In the English Oxford dictionary, the definition of a phobia is an “extreme or irrational
fear, or dislike of a specified thing or group.”
To the sufferer, a phobia can seem unbearable, sometimes even life threatening; while to
those on the outside, our reaction to the perceived threat can come across as irrational
and over the top.
These distressing emotions are initiated by fears of both real and imaginary situations.
What are the phobias that people experience the most?
That’s what we’ll be looking at today, in this episode of The Infographics Show:
Top 10 most common phobias among Americans.
Phobias are surprisingly common, but what exactly do people fear the most?
And are there any phobias that tend to be more common than others?
In May of 2017, Chapman University ran a survey of a random sample of 1,207 adults from across
the United States.
These test subjects were asked their level of anxiety about 80 different fears across
all sorts of topics ranging from the government, the environment, crime, disasters, personal
anxieties, technology and many others.
The universities objective was to do an in-depth examination into the fears of average Americans.
The top results included: Corrupt Government Officials 74.5%, American Healthcare Act/Trumpcare
55.3%, Pollution of Oceans, Rivers and Lakes 53.1%, Pollution of Drinking Water 50.4% and
Not having enough money for the future 50.2%.
But these are fears and a phobia is really another level of fear.
It’s the kind of fear that puts you on edge, makes your palms sweat and can even make you
anxious and sick.
According to the American Psychiatric Association, phobias are the most common psychiatric illness
reported by women and the second most common reported by men.
The National Institute of Mental Health suggests that phobias affect approximately 19.2 million
US adults.
So what are these common phobias that people seek treatment for?
Here’s our top 10 countdown.
10.
Arachnophobia – Very few people love spiders but then there some who are absolutely frightened
stiff by them.
It’s a common fear known as Arachnophobia.
The sight of a spider can trigger a fear response, and some people are even spooked by a simple
image or just the thought of a spider.
Phobias are rarely rational and that’s certainly the case when it comes to Arachnophobia, as
there an estimated 35,000 different spider species, but only around a dozen that can
harm humans.
Back in the 1990’s Walt Disney Studios made light of this phobia in their horror-comedy
film, Arachnophobia.
The film's story centered on a Venezuelan spider being transported to a small American
town that produces a new species of deadly spiders, which begin killing the town's residents
one by one- a film that’s certain to frighten any Arachnophobes, away from the cinemas.
9.
Ophidiophobia - Ophidiophobia is the fear of snakes and again this is a common fear.
It’s likely this fear may have nothing to do with having been in contact with snakes
as in a study of 35 snake-fearful participants, researchers found that only 3 of those taking
part had ever been bitten by one.
So maybe it’s simply the look of a snake that freaks some people out, rather than any
past experience of having been in contact with the reptilian slitherer.
Other studies have shown that snakes tend to provoke a disgust response, which might
also explain why a phobia of snakes is so common, yet people don’t tend to have similar
phobias of dangerous animals such as lions or bears.
8.
Aerophobia – Aerophobia is the fear of flying and it affects an estimated 8 million adults
in America.
That’s despite the fact that airplane accidents are very uncommon.
People who suffer from a fear of flying may tremble, or experience a rapid heartbeat and
feel disoriented.
And it can happen to anyone.
In 2017 Aslan Gagiev, a Russian crime boss who was accused of murdering 60 people was
removed from an aircraft at Vienna airport, which was supposed to bring the him to Moscow
to face trial.
Dzhako’s defense lawyer provided a certificate stating that he had a rare form of aerophobia,
which developed during his stay in an Austrian prison and which could kill him during the
flight to Russia.
We can’t find cases of people dying from this phobia so perhaps this was a tactic to
keep Dzhako away from Russia, but it looks like Austrian police did get him on a plane
just recently to face trial in his home country.
And even if you don’t happen to suffer the phobia, around 1 in every 3 people still have
some level of fear of flying.
7.
Cynophobia – Can people be so scared of dogs that they have a phobia?
It seems so and it’s called Cynophobia and it is often associated with specific personal
experience such as being bitten by a dog during childhood.
If this happens then a person can grow up with the memory of the trauma triggering a
phobia in later life.
Therapy can definitely help with this one.
Though we’re looking at Americans we found an interesting story from across the ocean.
Australian media outlet ABC reported on Dilly Rusca in 2017.
Rusca had been scared of dogs since she was four years old.
She would get panic attacks, start shivering and as she grew older, she avoided visiting
friends who had dogs.
So Rusca sought the help of Sydney psychologist and ex dog trainer Anthony Berrick.
According to Berrick the condition is more common than expected, with studies in the
US reporting 5% of people having a fear of dogs.
Berrick spends up to 10 therapy sessions with a patient training the brain to unlearn the
fear.
The fear is treated gradually in a controlled environment, where the client has control
over their relationship with the dog.
It took Rusca six weeks to gather the courage to sit and pat a dog independently.
A big step in the right direction thanks to the therapy.
6.
Astraphobia – Astraphobia is a fear of thunder and lightning.
A person with astraphobia will feel anxious during a thunderstorm even though they understand
that the threat to them is minimal.
Symptoms include trembling, panicking, crying, sweating, nausea, rapid heartbeat, and the
sudden feeling of using the bathroom.
