Palm Beach Times: What Scares Us

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“There were all kind of things of which I was afraid at first, from grizzly bears to ‘mean horses” and gun fighters; but by acting as if I was not afraid I gradually ceased to be afraid”
Theodore Roosevelt

What are phobias and who has them?

The dictionary defines a phobia as "an irrational, excessive, and persistent fear of some particular thing or situation." According to medical experts, there are more than 700 specific phobias currently documented.

Several phobias are widespread, such as "claustrophobia" (fear of enclosed spaces), "ophidiophobia" (fear of snakes), or "acrophobia" (fear of heights).

About 1 out of every 20 Americans suffers from one or more phobias: some common phobias include fear of certain animals, being alone, open spaces, blood, or the Number 13 ( triskaidekaphobia). To accommodate the prevalent fear many people have of the Number 13, numerous multi-story buildings do not list the 13th floor as such, but skip from the 12th to the 14th. The spectacular auction of Princess Diana's used evening dresses before her death did not include a catalogued Number 13 dress, jumping from Number 12 to Number 14.

Fear of flying and famous people

Aviophobia (also called aerophobia): According to a study performed by Boeing Aircraft Corporation, 25 million Americans were scared to fly on airplanes. Famous notables of aviophobia include:Singer Aretha Franklin has an extreme fear of flying. She won't travel on airplanes, even for concerts clear across the country.

Actor and screenwriter Billy Bob Thorton has cancelled television appearances that required him to get on a plane.

Other celebrities who are aviophobic include:

* Muhammad Ali, former champion boxer.

* Bob Bechel, political analyst.

* Ray Bradbury, science fiction writer.

* Cher, singer/actress.

* Florence Henderson, actress.

* Glenda Jackson, actress and member of British Parliament.

* Michael Jackson, singer.

* John Madden, sportscaster.

* Bob Newhart, comedian/actor.

* Ronald Reagan, former U.S. President and actor.

Other celebrity fears

* Actress Natalie Wood was hydrophobic - her accidental death by drowning in
the ocean in 1981 was very strange and unsettling for those who knew her
well.

* Tennis champ André Agassi has a phobia of spiders, according to Brooke
Shields in a statement to the press in October 1996.

* Supernatural novelist Anne Rice has stated that she fears the dark.

* Actress Kim Basinger has a phobia of wide, open spaces.

* Film director Alfred Hitchcock had a peculiar fear of eggs, according to biographer Donald Spoto.

* Country star Lyle Lovett reportedly is afraid of cows.

* Pop singer Michael Jackson appears to have a phobia of germs (referring tohis obsessive wearing of a surgical-style mask when out in public

"Our problem is not to be rid of fear but rather to harness and master it."
Martin Luther King

"It’s what people know about themselves that makes them afraid”, those words were spoken by Clint Eastwood in the movie, High Plains Drifter. Perhaps all courage comes from a sense of conviction, self worth and faith in themselves. Then again there is this, A Hero may sometimes be a desperato but a bully is always a coward. Some of the great feats of courage have been borne out of desperation , even hoplessness. Some attach themselves to a higher cause. Still there are those pesky fears and Phobias. SO where do they come from? Many neuroscientists believe that there is a clear involvement of biological factors. For example, functional brain imaging studies have shown that there is an increased blood flow and cell metabolic actiity on the right side of the brain in phobic patients. It has also been demonstrated that identical twins may develop the same type of phobia, even when they were reared separately soon after birth, and educated in different places.

Whoever suffers phobia feels an enormous fear every time he or she encounters (or even imagines...) the original phobic stimuli which unleash the panic attack. At least four of the following symptoms are usually observed:

Breathlessness, heart fluttering (palpitation), chest pain or pressure, a sensation of suffocation or drowning, dizziness and vertigo, a sensation of detachment from reality ("air head"), tingling sensations in several part of the body, heat or cold waves, sweating, dry mouth, a sensation of fainting, trembling or shaking, a fear of dying or becoming mad, or losing control.

