What do you fear? There’s a name for it ……

I subscribe to Dictionary.com’s  “Word of the Day”.  Yesterday’s word fascinated me:

triskaidekaphobia \tris-ky-dek-uh-FOH-bee-uh\, noun:

Fear or a phobia concerning the number 13.

I had never heard this word before, and couldn’t believe that this fear is so prevalent that there is a special word to describe it.  Intrigued by this idea, I googled “names of phobias” and found the following list on Wikipedia.

Isn’t it amazing how many things we are afraid of?  Where do these phobias come from?  Fundamentally, they come from our thinking.  Yes, we have had experiences that informed these phobias – but it is our thinking that determines whether we continue to take that experience into our present and future and make it something fearful and negative.   Phobias also come from others’ experiences – we hear people speak about a particular situation of which they are fearful so often that we absorb the phobia as our own.

Phobias, or fears, are baggage.  They keep us from being free.  They keep us tied to the past.  Releasing our fears is a wonderful step to take in our life’s journey.  As you scroll through the list of phobias, ask yourself:

1. Which of these apply to me?
2. Which of these used to apply to me?
3. Which of these are holding me back?
4. Which of these am I willing to release?

And release them.  If you need help, then get help.  But don’t think that you MUST go through life with these fears.    It is up to you!

PSYCHOLOGICAL PHOBIAS:

• Ablutophobia – fear of bathing, washing, or cleaning.
• Acrophobia, Altophobia – fear of heights.
• Agoraphobia – fear of places or events where escape is impossible or when help is unavailable.
• Agraphobia – fear of sexual abuse.
• Aichmophobia – fear of sharp or pointed objects (as a needle, knife or a pointing finger).
• Algophobia – fear of pain.
• Agyrophobia – fear of crossing roads.
• Androphobia – fear of men.
• Anthropophobia – fear of people or being in a company, a form of social phobia.
• Anthophobia – fear of flowers.
• Aquaphobia, Hydrophobia – fear of water.
• Astraphobia, Astrapophobia, Brontophobia, Keraunophobia – fear of thunder, lightning and storms; especially common in young children.
• Aviophobia, Aviatophobia – fear of flying.
• Bacillophobia, Bacteriophobia, Microbiophobia – fear of microbes and bacteria.
• Blood-injection-injury type phobia – a DSM-IV subtype of specific phobias
• Catoptrophobia – fear of mirrors or of one’s own reflection.
• Chorophobia – fear of dancing.
• Chronometrophobia – fear of clocks.
• Cibophobia, Sitophobia – aversion to food, synonymous to Anorexia nervosa.
• Claustrophobia – fear of confined spaces.
• Coulrophobia – fear of clowns (not restricted to evil clowns).
• Decidophobia – fear of making decisions.
• Dental phobia, Dentophobia, Odontophobia – fear of dentists and dental procedures
• Dysmorphophobia, or body dysmorphic disorder – a phobic obsession with a real or imaginary body defect.
• Emetophobia – fear of vomiting.
• Ergasiophobia, Ergophobia – fear of work or functioning, or a surgeon‘s fear of operating.
• Ergophobia – fear of work or functioning.
• Erotophobia – fear of sexual love or sexual questions.
• Erythrophobia – pathological blushing.
• Gelotophobia – fear of being laughed at.
• Gephyrophobia – fear of bridges.
• Genophobia, Coitophobia – fear of sexual intercourse.
• Gerascophobia – fear of growing old or ageing.
• Gerontophobia – fear of growing old, or a hatred or fear of the elderly.
• Glossophobia – fear of speaking in public or of trying to speak.
• Gymnophobia – fear of nudity.
• Gynophobia – fear of women.
• Haptephobia – fear of being touched.
• Heliophobia – fear of sunlight.
• Hemophobia, Haemophobia – fear of blood.
• Hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia – fear of the number 666.
• Hoplophobia – fear of weapons, specifically firearms (Generally a political term but the clinical phobia is also documented).
• Ligyrophobia – fear of loud noises.
• Lipophobia – fear/avoidance of fats in food.
• Megalophobia – fear of large/oversized objects.
• Mysophobia – fear of germs, contamination or dirt.
• Necrophobia – fear of death, the dead.
• Neophobia, Cainophobia, Cainotophobia, Cenophobia, Centophobia, Kainolophobia, Kainophobia – fear of newness, novelty.
• Nomophobia – fear of being out of mobile phone contact.
• Nosophobia – fear of contracting a disease.
• Nyctophobia, Achluophobia, Lygophobia, Scotophobia – fear of darkness.
• Osmophobia, Olfactophobia – fear of smells.
• Paraskavedekatriaphobia, Paraskevidekatriaphobia, Friggatriskaidekaphobia – fear of Friday the 13th.
• Panphobia – fear of everything or constantly afraid without knowing what is causing it.
• Phasmophobia – fear of ghosts, spectres or phantasms.
• Phagophobia – fear of swallowing.
• Phobophobia – fear of having a phobia.
• Phonophobia – fear of loud sounds.
• Pyrophobia – fear of fire.
• Radiophobia – fear of radioactivity or X-rays.
• Sociophobia – fear of people or social situations
• Scopophobia – fear of being looked at or stared at.
• Somniphobia – fear of sleep.
• Spectrophobia – fear of mirrors and one’s own reflections.
• Taphophobia – fear of the grave, or fear of being placed in a grave while still alive.
• Technophobia – fear of technology (see also Luddite).
• Telephone phobia, fear or reluctance of making or taking phone calls.
• Tetraphobia – fear of the number 4.
• Tokophobia – fear of childbirth.
• Tomophobia – fear or anxiety of surgeries/surgical operations.
• Traumatophobia – a synonym for injury phobia, a fear of having an injury
• Triskaidekaphobia, Terdekaphobia – fear of the number 13.
• Trypanophobia, Belonephobia, Enetophobia – fear of needles or injections.
• Workplace phobia – fear of the work place.
• Xenophobia – fear of strangers, foreigners, or aliens.

BUT WAIT!  THERE’S MORE – Animal phobias

• Ailurophobia – fear/dislike of cats.
• Animal phobia – fear of certain animals, a category of specific phobias.
• Apiphobia – fear/dislike of bees (also known as Melissophobia).
• Arachnophobia – fear/dislike of spiders.
• Chiroptophobia – fear/dislike of bats.
• Cynophobia – fear/dislike of dogs.
• Entomophobia – fear/dislike of insects.
• Equinophobia – fear/dislike of horses (also known as Hippophobia).
• Herpetophobia – fear/dislike of reptiles.
• Ichthyophobia – fear/dislike of fish.
• Musophobia – fear/dislike of mice and/or rats.
• Ophidiophobia – fear/dislike of snakes.
• Ornithophobia – fear/dislike of birds.
• Scoleciphobia – fear of worms.
• Selachophobia – fear/dislike of sharks.
• Zoophobia – a generic term for animal phobias.

PS:  AND THERE ARE EVEN MORE ……….