Women develop specific phobias roughly twice as frequently as men. In addition, women tend to predominate in certain phobia categories.
The most common phobias for both men and women involved “spiders, bugs, mice and snakes,” and “heights.” The largest differences between men and women were found on the agoraphobic symptoms of “going out of the house alone” and “being alone,” and on two simple phobia items, the fear of “any harmless or dangerous animal ...
According to the American Psychiatric Association, phobias are the most common psychiatric illness among women and the second most common in men.
Understanding the phobia can help you overcome it and live a fulfilling life. Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia is one of the longest words in the dictionary, and ironically, it means the fear of long words. It originally was referred to as Sesquipedalophobia but was changed at some point to sound more intimidating.
Women report greater affective intensity (Fujita et al., 1991) and experience negative emotions, such as fear more frequently (Brebner, 2003; Fischer et al., 2004).
Some researchers say women are more likely to report stress than men, who may prefer to suggest they are suffering back pain or another physical ailment than acknowledge stress, for fear of looking psychologically weak.
As we age, we produce much less adrenaline, which can cause racing hearts and dizziness. This means the intense fears we may have experienced in youth no longer trouble us as much. However, older people often experience a greater sense of vulnerability, so things like heights or big crowds become more of an issue.
The prevalence of obsessive-compulsive disorders among men and women is almost equal, but women tend to have an earlier onset and more obsessions related to food and weight than men. Schizophrenia affects women more favorably than men. Women have a later onset, fewer symptoms and a better response to treatment.
While OCD can develop gradually at any stage during the lifespan, the average onset is around 19 years of age and is rare after 35 years of age. In children, OCD is more common amongst males. However, females are affected at slightly higher rates in adulthood.
Researchers have known for years that women are about twice as likely to be diagnosed with depression as men, with depression being the leading cause of disease burden among women.
Gender: Women are more likely than men to experience this phobia. Genetics: A person who has close relatives with this phobia is more likely to develop it. Trauma involving blood: A person who experiences blood-related trauma, especially during childhood or adolescence, is at a higher risk for hemophobia.
A phobia is an overwhelming and debilitating fear of an object, place, situation, feeling or animal. Phobias are more pronounced than fears. They develop when a person has an exaggerated or unrealistic sense of danger about a situation or object.
Although specific phobias often begin in childhood, their incidence peaks during midlife and old age. Phobias persist for several years or even decades in 10–30% of cases, and are strongly predictive of onset of other anxiety, mood, and substance-use disorders.
Why women? But why are women more likely to experience anxiety than men? It could be because of differences in brain chemistry and hormone fluctuations. Reproductive events across a woman's life are associated with hormonal changes, which have been linked to anxiety.
Women are a better bet under pressure. The irony of the perceived need to 'man up' is that women are actually a better bet under pressure. This is because of oxytocin. Under pressure, men are biologically conditioned to respond by competing to win.
According to one report, the male stress response can be characterized as “fight-or-flight.” When men are faced with a stressful situation, their bodies release hormones that prompt them to either stay and confront the problem, or to run away and avoid it.
More than 60 per cent of Australians fear public spaces or large crowds.
Simple phobias are fears about specific objects, animals, situations or activities. Some common examples include: dogs. spiders.
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.
Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia (36 letters)
Ironically, Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia is one of the longest work in the dictionary and is the name for a fear of long words! Who would have thought, right?