People with this phobia also tend to become very preoccupied with the weather.
They may spend a lot of time each day looking at online weather sites or apps, so they can
work out when the next storm might take place.
If this is your phobia then it might be time to move to a country where storms are rare.
And we just mentioned dogs...well as it happens many dogs could be considered to suffer from
Astraphobia.
It’s not unusual to see a dog bolt under the table or hide behind the nearest door
during a lightning storm.
5.
Trypanophobia - Trypanophobia is the fear of injections, a condition that can sometimes
cause people to avoid medical treatments and doctors all together.
When people with this phobia do have to have an injection, they may experience feelings
of extreme dread and elevated heart rate leading up to the procedure.
But no need to fear as a solution maybe coming!
Rani Therapeutics’ slogan is “no more painful injections” and they’re well on
their way to fulfilling their promise with the planned Rani Pill.
The Silicon Valley start-up is developing a robotic pill, which is swallowed by the
patient just like an ordinary tablet.
But the capsule is actually a smart device, which can transport a drug past the stomach
acid to the small intestine, where it breaks down and releases a very small inflatable
object, which then injects a fine needle into the intestinal wall to release the payload.
So the vaccination is delivered without stress or discomfort, and afterwards the device is
naturally flushed out of the body.
4.
Social Anxiety Disorder – We all love a good party and to catch up with friends right?
Not always it seems, as some of us suffer from Social Anxiety Disorder.
This is the fear of social situations that involve interactions with other people.
People with this phobia may find even ordinary, everyday tasks such as eating a meal can be
anxiety provoking if others are in the room with them.
According to non-profit website Socialphobia.org, Social Anxiety Disorder is the third largest
mental health care problem in the world today.
The latest US government epidemiological data show social anxiety affects about 7% of the
population at any given time.
The chances of developing social anxiety disorder at any time during your life is slightly above
13%.
The American Psychiatric Association reports that social phobias often develop during puberty
and can last throughout life unless they are treated.
The most common form of social phobia is a fear of public speaking and it can effect
even the most confident of us.
Businessman and entrepreneur Richard Branson has suffered from this fear for years and
he even ran away from a presentation he was asked to give at the school he used to attend.
3.
Agoraphobia - Agoraphobia is another type of anxiety disorder in which you fear places
or situations that might cause you to panic and make you feel trapped, or helpless.
You fear an actual or anticipated situation, such as using public transportation, being
in open or enclosed spaces, standing in line, or being in a crowd.
Approximately one-third of people with panic disorder develop agoraphobia and symptoms
include fear of leaving home alone; crowds or waiting in line; enclosed spaces, such
as movie theaters, elevators or small stores; open spaces, such as parking lots, bridges
or malls; and using public transportation, such as a bus, plane or train.
Most people who have agoraphobia develop it after having one or more panic attacks, causing
them to worry about having another attack and avoid the places where it may happen again.
The American Psychiatric Association reports that the condition is more common across the
female population with two-thirds of registered cases of agoraphobia being women.
2.
Mysophobia – Mysophobia is the excessive fear of germs and dirt, and can lead people
to engage in extreme cleaning, compulsive hand-washing, and avoiding situations or places
perceived as dirty.
In some instances this phobia may be related to another mental condition known as obsessive-compulsive
disorder or OCD.
Dr William Alexander Hammond coined the term Mysophobia in 1879 to describe one of his
patients, who would constantly wash his hands, but it is also known by a number of different
names, including verminophobia, germophobia, germaphobia, bacillophobia and bacteriophobia.
It’s another common phobia and has been known to affect a number of celebrities.
Actress Charlize Theron has revealed that her fear of germs keeps her up at night.
She told MailOnline: "I have to be incredibly tidy and organised or it messes with my mind
and switches off on me.
I will lie in bed and not be able to sleep because I'll say to myself: 'I think I saw
something in that cabinet that just shouldn't be there.”
Other celebrities that have confessed to being obsessive about cleaning include David Beckham,
Madonna and Cameron Diaz.
1.
Acrophobia – Acrophobia is the fear of heights and it impacts an estimated 23 million adults.
People who have this fear often get anxiety attacks when in high places such as bridges,
towers, or tall buildings.
Sometimes this fear can manifest as the result of a traumatic past experience.
British newspaper The Independent published an article about a virtual reality study where
100 volunteers with a fear of heights, were guided around a 10-storey building with a
large open atrium in the centre.
They were gradually encouraged to lean over the edge and rescue a cat or cross a rope
bridge.
In real life these volunteers had struggled to approach balconies or take escalators for
years, but the VR study has some dramatic results.
After the VR treatment, Dick, a retired paramedic whose severe fear has bothered him his entire
life was able to relax looking over a shopping centre balcony, something he said “would
have been impossible before”.
Acrophobia is the most commonly reported phobia with one in five people saying they have some
fear of heights and 5% of the population being clinically diagnosed.
That’s our list of the top 10 most common phobias among Americans.
Do you suffer from any of these phobias or maybe another that we didn’t mention?
Let us know in the comments.
Also, be sure to check out our other video called Why Are We Afraid of Friday the 13th
and the Number 13?
Thanks for watching, and, as always, don’t forget to like, share, and subscribe.
See you next time!