One girl, a senior psychobiology student, has a fear of heights. She is one of a number of people who have developed a phobia. "(I'm an experienced skier, but) I can't ski when it's a sheer drop ... I lose my confidence and don't think rationally."

Kirk Murphy, a psychiatrist and associate physician in the school of medicine, defined a phobia as when a person associates a certain stimuli with fear and avoids it.

Experts seem to agree, there are three main categories of phobias. The most common type of phobias are fears of specific things, such as blood, heights and the dark. A graduate linguistics student, explained his fear of cats and cockroaches.

"If I go to someone's house and they have a cat, I'll keep my distance. As for roaches, I can't really do anything because they're everywhere," Kumar said.

Agoraphobia is anxiety that results when a person is in a situation in which he or she believes help would not be available in the event of a panic attack, Murphy said.

"Agoraphobics tend to avoid crowded places because they're afraid of anxiety attacks," said David Fogelson, an associate clinical professor in the department of psychiatry.

Social phobia is fear of contact with people or a specific social situation and can be broken in two parts. Performance anxiety deals with stage fright and public speaking, and generalized social phobia is when a person is afraid of almost any social situation.

People deal with phobias in a variety of ways, from rearranging their lifestyles to accommodate their fears to ignoring them and living normally.

"We have many people in their homes never going outside ... they've arranged their lives to accommodate their phobias. Others have only one specific phobia but can still do other things," Murphy said.

A fifth-year economics student, described how his friend deals with stage fright.

"I have a friend in the theater department who panics before she goes on stage, but once on stage it goes away," Mode said.

Paul Bohn, a psychoanalyst and assistant clinical professor of psychiatry, explained that a particular fear is not a phobia if it does not affect one's lifestyle. But Kenneth Subotnik, an assistant research psychologist, said people can still have phobias even if they have never encountered the objects of their fears.

"It depends on how much avoidance they're doing. They may still see things that look like snakes - a hose, a branch- and may still walk around in a state of anxiety avoiding things that look like snakes,".

Experts say there are two main types of treatment for phobias - psychotherapy and medication.

Cognitive behavioral therapy, a type of psychotherapy, is based on the premise that identifying your fears can help you overcome them.

Subotnik explained the basic steps in this particular treatment. First, the patient is helped to identify any irrational beliefs that may be causing the phobia. Next, patients are encouraged to encounter their fears, and subsequently learn to tolerate the anxiety, Subotnik said.

Exposure or desensitization, techniques in which patients directly encounter their phobias, work only if the sessions long and used with the other treatments, experts said."The golden rule to getting rid of a phobia is to (face it)," Fogelson said.

Medication is another widely practiced treatment. Drugs used to treat phobias range from antidepressants to Prozac to valium, and the drug prescribed depends on the type of phobia. Some doctors recommend medication only as a last resort.

"I would say that use of medication depends on degrees of anxiety around the phobia, and if the person is so anxious that they're unwilling or unable to engage in behavioral therapy, medication may be necessary."

Some medical practitioners disagree on the importance of exploratory therapy, i.e. finding the root of phobias.:

"Sometimes there are underlying, unconscious issues ... it's important to understand what the root may be to fully help the person," Bohn explained.

However, Murphy and Subotnik argued that cause is irrelevant to treating a phobia.

"It's not necessary ... even if the root is identified, the person would still need to tolerate exposure to what they're afraid of," Subotnik said.Meanwhile, many students find solutions to their phobias through often unorthodox channels.

"I have a friend who has a phobia of heights and is attempting to find out the use of virtual reality to help overcome phobias," Mode said.

What largely differentiates a person with phobia from one with simple, "normal" fear, is that the patients start to avoid at any cost the places, situations and objects wich unleash the panic attacks, thus changing completely their life routine and even profession.
Oftentimes, phobic patients have their lives complicated by two factors. First, they usually lose confidence on their own ability to overcome the panic symptoms and start avoiding any places where they feel they will be unable to get help. Secondly, they tend to exaggerate or overvalue their own symptoms, feeling that they will die, or have a heart attack or stroke, or that they are afflicted with some misterious, severe or uncurable disease.

