Freaky Friday Files: The Most Common Phobias
- Ash
- 12 minutes ago
- 3 min read
Hello friends! For this week's edition of Freaky Friday Files, I thought we could take a look at some of the most common phobias - and what they are. Hope you enjoy!
What is a phobia? According to Wikipedia, "a phobia is an anxiety disorder, defined by an irrational, unrealistic, persistent, and excessive fear of an object or situation." Such phobias tend to last 6+ months and often begin with a rapid onset of fear. I didn't know this, but apparently phobias can be categorised into the following: specific phobias, social anxiety disorder, and agoraphobia.
Specific phobias are often caused by a negative experience in childhood or early adulthood (the ones we talk about in this blog are mostly these).
Social phobia (SAD) is often when a person is so fearful of others judging them that it stops them from completing their normal everyday activities - this is more common than you might think.
Agoraphobia is the fear of a certain situation due to the perception that one won't be able to escape, i.e., they think that their environment is dangerous and there is no way to get out of it (I don't know if I explained that one very well).
Phobias can cause people to panic, have extreme reactions to external stimuli (and no stimuli too), and cause weird symptoms like excessive sweating or trouble breathing.
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The Most Common Phobias
Arachnophobia - The fear of spiders/other arachnids like scorpions. I didn't think I was scared of spiders until there was either a f*cking huntsman/wolf spider in my bathroom. One night, I went to brush my teeth, and I saw it in the mirror and gapped it outta there, and Luke got rid of it. It was HUGE. I've seen big spiders outside, but they never worry me too much, but when it was in the bathroom that has NO windows, like how did you get in there, through the drain??
Ophidiophobia - An extreme fear of snakes. This phobia is thought to be super common, but in reality, it only affects about 3-4% of people around the world. I have seen two snakes in Australia, and I've lived here for almost 5 years now. As long as you don't mess with them, they won't mess with you. Respecting nature is important.
Acrophobia - The fear of heights. I really wonder if I have this. I'm afraid of heights, but I still do stuff that involves heights. Like I probably wouldn't bungee jump (sorry, AJ), but I can go up tall buildings. I just don't like going to the edge. I also think it's pretty normal to be a little bit anxious when up high.
Aerophobia - The fear of flying (i.e., air travel like a plane). I think this fear stems from a loss of control. I don't like taking off on planes, or when we land, but once I'm in the air, I'm okay. The longest I've been on a plane is 5 hours, so my 14-hour flight to Vancouver later this year is gonna be fun. I also like to remind myself that flying by plane is the safest way to travel. The only reason we get inundated with plane crash news is that it's not as common as car accidents - we're so desensitised to car accidents, we don't think about them as much. A quick disclaimer here: I am not a medical professional, but sometimes an anti-anxiety med just for flying can go a long way. Speak to your GP, though, if that's what you're thinking about.
Mysophobia - Mysophobia is an intense fear of germs. It's not the same as OCD, but there is some overlap. OCD is more about the intrusive thoughts/magical thinking.
Cynophobia - The phobia of dogs, wolves, and canines.
Astraphobia - The fear of thunder and lightning.
Trypanophobia - The fear of injections/needles. I used to have this REALLY bad as a kid. I remember being so scared of the 11-year-old vax I had to get, and it took ages. Now, as long as I don't look at the needle, it's fine. It's kinda like I got desensitised to them for how many blood tests I have to do.
Trypophobia - The fear of holes. I kinda get this one, especially when there are so many tiny holes in something. I don't think I have the phobia, but if you start thinking about it, it's gross.
Phasmophobia - The fear of ghosts/supernatural things. I think there's a video game called Phasmophobia. Apparently, this is one of the top fears in Australia.
Thalassophobia - An extreme fear of the ocean, specifically deep bodies of water. Another top fear here in Aussie, and I think a common YouTube video topic.
Thank you for reading. Do you have one of these phobias? If you're comfortable sharing, let us know in the comments.
Stay safe,
Ash xx
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