A phobia is a type of anxiety disorder, defined by a persistent and excessive fear of an object or situation. They provoke feelings of anxiousness making everyday life frightening and disabling.

Phobias are one of the most common mental illnesses in the United States with an estimation of 19.2 million U.S. adults being affected by them, as almost any object or situation can become a source of fear. Due to this, phobias are broken up into three different classifications, such as social phobia (which causes extreme anxiety in social or public situations), agoraphobia (the fear of being alone in public places from which there’s no easy escape) and specific phobias (the most common as it’s a fear of specific objects like animals, situations, medical treatment, and the natural environment).

 

 

While not complete (due to the infinite number of phobias), the below list offers a look at some of the many phobias that can impact an individual’s life:

 

 

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
Anthropophobia – Fear of flowers
Anthropophobia – Fear of people or society
Aphenphosmphobia – Fear of being touched
Arachnophobia – Fear of spiders
Arithmophobia – Fear of numbers
Astraphobia – Fear of thunder and lightning
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

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
Chronophobia – Fear of Time
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
Dystychiphobia – Fear of accidents

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
Hydrophobia – Fear of water
Hypochondria – 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
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

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
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