Acting like you can overcome your fears, even if you are not sure, and facing your fears sometimes works. Martin Luther King once said “our problem is not to be rid of fear but rather to harness and master it.”

Excerpts from Toni Dimayuga &

Cyro Masci, MD

THE PHOBIA LIST

Ablutophobia- Fear of washing or bathing.

Acarophobia- Fear of the insects that cause itching.

Acerophobia- Fear of sourness.

Achluophobia- Fear of darkness.

Acousticophobia- Fear of noise.

Acrophobia- Fear of heights.

Aerophobia- Fear of drafts, airbourne noxious substances.

Aeroacrophobia- Fear of open high places.

Aeronausiphobia- Fear of vomiting secondary to airsickness.

Agliophobia- Fear of pain.

Agoraphobia- Fear of open spaces or crowded, public places

Agraphobia- Fear of sexual abuse.

Agrizoophobia- Fear of wild animals.

Agyrophobia- Fear of streets or crossing the street.

Aichmophobia- Fear of needles or pointed objects.

Ailurophobia- Fear of cats.

Albuminurophobia- Fear of kidney disease.

Alektorophobia- Fear of chickens.

Algophobia- Fear of pain.

Alliumphobia- Fear of garlic.

Allodoxaphobia- Fear of opinions.

Altophobia- Fear of heights.

Amathophobia- Fear of dust.

Amaxophobia- Fear of riding in a car.

Ambulophobia- Fear of walking.

Amnesiphobia- Fear of amnesia.

Amychophobia- Fear of scratches or being scratched.

Anablephobia- Fear of looking up.

Ancraophobia or Anemophobia- Fear of wind.

Androphobia- Fear of men.

Anemophobia- Fear of air drafts or wind.

Anginophobia- Fear of angina, choking or narrowness.

Anglophobia- Fear of England, English culture, etc.

Angrophobia - Fear of becoming angry.

Ankylophobia- Fear of immobility of a joint.

Anthrophobia or Anthophobia- Fear of flowers.

Anthropophobia- Fear of people or society.

Antlophobia- Fear of floods.

Anuptaphobia- Fear of staying single.

Apeirophobia- Fear of infinity.

Aphenphosmphobia- Fear of being touched. (Haphephobia)

Apiphobia- Fear of bees.

Apotemnophobia- Fear of persons with amputations.

Arachibutyrophobia- Peanut Butter sticking to the roof of the mouth.

Arachnephobia or Arachnophobia- Fear of spiders.

Arithmophobia- Fear of numbers.

Arrhenphobia- Fear of men.

Arsonphobia- Fear of fire.

Asthenophobia- Fear of fainting or weakness.

Astraphobia- Fear of thunder and lightning.

Astrophobia- Fear of stars and celestial space.

Asymmetriphobia- Fear of asymmetrical things.

Ataxiophobia- Fear of ataxia (muscular incoordination)

Ataxophobia- Fear of disorder or untidiness.

Atelophobia- Fear of imperfection.

Atephobia- Fear of ruin or ruins.

Athazagoraphobia- Fear of being forgotton, ignored.

Atomosophobia - Fear of atomic explosions.

Atychiphobia- Fear of failure.

Aulophobia- Fear of flutes.

Aurophobia- Fear of gold.

Auroraphobia- Fear of Northern lights.

Autodysomophobia- Fear of one that has a vile odor.

Automysophobia- Fear of being dirty.

Autophobia- Fear of being alone or of oneself.

Aviophobia or Aviatophobia- Fear of flying.

Bacillophobia- Fear of microbes.

Bacteriophobia- Fear of bacteria.

Ballistophobia- Fear of missles or bullets.

Bolshephobia- Fear of Bolsheviks.

Barophobia- Fear of gravity.

Basophobia- Inability to stand. Fear of walking or falling.

Bathophobia- Fear of depth.

Batonophobia- Fear of plants.

Batophobia- Fear of heights or being close to high buildings.

Batrachophobia- Fear of amphibians.

Belonephobia- Fear of pins and needles.

