activities. Some common examples include: dogs. spiders.
Xanthophobia, fear of the color yellow.
Causes of Bananaphobia
Only a handful of people are known to suffer from the fear of bananas from all over the world. Most cases begin in childhood, when one has been forced to eat bananas by parents or caregivers to an extent that leads to stomach distress or vomiting.