Phobias - Top 10 Most Common Fears People Hold
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| Top 10 Most Common Fears - Fear. Photo: Mixi's |
Fear is an unconscious reaction that is created by anxiety towards a condition that is commonly caused by undesirable occurrences of the past. Most have experienced fear one way or another and dealt with it in different ways: facing the situation that gave rise to it, avoiding the situation, having faith or religious belief, and others. A
Human nature is very complex. They have learned to be strong, competitive, and courageous in times of danger. On the other side, they are also afraid of something. Whether these fears are rational or a product of some long-buried trauma can vary from person to person. Whatever the root cause, many people all over the world experience the same fear for various reasons. There are so many things that cause human fear in the world.
The list of 10 Most Common Fears People Hold - Phobias
1. Fear of loneliness
2. Fear of death
3. Social phobia
4. Arachnophobia – The fear of spiders
5. Acrophobia – The fear of heights
6. Cynophobia – The fear of dogs
7. Mysophobia – The fear of germs
8. Lygophobia - Fear of Darkness
9. Trypophobia – The fear of holes
10. Claustrophobia – The fear of small spaces
What Are The Most Fearful Things of Humans?
1. Fear of loneliness
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| Photo: Women's Health |
Even people with autism, who are characterized by complete isolation and antisocial behavior, are afraid of complete solitude. The basis of this fear has to do with the fact that everyone aspires to be happy. But since initially humans are “social animals”, it implies that we can feel happy only when being a part of society.
2. Fear of death
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| Photo: FindMeCure |
This fear is common in hypochondriac and anxious people who have a rich imagination. Such people are the main subjects of the fear of death and other similar phobias: fear of enclosed spaces, fear of blood, fear of heights, fear of corpses, fear of pain, fear of rape and others.
3. Social phobia (including the fear of public speaking) and agoraphobia (fear of open spaces)
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| Photo: Calm Clinic |
Of course, to some extent, we are all afraid to show our feelings and emotions in front of others. However, for some people, such fear becomes obsessive and turns into a phobia. Most of those who suffer from these fears are people with imaginative or systematic thinking.
People of the first category have an innate creative side and being the center of attention is a natural thing for them, so the fear of public speaking or of open spaces arises only in consequence of certain particularities of perception. At the same time, for the people from the second category, it is rather a fear of appearing incompetent, ridiculous or stupid to others.
4. Arachnophobia – The fear of spiders
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| Photo: The Mirror |
Nearly 30.5% of Arachnophobia sufferers (the excessive fear of spiders or other arachnids like scorpions) are living in the United States alone. It is one of the most common animal phobias around the world. The cause of the phobia is often evolutionary meaning that some species of spiders are deadly and it is a natural human response to survive. Arachnophobes however tend to go to extreme lengths to ensure that their surroundings are free from spiders, often causing themselves a great deal of embarrassment, which is something most phobics try hard to avoid.
5. Acrophobia – The fear of heights
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| Photo: Springwise |
Acrophobia is an irrational fear of heights or the fear of falling (even when the person is not really that high up). It is a specific phobia that causes the sufferers to be highly agitated or in a state of panic which could interfere with his/her ability to climb down. In severe cases of Acrophobia, a panic attack might be triggered even when the sufferer is climbing up or down a chair. Nearly 10% of people in the United States are known to suffer from Acrophobia.
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6. Cynophobia – The fear of dogs
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| Photo: FlexPetz |
Cynophobia, the extreme fear of dogs, is one of the most common animal phobias around the world. Nearly 36% sufferers seek treatment for Cynophobia and the majority of these are also known to be afraid of cats. The extreme fear of dogs is actually even more debilitating than the fear of spiders and the fear of snakes due to the fact that dogs are commonly present in most residential areas. Nearly 75% of Cynophobes are women, though the fear also affects men. The condition usually begins in childhood, but many patients are also known to have developed the fear in their adulthood.
7. Mysophobia – The fear of germs
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| Photo: Noticias de Política | ElEconomista.es |
Mysophobia is the excessive fear of germs which is often closely related to obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). Many people suffer from both OCD as well as Mysophobia, as a result of which they might indulge in excessive bathing or hand washing. The unhealthy fear of germs causes the phobics to also fear contamination of food or exposure to bodily fluids from those around them. Mysophobia might lead to many complications since the person goes to extreme lengths to avoid all kinds of social situations. Isolation is a common symptom of this phobia. The condition might also give rise to other phobias such as Agoraphobia as well as various anxiety disorders.
8. Lygophobia - Fear of Darkness
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| Photo: HelloGiggles |
Most of people are scared of the dark except when they want to sleep. Fear of the dark is usually not fear of darkness itself, but fear of possible or imagined dangers concealed by darkness. Most of people, when are not in the state of sleep be afraid of dark, because dark areas often become the scene of the crime. In many cases this fear is mixed with the fear of ghosts and other mystical figures. Excessive fear of dark is called Lygophobia, the intense fear of something that does not pose a real danger.
9. Trypophobia – The fear of holes
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| Photo: The Conversation |
Biological revulsion and culturally learned fears are the primary causes of Trypophobia, which is the extreme and irrational fear of holes. While this fear might seem irrational to ‘normal’ people, the mere sight or thought of holes can set off a panic attack in the Trypophobe. As a result, the individual avoids objects such as coral, sponges, skin, meat, dried honeycombs and pretty much everything that has holes on it. Holes seem disgusting and gross to the sufferer and s/he goes to all lengths to avoid it.
10. Claustrophobia – The fear of small spaces
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| Photo: Phobia Wiki |
Nearly 5 to 7% of the world’s population is known to suffer from Claustrophobia – the fear of small or restricted spaces. This phobia is mainly related to the fear of suffocation or the fear of restriction. The phobia has been highly studied by experts and scientists, though the sad fact remains that only 2% of its sufferers seek treatment. Claustrophobia is often confused with Cleithrophobia which is the extreme fear of being trapped.
How do we learn fear?Growing up, children learn from their environment. A significant part of that environment is the people with whom they live, such as parents or other family members. “If a child observed a parent’s anxious response to insects,” Dr. Dorfman posits, “she quickly learns that insects are something to be afraid of, and may be at risk of developing [a phobia or] learning to be phobic.” Combine a genetic predisposition to fear and anxiety with learned anxious behavior and you’ve got a phobia. |
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