People’s Top 10 Fears
You may feel like an outsider for freaking out over certain things, but, odds are you share more fears with your neighbor than you would believe. So, don’t be embarrassed. These top 10 fears (in no particular order) are some of the most common around the world.
- Social Phobias
Let’s be honest. It’s one thing to approach the cutie you’ve been eyeing from across the room at a party, but a whole other thing to work up the courage to go to the party itself. Just the thought of interacting with others may overwhelm you into self-consciousness. According to ABC, one in 20 people have some type of social phobia.
- Agoraphobia
If wide open spaces are freaky to you, you may fall into this category. It may seem like nothing to people who don’t have it, but for those that do, it can be debilitating. People with agoraphobia may suffer from such severe anxiety about wide open spaces that they don’t leave their homes.
- Arachnophobia
According to fearof.net, this phobia affects women four times more than men. 48 percent of women and 12 percent of men are afraid of the creepy crawly things you know to be spiders. Honestly, though, who wouldn’t scream waking up to a tarantula next to their pillow? Yikes!
- Acrophobia
Don’t look down! While some may suffer from vertigo (dizziness) when exposed to heights, others fear it so much that they avoid open staircases, escalators or glass elevators altogether. The fear of heights is so real and so scary.
- Claustrophobia
Have you ever felt panic from sitting on the inside of a booth while you’re with a group at a restaurant, like you can’t get out and need to find the exit immediately? Do walls feel like they’re closing in on you when you’re in small spaces? If small enclosed spaces freak you out, you may be suffering from this phobia.
- Pteromerhanophobia
The fear of flying affects approximately 25 million U.S. citizens. Even though, statistically, you’re more likely to die in a car crash or be struck by lightning than die flying on a plane, this fear is very present for travelers everywhere.
- Entomophobia
This is another creepy crawly fear that people have across the globe. Even though they play a very important role in our ecosystem’s maintenance and development, people may see insects and immediately want to run.
- Ophidiophobia
The fear of snakes isn’t just reserved for dramatic television or movie scenes. While not all are venomous, the hiss and movement of a snake alone is panic-striking for some people. The good news, however, according to ABC, is that if you leave them alone, they’ll leave you alone! So next time you’re hiking through a desert, just pretend like they’re not there…
- Astraphobia
The fear of storms may send you back to your childhood of hiding under the covers and watching animated movies with your parents until the storm passes. While it’s not directly related to the fear of being struck by lightning, this can be part of it for some people. The loudness of the thunder is also hugely frightening for people with astraphobia.
- Trypanophobia
People with type 1 diabetes or type 2 diabetes know best that the fear of needles can be real. Overcoming it when you have to inject yourself as multiple times a day with insulin shots can be scary, but in some cases, you have no choice. As unpleasant as having a sharp piece of metal stuck in your arm can be, it is possible to overcome your fear of needles, as it is with all of these phobias.
The best way to diminish your fear of anything is to subconsciously expose yourself to it, according to Psychology Today. Studies have shown that subliminal exposure to images of what you’re afraid of can help lead you to be less afraid of it. Over time, the stimuli become less present, less threatening and more natural to you.
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