A phobia is an irrational or over hyped fear of something or a situation. Phobias may either be caused by numerous reasons including evolutionary traits and experiences from witnessing first hand or from being a victim of one and the common symptoms are dizziness, breathlessness and even panic attacks.
Phobias are many! There seems to be a phobia name for every type of irrational fear you hear right? Well, like everything else, phobias must also have the ones that are exceptionally common and well known too. I mean who doesn’t know Michael Jordan?
Though debatable, here are the 10 most common phobias in the world from which people might have;
Trypophobia – The fear of holes
Aerophobia – The fear of flying
Also known as pteromerphanophobia, Gosh! Who comes up with these names? This is one of the most common phobias for a reason. It is said that about 6.5% of the world population is said to have this aerophobia. Here, being in the air can cause panic attacks usually accompanied with claustrophobia – the fear of small spaces and inability to escape. No wonder it is one of the most common phobias around.
Glossophobia – The fear of speaking in public
Claustrophobia – The fear of small spaces
Claustrophobia has been seen to be one of the most common phobias because a shocking 5 – 7% of total world population is said to be having it. It is often associated with the feeling that the room is closing in or shrinking. Common symptoms of glossophobia include anxiety, dizziness, increased heart rate, among others.
Agoraphobia – The fear of open spaces
Simple as it sounds, these people have great fear for public places and things all around it. The causes of agoraphobia are not definite but it may be caused by bad past experiences, have you narrowly escaped an accident, random bullet or were you ever mocked or threatened on the streets? These can kick-start the phobia. Claustrophobia may occur with or without a panic attack but fear and uneasiness are common.
Thunder and lightning can be very scary especially in cities where thunderstorms. Astraphobia is a very common phobia even among pets and other animals. It seems to be an evolutionary trait to protect one from being struck by lightning. It, however, can also be a phobia caused by consistent updates on how lightning killed and destroyed properties, over time it sinks in and you find yourself traumatized at the sound of thunder. Symptoms include shaking, uneasiness and even uncontrollable screaming.
Cynophobia – The fear of dogs
Without a doubt, the fear of dogs should be among the top most common phobias in the world. It is also known to be the fear of cats. This phobia is seen more commonly in women than in men. Dogs bite and injure people a lot and if you hear it too often, it just might get to you. Symptoms include shaking at the sight of a dog and also an evasion of dogs even if it means passing the longest route possible.
Acrophobia – The fear of heights
This is tagged the third among the most common phobias in the world. It may be fueled by survival instincts, one similar to cats’ fear of water, you don’t want to fall off that skyscraper right? Common symptoms include dizziness, blurred vision, shakiness, loss of balance, increased heart rate, among others.
Arachnophobia – The fear of spiders
Arachnophobia is the most common phobia in the world. Seen to affect every 1 in 3 women and 1 in 4 men. Of course, spiders are not the only arachnids but they are most feared. This fear is usually generated by the fear of being bitten and turning to Spiderman, just kidding who doesn’t want to be Spiderman? Well, the deadly venom from arachnids makes them well feared is possibly the reason they are revered so well.