Phobias-What are you afraid of?

Here we give you some of the most commonly encountered phobias. Do you suffer from any of these?

Claustrophobia: This is a fear of closed narrow places. It is a very commonly found phobia. People suffering from this are afraid of closed rooms, lifts and elevators. The often exhibit physical symptoms of palpitation and sweating when they find themselves in closed spaces.

Arachnophobia: This is the fear of spiders, which tends to affect women more than men.

Ophidophobia: This is the irrational fear of snakes. This fear can be due to personal experiences and cultural influences.

Acrophobia: This is the fear of high places. People suffering from it avoid high places altogether.

Agoraphobia: This is a fear of crowded places, specially in the situations where escape is difficult. One third of the population suffering from panic disorder suffers from agoraphobia too.

Cynophobia: This is the chronic fear of dogs. This type of fear is often learnt, owing to some bad experience in the past.

Trypanophobia: This is the fear of needles and syringes. This is the most common phobia to be left untreated as the sufferers avoid the situations altogether.

Pteromerhanophobia: This is the fear of flying. The person has a morbid fear of flying. Treatment includes systematically desensitizing the patient and gradually introducing him to flying.

Mysophobia: This is the fear of germs and dirt. This is often co-morbid with obsessive compulsive disorder.

Sociophobia: This is the fear of being in a social situation where you will be judged negatively.