Bibliophobia- Fear of books.

Blennophobia- Fear of slime.

Bogyphobia- Fear of bogies or the bogeyman.

Bromidrosiphobia or Bromidrophobia- Fear of body smells.

Brontophobia- Fear of thunder and lightning.

Bufonophobia- Fear of toads.

Cacophobia- Fear of ugliness.

Cainophobia or Cainotophobia- Fear of newness, novelty.

Caligynephobia- Fear of beautiful women.

Cancerophobia- Fear of cancer.

Cardiophobia- Fear of the heart.

Carnophobia- Fear of meat.

Catagelophobia- Fear of being ridiculed.

Catapedaphobia- Fear of jumping from high and low places.

Cathisophobia- Fear of sitting.

Catoptrophobia- Fear of mirrors.

Cenophobia or Centophobia- Fear of new things or ideas.

Ceraunophobia- Fear of thunder.

Chaetophobia- Fear of hair.

Cheimaphobia or Cheimatophobia- Fear of cold.

Chemophobia- Fear of chemicals.

Cherophobia- Fear of gaiety.

Chionophobia- Fear of snow.

Chiraptophobia- Fear of being touched.

Cholerophobia- Fear of anger or the fear of cholera.

Chorophobia- Fear of dancing.

Chrometophobia or Chrematophobia- Fear of money.

Chromophobia or Chromatophobia- Fear of colors.

Chronophobia- Fear of time.

Chronomentrophobia- Fear of clocks.

Cibophobia or Sitophobia or Sitiophobia- Fear of food.

Claustrophobia- Fear of confined spaces.

Cleisiophobia- Fear of being locked in an enclosed place.

Cleptophobia- Fear of stealing.

Climacophobia- Fear of stairs, climbing, falling downstairs.

Clinophobia- Fear of going to bed.

Clithrophobia or Cleithrophobia- Fear of being enclosed.

Cnidophobia- Fear of strings.

Cometophobia- Fear of comets.

Coimetrophobia- Fear of cemeteries.

Coitophobia- Fear of coitus.

Contreltophobia- Fear of sexual abuse.

Coprastasophobia- Fear of constipation.

Coprophobia- Fear of feces.

Coulrophobia- Fear of clowns.

Counterphobia- Preference by phobics for fearful situations.

Cremnophobia- Fear of precipices.

Cryophobia- Fear of extreme cold, ice or frost.

Crystallophobia- Fear of crystals or glass.

Cyberphobia- Fear of computers or working on a computer.

Cyclophobia- Fear of bicycles.

Cymophobia- Fear of waves or wave like motions.

Cynophobia- Fear of dogs or rabies.

Cypridophobia - Fear of prostitutes or venereal disease.

Decidophobia- Fear of making decisions.

Defecaloesiophobia- Fear of painful bowels movements.

Deipnophobia- Fear of dining and dinner conversations.

Dementophobia- Fear of insanity.

Demonophobia or Daemonophobia- Fear of demons.

Demophobia- Fear of crowds. (Agoraphobia)

Dendrophobia- Fear of trees.

Dentophobia- Fear of dentists.

Dermatophobia- Fear of skin lesions.

Dermatosiophobia - Fear of skin disease.

Dextrophobia- Fear of objects at the right side of the body.

Diabetophobia- Fear of diabetes.

Didaskaleinophobia- Fear of going to school.

Dikephobia- Fear of justice.

Dinophobia- Fear of dizziness or whirlpools.

Diplophobia- Fear of double vision.

Dipsophobia- Fear of drinking.

Dishabiliophobia- Fear of undressing in front of someone.

Domatophobia- Fear of houses or being in a house.

Doraphobia- Fear of fur or skins of animals.

Dromophobia- Fear of crossing streets.

Dutchphobia- Fear of the Dutch.

Dysmorphophobia- Fear of deformity.

Dystychiphobia- Fear of accidents.

Ecclesiophobia- Fear of church.

Ecophobia- Fear of home.

Eicophobia or Oikophobia- Fear of home surroundings.

