According to the American Psychiatric Association, a phobia is an irrational and excessive fear of an object or situation. In most cases, the phobia involves a sense of endangerment or a fear of harm. For example, those suffering from agoraphobia fear being trapped in an inescapable place or situation. In order to prevent and reduce suffering knowledge of phobia and how can it be treated is essential

1. PHOBIA
Based on
About.com Psychology
by
Col Mukteshwar Prasad(Retd),
MTech(IIT Delhi) ,CE(I),FIE(I),FIETE,FISLE,FInstOD,AMCSI
Contact -+919007224278,
e-mail -muktesh_prasad@yahoo.co.in
for book ”Decoding Services Selection Board” and
SSB guidance and training at
Shivnandani Edu and Defence Academy,Kolkata,India

2. Arachnophobia: The fear of spiders

3. Acrophobia The fear of heights

4. Pteromerhanophobia: The fear of flying

5. Fear of needles, or trypanophobia, is a very
common phobia.

6. What Is A Phobia?
 Phobias Defined
 According to the American Psychiatric Association, a phobia is
an irrational and excessive fear of an object or situation. In
most cases, the phobia involves a sense of endangerment
or a fear of harm. For example, those suffering from
agoraphobia fear being trapped in an inescapable place or
situation.

7. Symptoms of Phobias
 Phobic symptoms can occur through exposure to the fear object or situation, or
sometimes simply thinking about the feared object can lead to a response. Common
symptoms associated with phobias include:
 Nausea
 A sense of unreality
 Fear of dying
 Terror: A persistent and overwhelming fear of the object or situation.
 Physical Symptoms: Dizziness, shaking, palpitations , breathlessness.
 Obsessive Thoughts: Difficulty thinking about anything other than the fear.
 Desire to Flee: An intense instinct to leave the situation.
 Anticipatory Anxiety: Persistent worrying about upcoming events that involve
the phobic object or situation.
 In some cases, these symptoms can escalate into a full-scale anxiety attack.
As a consequence of these symptoms, some individuals begin to isolate
themselves, leading to severe difficulties in daily life. In other cases, the
individual may seek out medical care due to a constant concern with
imagined illnesses or imminent death.

8. Types of Phobias-
 There are three types of phobias:
 Social phobias—fear of social situations.
 Agoraphobia—fear of being trapped in an inescapable place
or situation.
 Specific phobias—fear of a specific object (such as snakes).
 There are four major types of specific phobias:
 The natural environment—fear of lightening, water,
storms, etc.
 Animal—fear of snakes, rodents, spiders, etc.
 Medical—fear of seeing blood, receiving injections,
visiting a doctor, etc.
 Situational—fear of bridges, leaving the home, driving,
etc.

9. Prevalence of Phobias
 Phobias are actually quite common, affecting more than 10% of the U.S.
population and are the most common mental disorder affecting women more than
men.
 In many cases, people are able to recognize that their fear is irrational and
therefore take steps to overcome their phobia.
 According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, only about
10 percent of reported cases become life-long phobias.

10. Diagnosing a Phobia
 When diagnosing a phobia, mental health professionals must use clinical skills and
judgment alongside the written list of diagnostic criteria found in the Diagnostic and
Statistical Manual (DSM-IV; 4th Ed.).
 Many of the symptoms of phobias are very similar to those of other mental disorders as well as
physical illnesses. A phobia can be defined as an intense and irrational fear.
 Differential Diagnosis
 One of the most important steps in diagnosing a phobia is deciding whether the
symptoms are better explained by another disorder. Phobias can be traced to
specific, concrete fears that adult sufferers recognize as irrational.
 The fact that the fear is concrete separates phobias from disorders such as
generalized anxiety disorder, in which the anxiety is more broad-based. Phobia
sufferers are able to pinpoint an exact object or situation that they fear.
 Being able to recognize the fear as irrational separates anxiety disorders from the
psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia. People who suffer from psychotic
disorders genuinely believe that the fear is based on a real danger, though the
nature of the danger appears illogical to others.

11. Treatments for Phobias
 There are a number of treatment approaches for phobias.
 The effectiveness of a treatment depends on the individual and the type of
phobia.
 Few potential phobia treatments:
 In exposure treatments, the patient is exposed to the fear object in order to
help them overcome their fear.
 One type of exposure treatment is flooding, in which the patient is
confronted by the fear object for an extended length of time without the
opportunity to escape.
 The goal of this method is to help the individual face their fear and realize
that the fear object will not harm them.
 counter-conditioning. In this method, the patient is taught a new response to
the fear object.
 Rather that panic in the face of the feared object or situation, the client
learns relaxation techniques to replace anxiety and fear.
 This new behavior is incompatible with the previous panicked response,
so the phobic response gradually fades.

12. 10 Common Phobias
 These common phobias typically involve the environment, animals, or specific
situations.
 1. Arachnophobia:
 The fear of spiders.
 This phobia tends to affect women more than men.
 2. Ophidiophobia:
 The fear of snakes.
 Often attributed to evolutionary causes, personal experiences, or cultural
influences.
 3. Acrophobia:
 The fear of heights.
 This fear can lead to anxiety attacks and avoidance of high places.
 4. Agoraphobia:
 The fear of situations in which escape is difficult.
 This may include crowded areas, open spaces, or situations that are likely to trigger a panic
attack. People will begin avoiding these trigger events, sometimes to the point that they

13. 10 Common Phobias
 5. Cynophobia: The fear of dogs.
 This phobia is often associated with specific personal experiences, such as being
bitten by a dog during childhood.
 6. Astraphobia:
 The fear of thunder and lightening.
 Also known as Brontophobia, Tonitrophobia, or Ceraunophobia.
 7. Trypanophobia:
 The fear of injections.
 Like many phobias, this fear often goes untreated because people avoid the
triggering object and situation.
 8. Social Phobias:
 The fear of social situations.
 In many cases, these phobias can become so severe that people avoid events,
places, and people that are likely to trigger an anxiety attack.

