There are hundreds of phobias. Here are a few:
Agoraphobia:
One of the most common phobias, agoraphobia affects women far more than men (roughly two-thirds of sufferers are female). Literally the fear of open spaces, agoraphobia is better known as the fear of being alone in a crowd, or in any place such as a theatre or a church or a shopping centre where escape might appear to be difficult. Such avoidance behaviour can lead to agoraphobia’s extreme effect: the trapping of a person in her home.
The phobia may come on suddenly or develop slowly.
Intimately connected with panic attacks, agoraphobia is at root an attempt to avoid the uncertainty of where next a panic attack might strike.
So you avoid the mall, or the street where you endured a previous panic attack, in order to feel safe.
Social Phobia:
This is the unreasonable fear of being embarrassed in social situations.
Some people with social phobia are afraid to speak in public.
Others cannot eat or drink or urinate in the presence of other people. Many social phobics are frightened of being introduced to new people. Many are too scared to go for a job interview, or
to apply for a promotion if it means being questioned by a couple of bosses.
Social phobia can ruin careers. A lawyer who has to avoid court appearances, a salesperson who feels unable to enter a mall, or a car leaser who is terrified of signing contracts in public, are all at risk.
Social phobia can not only block your advancement on the job, but prevent you from having fun. Fear of meeting new people can lead to searing loneliness.
One of the worst aspects of this irrational fear is that other people don’t take it seriously.
In social situations you may blush, shake, tremble, sweat, and feel your heart beat fast or your stomach turn over, or your skin go hot and cold.
If you do pluck up the courage to tell someone about these symptoms, they’ll likely tell you to “snap out of it”, or “pull yourself together.”
Men often respond to such stupid advice by ingesting drugs or alcohol to give themselves an artificial boost of courage. Women often respond by withdrawing from social situations even further, ending up housebound and depressed.
Both male and female social phobics tend to condemn themselves.
Often they feel inferior to other people, fear rejection, refrain from asserting themselves, and are highly sensitive to criticism. Thus they continuously worry about what other people think of them.
They usually hide this narcissism so successfully that other people are often astonished when a social phobic reveals how fearful she or he is.
Social phobia can lead to panic attacks which lead to
anxiety which leads to further panic and the spreading of
the phobia.
And the whole vicious circle is fuelled with anticipatory anxiety. That is, the anxiety about what might happen brings on the panic and restricts you from improving your life.
Social phobia begins with our upbringing (what else is new?).
There may be family influences (“keep quiet; don’t embarrass the family”) or school pressures (“no, you can’t join our group”).
Expectations by society can also play a role. Lip service is paid to individuality in the West, but conformity is generally what’s rewarded. (e.g., “Don’t rock the boat”).
A traumatic experience can lead to social phobia. A child being humiliated by a teacher in front of a class, for instance. Or a woman being publicly scorned by her husband in a restaurant.
A person can react to such events by avoiding similar situations, thus compounding the original humiliation.
Often you don’t have a clear idea why you feel anxious.
Some years ago, I was invited to a party. At the door of the apartment where the party was being held I raised my hand to knock. At that moment I heard laughter inside. Immediately I lowered my hand, turned around and went home.
What was that? Fear of rejection? Feelings of inadequacy? Whatever it was, it ended when a colleague told me, “You’re still defining yourself as you used to be. Let your self-image catch up with reality. You’re on radio and television; you’re no longer the boy too scared to enter a restaurant.”
That comment was a form of cognitive therapy, which simply means to change the way you think.
(Social skills training, role-playing and participation in Toastmasters International are additional ways to combat social phobia.)
Paruresis:
(Bashful Bladder – a.k.a. Shy Bladder) Paruresis is the inability to urinate in front of others.
Many people suffer with this phobia. A possible 7% or 17 million Americans, according to one source. Not being able to pee in public (i.e., when someone else is present in the same room) can make for some excruciating experiences.
Some men can only use the toilet where they live. Untreated, this can restrict the phobic person to a job within a short distance from home.
Some male paruresis sufferers regularly use the stalls in men’s rooms. Others find themselves unable to pee even in the stalls.
The problem becomes acute when the sufferer wants to travel – or produce a specimen for a drug test or medical exam. And although paruresis affects men more than women it is by no means exclusive to males. Or to heterosexuals.
Sometimes considered to be a subset of social phobia, paruresis can strike at any age.
Dentophobia:
Fear of dentists.
I used to be terrified of dentists, and with good reason. Many years ago all the children in my school in England were required to undergo dentistry.
We were lined up. One by one we went to the dentist’s chair. Those waiting would hear the drills and then watch kids stagger out of the dental room. We’d hear our classmates crying and throwing up in the nearby toilets.
Too soon it was my turn. A slimy-feeling rubber mask with a vile smell was put over my mouth, gas was administered and the dentist did his work.
Moments later I awoke. Blood and saliva swirled around my mouth and pain shot around my gums. Rinsing my mouth with tepid water didn’t seem to help much.
Subsequent to this and similar experiences I was terrified of dentists – or rather, of dentistry — for years. The so-called “laughing gas” was an absolute requirement for me to agree to receive any dental attention.
Eventually I came across hypnosis. And a hypnotherapist who jovially pointed out to me that few hypnotherapists use their skills on themselves. Revelation!
I resolved to use hypnotic techniques on myself. It was not long before self-hypnosis had me calm and reasonably relaxed about visiting the dentist.
At the dentist, my body still sweats with the memory of those distant horrors [note to self: must use EFT to rid body of such reactions] but I’m pleased at how effective hypnosis has been in freeing me from dental phobia.
Some other phobias
Chionophobia: fear of snow
Emetophobia: fear of vomiting
Frigophobia: fear of the cold
Gamophobia: fear of marriage
Genuphobia: fear of fear of knees
Lyssophobia: fear of insanity
Monophobia: fear of being alone
Nyctophobia: fear of darkness
Pathophobia: fear of disease
Pogonophobia: fear of beards
Scopophobia: fear of being stared at
Taphophobia: fear of being buried alive
Xenophobia: fear of the unknown
Zoophobia: fear of animals.