Eisoptrophobia- Fear of mirrors.

Electrophobia- Fear of electricity.

Eleutherophobia- Fear of freedom.

Elurophobia- Fear of cats. (Ailurophobia)

Emetophobia- Fear of vomiting.

Enetophobia- Fear of pins.

Enochlophobia- Fear of crowds.

Enosiophobia- Fear of committing an unpardonable sin.

Entomophobia- Fear of insects.

Eosophobia- Fear of dawn or daylight.

Epistaxiophobia- Fear of nosebleeds.

Epistemophobia- Fear of knowledge.

Equinophobia- Fear of horses.

Eremophobia- Fear of being oneself or of lonliness.

Ereuthrophobia- Fear of blushing.

Ergasiophobia- Fear of work or functioning

Ergophobia- Fear of work.

Erotophobia- Fear of sexual love or sexual questions.

Euphobia- Fear of hearing good news.

Eurotophobia- Fear of female genitalia.

Erythrophobia, 1) Fear of redlights. 2) Blushing. 3) Red.

Febriphobia, Fibriphobia or Fibriophobia- Fear of fever.

Felinophobia- Fear of cats.

Francophobia- Fear of France, French culture.

Frigophobia- Fear of cold, cold things.

Galeophobia or Gatophobia- Fear of cats.

Gallophobia or Galiophobia- Fear France, French culture.

Gamophobia- Fear of marriage.

Geliophobia- Fear of laughter.

Geniophobia- Fear of chins.

Genophobia- Fear of sex.

Genuphobia- Fear of knees.

Gephyrophobia, - Fear of crossing bridges.

Germanophobia- Fear of Germany, German culture, etc.

Gerascophobia- Fear of growing old.

Gerontophobia- Fear of old people or of growing old.

Geumaphobia or Geumophobia- Fear of taste.

Glossophobia- Fear of speaking in public or speaking.

Gnosiophobia- Fear of knowledge.

Graphophobia- Fear of writing or handwriting.

Gymnophobia- Fear of nudity.

Gynephobia or Gynophobia- Fear of women.

Hadephobia- Fear of hell.

Hagiophobia- Fear of saints or holy things.

Hamartophobia- Fear of sinning.

Haphephobia or Haptephobia- Fear of being touched.

Harpaxophobia- Fear of being robbed.

Hedonophobia- Fear of feeling pleasure.

Heliophobia- Fear of the sun.

Hellenologophobia- Fear of complex scientific terminology.

Helminthophobia- Fear of being infested with worms.

Hemophobia or Hemaphobia - Fear of blood.

Heresyphobia- Fear of challenges to official doctrine.

Herpetophobia- Fear of reptiles or creepy, crawly things.

Heterophobia- Fear of the opposite sex. (Sexophobia)

Hierophobia- Fear of priests or sacred things.

Hippophobia- Fear of horses.

Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia- Fear of long words.

Hobophobia- Fear of bums or beggars.

Hodophobia- Fear of road travel.

Hormephobia- Fear of shock.

Homichlophobia- Fear of fog.

Homilophobia- Fear of sermons.

Hominophobia- Fear of men.

Homophobia- Fear of sameness, or of homosexuality.

Hoplophobia- Fear of firearms.

Hydrargyophobia- Fear of mercurial medicines.

Hydrophobia- Fear of water or of rabies.

Hydrophobophobia- Fear of rabies.

Hyelophobia or Hyalophobia- Fear of glass.

Hygrophobia- Fear of liquids, dampness, or moisture.

Hylephobia- Fear of materialism OR the fear of epilepsy.

Hylophobia- Fear of forests.

Hypengyophobia or Hypegiaphobia- Fear of responsibility.

Hypnophobia- Fear of sleep or of being hypnotized.

Hypsiphobia- Fear of height.

Iatrophobia- Fear of going to the doctor or of doctors.

Ichthyophobia- Fear of fish.

Ideophobia- Fear of ideas.

Illyngophobia- Fear of feeling dizzy when looking down.

Iophobia- Fear of poison.