14. 10 Common Phobias
 9. Pteromerhanophobia:
 The fear of flying.
 Often treated using exposure therapy, in which the client is gradually and
progressively introduced to flying.
 10. Mysophobia:
 The fear of germs or dirt.
 May be related to obsessive-compulsive disorder.

15. An A to Z List of Phobias
A
 Achluophobia - Fear of darkness.
 Acrophobia - Fear of heights.
 Aerophobia - Fear of flying.
 Algophobia - Fear of pain.
 Agoraphobia - Fear of open spaces or crowds.
 Aichmophobia - Fear of needles or pointed objects.
 Amaxophobia - Fear of riding in a car.
 Androphobia - Fear of men.
 Anginophobia - Fear of angina or choking
 Anthrophobia - Fear of flowers.
 Anthropophobia - Fear of people or society.
 Aphenphosmphobia - Fear of being touched.
 Arachnophobia - Fear of spiders.

16. An A to Z List of Phobias
A…
 Arithmophobia - Fear of numbers.
 Astraphobia - Fear of thunder and lightening.
 Ataxophobia - Fear of disorder or untidiness.
 Atelophobia - Fear of imperfection.
 Atychiphobia - Fear of failure.
 Autophobia - Fear of being alone.
B
 Bacteriophobia - Fear of bacteria.
 Barophobia - Fear of gravity.
 Bathmophobia - Fear of stairs or steep slopes.
 Batrachophobia - Fear of amphibians.
 Belonephobia - Fear of pins and needles.
 Bibliophobia - Fear of books.
 Botanophobia - Fear of plants.

17. An A to Z List of Phobias
C
 Cacophobia - Fear of ugliness.
 Catagelophobia - Fear of being ridiculed.
 Catoptrophobia - Fear of mirrors.
 Chionophobia - Fear of snow.
 Chromophobia - Fear of colors.
 Chronomentrophobia - Fear of clocks.
 Claustrophobia - Fear of confined spaces.
 Coulrophobia - Fear of clowns.
 Cyberphobia - Fear of computers.
 Cynophobia - Fear of dogs.
D
 Dendrophobia - Fear of trees.
 Dentophobia - Fear of dentists.
 Domatophobia - Fear of houses.

18. An A to Z List of Phobias
E
 Ecophobia - Fear of the home.
 Elurophobia - Fear of cats.
 Entomophobia - Fear of insects.
 Ephebiphobia - Fear of teenagers.
 Equinophobia - Fear of horses.
G
 Gamophobia - Fear of marriage.
 Genuphobia - Fear of knees.
 Glossophobia - Fear of speaking in public.
 Gynophobia - Fear of women.
H
 Heliophobia - Fear of the sun.
 Hemophobia - Fear of blood.
 Herpetophobia - Fear of reptiles.

19. An A to Z List of Phobias
H…
 Hydrophobia - Fear of water.
 Hypochondriac - Fear of illness.
I
 Iatrophobia - Fear of doctors.
 Insectophobia - Fear of insects.
K
 Koinoniphobia - Fear of rooms.
L
 Leukophobia - Fear of the color white.
 Lilapsophobia - Fear of tornadoes and hurricanes
 Lockiophobia - Fear of childbirth.
M
 Mageirocophobia - Fear of cooking.
 Megalophobia - Fear of large things.

20. An A to Z List of Phobias
M..
 Melanophobia - Fear of the color black.
 Microphobia - Fear of small things.
 Mysophobia - Fear of dirt and germs.
N
 Necrophobia - Fear of death or dead things.
 Noctiphobia - Fear of the night.
 Nosocomephobia - Fear of hospitals.
 Nyctophobia - Fear of the dark.
O
 Obesophobia - Fear of gaining weight.
 Octophobia - Fear of the figure 8.
 Ombrophobia - Fear of rain.
 Ophidiophobia - Fear of snakes.
 Ornithophobia - Fear of birds.

21. An A to Z List of Phobias
P
 Papyrophobia - Fear of paper.
 Pathophobia - Fear of disease.
 Pedophobia - Fear of children.
 Philophobia - Fear of love.
 Phobophobia - Fear of phobias.
 Podophobia - Fear of feet.
 Porphyrophobia - Fear of the color purple.
 Pteridophobia - Fear of ferns.
 Pteromerhanophobia - Fear of flying.
 Pyrophobia - Fear of fire.
S
 Samhainophobia - Fear of Halloween.
 Scolionophobia - Fear of school.
 Selenophobia - Fear of the moon.

22. An A to Z List of Phobias
S..
 Sociophobia - Fear of social evaluation.
 Somniphobia - Fear of sleep.
T
 Tachophobia - Fear of speed.
 Technophobia - Fear of technology.
 Tonitrophobia - Fear of thunder.
 Trypanophobia - Fear of needles / injections.
V-Z
 Venustraphobia - Fear of beautiful women.
 Verminophobia - Fear of germs.
 Wiccaphobia - Fear of witches and witchcraft.
 Xenophobia - Fear of strangers or foreigners.
 Zoophobia - Fear of animals.