Uncontrollable fear of flying, crowds, spiders, enclosed spaces, driving, getting sick… There are a large number of phobias in the world. But some are more common than others.
Social phobia
According to a survey by the Anxiety UK association, social phobia tops the list. Also called “social anxiety”, this disorder is characterized by an intense fear of being confronted with situations of social interaction. The individual is particularly anxious at the idea of ​​speaking in public. He fears being watched carefully, being misjudged or even humiliated.
Agoraphobia
In second place is agoraphobia, or the irrational fear of public spaces in which it is difficult to escape or find help in the event of a panic attack or other problem requiring the intervention of help. . The places most feared by agoraphobes are shopping malls, public transport, but also closed places, such as elevators and airplanes.
Emetophobia
The podium is completed by emetophobia, the fear of vomiting or seeing another person reject their meal by mouth. The people concerned dismiss many foods for fear of being sick, which can cause significant weight loss. Some are also afraid of getting pregnant for fear of experiencing nausea during pregnancy.
Ereutophobia
On the list of the most common phobias in the world, there is also ereutophobia, which refers to the obsessive fear of blushing in public. The people affected, mostly of a shy nature, then make sure to avoid any situation that could put them in the embarrassment. In most subjects, having blushing cheeks is a real phobia because this reaction is synonymous with weakness, loss of credibility, or even guilt.
Amaxophobia
Many individuals are also amaxophobic. In other words, they are very afraid to drive a vehicle, whatever it is. As soon as the key is in the ignition, several symptoms can appear: tremors, rapid heartbeat, dizziness… Considering that the car is a dangerous object, these people use public transport as much as possible.
Hypochondria
The sixth most common phobia is hypochondria. It is an obsessive worry about health. More precisely, the subject lives in the idea of ​​being affected by a serious illness. Other people suffer more specifically from nosophobia. Unlike hypochondriacs, they know that they are in good health, but are afraid of contracting a disease (STI, cancer, etc.).
Aerophobia
Aerophobia is the panic fear of air or wind, and therefore of flying, and of traveling on board any other flying machine. Affected individuals are convinced that they will die during the journey due to technical problems. Aerophobia is often associated with other phobias such as fear of heights (acrophobia) or fear of closed spaces (claustrophobia).
Arachnophobia
Fear of spiders, or arachnophobia, only comes in eighth. The simple sight of this beast, whether it is very small, huge, hairy or not, can induce the appearance of many symptoms: an acceleration of the heart rate, excessive sweating, dizziness, vomiting, paralysis, or on the contrary , a need to flee. The victim will sometimes overestimate the danger by imagining, for example, that the spider will jump on him and sneak into his hair, thus aggravating the anxiety attack.
Brontophobia
We can also mention brontophobia. A term little used in everyday language but which designates a well-known fear: that of storms, thunder and lightning. In the most extreme cases, individuals check weather reports obsessively. Very often, brontophobia is linked to other phobias, such as phonophobia, the fear of loud sounds, or ombrophobia, the fear of rain.
Claustrophobia
Finally, in the ranking of the most frequent fears we find claustrophobia, a disorder involving the fear of confinement. Claustrophobic people can suffer from panic attacks in the elevator, the subway, the plane, but also in small rooms without ventilation, where the ceiling is too low. When they are in these closed places, they are afraid of running out of air and not being able to get out.