Insectophobia - Fear of insects.

Isolophobia- Fear of solitude, being alone.

Isopterophobia- Fear of termites, insects that eat wood.

Ithyphallophobia- Fear of an erect male organ

Japanophobia- Fear of Japanese.

Judeophobia- Fear of Jews.

Kainolophobia- Fear of novelty.

Kainophobia- Fear of anything new, novelty.

Kakorrhaphiophobia- Fear of failure or defeat.

Katagelophobia- Fear of ridicule.

Kathisophobia- Fear of sitting down.

Kenophobia- Fear of voids or empty spaces.

Keraunophobia- Fear of thunder and lightning.

Kinetophobia or Kinesophobia- Fear of movement

Kleptophobia- Fear of stealing.

Koinoniphobia- Fear of rooms.

Kolpophobia- Fear of genitals, particularly female.

Kopophobia- Fear of fatigue.

Koniophobia- Fear of dust. (Amathophobia)

Kosmikophobia- Fear of cosmic phenomenon.

Kymophobia- Fear of waves.

Kynophobia- Fear of rabies.

Kyphophobia- Fear of stooping.

Lachanophobia- Fear of vegetables.

Laliophobia or Lalophobia- Fear of speaking.

Leprophobia or Lepraphobia- Fear of leprosy.

Leukophobia- Fear of the color white.

Levophobia- Fear of things to the left side of the body.

Ligyrophobia- Fear of loud noises.

Lilapsophobia- Fear of tornadoes and hurricanes.

Limnophobia- Fear of lakes.

Linonophobia- Fear of string.

Liticaphobia- Fear of lawsuits.

Lockiophobia- Fear of childbirth.

Logizomechanophobia- Fear of computers.

Logophobia- Fear of words.

Luiphobia- Fear of lues, syphillis.

Lutraphobia- Fear of otters.

Lygophobia- Fear of darkness.

Lyssophobia- Fear of rabies or of becoming mad.

Macrophobia- Fear of long waits.

Mageirocophobia- Fear of cooking.

Maieusiophobia- Fear of childbirth.

Malaxophobia- Fear of love play. (Sarmassophobia)

Maniaphobia- Fear of insanity.

Mastigophobia- Fear of punishment.

Mechanophobia- Fear of machines.

Medomalacuphobia- Fear of losing an erection.

Medorthophobia- Fear of an erect male organ.

Megalophobia- Fear of large things.

Melissophobia- Fear of bees.

Melanophobia- Fear of the color black.

Melophobia- Fear or hatred of music.

Meningitophobia- Fear of brain disease.

Menophobia- Fear of menstruation.

Merinthophobia- Fear of being bound or tied up.

Metallophobia- Fear of metal.

Metathesiophobia- Fear of changes.

Meteorophobia- Fear of meteors.

Methyphobia- Fear of alcohol.

Metrophobia- Fear or hatred of poetry.

Microbiophobia- Fear of microbes. (Bacillophobia)

Microphobia- Fear of small things.

Misophobia- Fear of being contaminated with dirt of germs.

Mnemophobia- Fear of memories.

Molysmophobia- Fear of dirt or contamination.

Monophobia- Fear of solitude or being alone.

Monopathophobia- Fear of definite disease.

Motorphobia- Fear of automobiles.

Mottephobia- Fear of moths.

Musophobia or Murophobia- Fear of mice.

Mycophobia- Fear or aversion to mushrooms.

Mycrophobia- Fear of small things.

Myctophobia- Fear of darkness.

Myrmecophobia- Fear of ants.

Mysophobia- Fear of germs or contamination or dirt.

Mythophobia- Fear of r stories or false statements.

Myxophobia- Fear of slime. (Blennophobia)

Nebulaphobia- Fear of fog. (Homichlophobia)

Necrophobia- Fear of death or dead things.

Nelophobia- Fear of glass.

Neopharmaphobia- Fear of new drugs.

Neophobia- Fear of anything new.

Nephophobia- Fear of clouds.

Noctiphobia- Fear of the night.

Nomatophobia- Fear of names.