If you’re samhainophobic, you should probably stay home today.
After all, it’s the day you fear most–Halloween.
But if you’re coulrophobic, phasmophobic, wiccaphobic or bogyphobic, you might want to let someone else answer the door.
At least a few trick-or-treaters are likely to be dressed as clowns, ghosts, witches or bogeymen.
And please, if you’re claustrophobic, don’t lock yourself in a dark room.
Many people face the scariest holiday of the year with laughter, but for about 6.3 million Americans, the frights never end.
Kathy Heart of Atlanta told herself she could get on an airplane whenever she wanted, “but I just didn’t want to.” Then 20 years passed, and she hadn’t seen her relatives in New Jersey. “I had to realize that I really couldn’t.”
The irrational, uncontrollable fear of certain situations, places or objects, coupled with physiological reactions such as intense breathing, pounding heart and sweating, paralyzes people like Heart. Phobias can disrupt daily routines and alter lives as sufferers avoid the triggers, which include:
– Animals. The most common specific phobias include dogs, snakes, insects or mice.
– Situations such as flying, riding in a car or on public transportation, driving, going over bridges or in tunnels or being in a closed-in place.
– Natural environment such as storms, heights or water.
– Blood/injection/injury. These involve a fear of being injured, of seeing blood or of invasive medical procedures such as blood tests or injections.
– Other phobias include fear of falling down and a fear of loud sounds.
While some phobias develop during childhood, most occur during adolescence and early adulthood in response to a stressful event associated with a place or object.
“Perfectly high-functioning, rational people can have an irrational fear of something,” says Jeannie Ingram, a licensed counselor in Atlanta. The key is not to let the phobia take over your life, she says.
A rational fear of snakes is healthy, says Raymond Crowel of the National Mental Health Association, referring to someone walking in the woods or working in their yard.
“But if you’re on a city street downtown looking for snakes,” he says, “that’s a preoccupation and a phobia.”
Do you have a phobia?
Are you troubled by:
– Powerful and ongoing fear of social situations involving unfamiliar people?
– Fear of places or situations where getting help or escape might be difficult, such as in a crowd or on a bridge?
– Shortness of breath or a racing heart for no apparent reason?
– Persistent and unreasonable fear of an object or situation, such as flying, heights, animals, blood, etc.?
– Being unable to travel alone, without a companion?
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If you answered yes to any of the questions, talk with your doctor.
[SOURCE: ANXIETY DISORDERS ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA].Common fears
Arachnophobia: fear of spiders. (Half of women and 10 percent of men have a fear of spiders.)
Aviophobia: fear of flying.
Agoraphobia: fear of any place or situation where escape might be difficult or help unavailable.
Claustrophobia: fear of being trapped in confined spaces.
Acrophobia: fear of heights.
Brontophobia: fear of thunder.
Necrophobia: fear of death or dead things.
Achluophobia: fear of darkness
Unusual phobias
The Web site phobialist.com claims that the hundreds of phobias it lists are mentioned in reference books. Some of the more unusual phobias include:
Alliumphobia: fear of garlic
Aulophobia: fear of flutes
Arachibutyrophobia: fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of your mouth
Cacophobia: fear of ugliness
Cathisophobia: fear of sitting
Chaetophobia: fear of hair
Chrometophobia: fear of money
Clinophobia: fear of going to bed
Climacophobia: fear of stairs
Coimetrophobia: fear of cemeteries
Consecotaleophobia: fear of chopsticks
Dendrophobic: fear of trees
Domatophobia: fear of houses or being in a house
Ergophobia: fear of work
Euphobia: fear of hearing good news
Geniophobia: fear of chins
Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia: fear of long words
Lachanophobia: fear of vegetables
Logizomechanophobia: fear of computers
Logophobia: fear of words
Octophobia: fear of the figure 8
Panophobia: fear of everything
Paraskavedekatriaphobic: fear of the Friday the 13th
Phobophobia: fear of fear
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Pogonophobia: fear of beards
Pteronophobia: fear of being tickled by feathers
Rhytiphobia: fear of getting wrinkles
Tremophobia: fear of trembling
Triskadekaphobia: fear of the number 13
Xanthophobia: fear of the color yellow or the word yellow