Everyone has something that they don’t feel completely comfortable with. Anxiety is a normal human phenomenon without which we probably wouldn’t live as long as we do. Imagine if you had no fear at all. You would be much more likely to have accidents in traffic, because you are not afraid that a truck will suddenly sail around the corner. A healthy amount of fear is a mechanism in humans that protects us against anything and everything, such as the tires of the truck. However, sometimes this fear turns into a phobia where the potential danger is disproportionate to the feelings of fear the person feels. These phobias are completely irrational and very persistent. A number of phobias are common in humans.
Arachnophobia
This is undoubtedly one of the most common phobias, the fear of spiders. Of course, it’s completely normal not to be excited to have a dozen of these eight-legged creatures crawling all over you, but it’s common enough for people to panic when they see an ordinary house spider hanging from the ceiling .Especially in Europe, people suffer from a phobia of spiders. About 55% of Western women and 18% of Western men experience feelings of fear when they come into contact with spiders. Some studies concluded that the European fear of spiders originated sometime around the Middle Ages, where Europeans suspected the spider of being the cause of the Black Death. It is not common in many cultures for people to have such a great fear of spiders. In some non-European countries the spider is even considered a symbol of good luck and wisdom.Another theory, according to researcher Rakison, is that the fear of spiders and other crawly creatures is innate, especially in women, because women, unlike men, can only father a limited number of children and are therefore extra anxious that their children not die from potentially poisonous insects.
Claustrophobia
Claustrophobia comes from the Latin word “claustrum” , which means closed space. Claustrophobia is the fear of small spaces. This is a fear shared by many people. People with claustrophobia often feel confined and cramped in small spaces. They may then panic, get chills, sweat, gasp and even hyperventilate. Fortunately, this phobia can be treated with practical behavioral therapy.
Xenophobia
Xenophobia, the fear of strangers, is a phobia that has emerged throughout human history. This is partly due to the fact that humanity has never really been a unity. There are always differences in origins, preferences, habits, which make the other person seem strange and unusual. It is the fear of the unknown that causes resistance in many people, including xenophobia. The hundreds of wars that humanity has known and still experiences have also driven a wedge between different groups. These wars and differences have been emphasized and cited for many generations, until a person who has never been bothered by certain groups still looks at certain population groups with distrust. Xenophobia often goes unrecognized or unacknowledged because it hides behind the term patriotism. Having an irrational fear or hatred of strangers; This fear of foreigners does not have to focus only on immigrants, but can focus on everything that is “different” and that we are not used to. Consider, for example, people with a different sexual orientation, religious beliefs or a different language. This may be a result of trauma or a result of the upbringing the person received. If he or she grew up in an environment where strangers were viewed with suspicion, there is a chance that the person in question will adopt this habit.
Acrophobia
Another common phobia is acrophobia, or fear of heights. Every person has a healthy dose of fear of heights that prevents him or her from doing stupid or dangerous things. However, in some people this fear takes over and we call this anxiety disorder fear of heights. There are two different types of fear of heights:
Cognitive fear of heights
This is the fear of heights you experience when you stand on top of a tall building and you start to imagine all kinds of unpleasant things such as what would happen if you fall off and you feel like you are losing control of your body. You can also imagine, for example, that the building you are standing on is not safe and could fall over. These ideas lead to the cognitive fear of heights.
Optical fear of heights
Optical fear of heights is the fear of heights that people experience when, for example, they look out of a window or simply stand on a building and look around. With this fear of heights, no thought is needed to trigger the phobia. The visual aspect of being high above the ground is enough to set off alarm bells. The counterpart of acrophobia is bathophobia, the fear of depth, which is often experienced under water.
Aviophobia
If you have ever been on an airplane and had a fellow passenger who, especially during take-off, tensed his hands in the passenger seat and started sweating uncontrollably or showed shortness of breath, then there is a chance that this person had aviophobia, or fear of flying. Fear of flying is a phobia that often goes together with other phobias such as acrophobia and claustrophobia. It can also arise from a traumatic experience with flying, turbulence, or simply because the passenger is not aware of how the plane works and therefore becomes nervous.
Necrophobia
Necrophobia is the abnormal fear of death and things related to death. Necrophobia can arise from traumatic experiences, for example if the person has seen a dead relative or a half-digested organism and cannot get it out of their mind. As with many phobias, symptoms such as sweatiness, increased heart rate and shortness of breath manifest themselves here.
Social phobia
What would people think of me? Would they be nice to me? These are examples that many people will probably recognize. The social inspection, hoping that people will be nice to you and like you back. This seems like a normal phenomenon of the innocent insecurity that many people suffer from, but in fact these individuals may have social anxiety disorder. Of course, there are different degrees, but the essence of social anxiety is that you are afraid of being scrutinized or rejected. How many people dread presenting in front of an audience purely because they are unsure of how they will be received? You could say that these people all have a mild form of social anxiety. However, if this fear of people and gatherings extends to the point where you avoid social situations just to reduce stress, then there is definitely a problem. Some people even experience feelings of stress when the phone rings or when they are shopping. In such cases it is advisable to contact a behavioral therapist, because social phobia causes the person to avoid any social situation, which can lead to loneliness.