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SALT LAKE CITY — Are you afraid of the dark?
Maybe spiders cause you to squeal for help, or you avoid the top floor of a hotel when you travel. Regardless of what your greatest fear is, chances are a good portion of the American public share it with you — between 8.7 and 18.1 of Americans have a phobia, not including those who count themselves simply as "afraid" of something. Here are America's top 10, and check out the box to the side for 10 strange, uncommon phobias:
Arachnophobia
Fear of spiders is the most common phobia in the U.S. The spider has long been portrayed in movies, literature and art as an alien, dangerous species, either way bigger or numerous than reality would suggest. In J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series, a species of gigantic spider grows to the size of a small elephant and enjoys eating humans, touching a nerve with a large amount of people. Almost 50 percent of women and 10 percent of men suffer from arachnophobia.
People with arachnophobia may not have to see a spider to exhibit symptoms of the phobia; simply being in an area that may harbor spiders or spiderwebs could be enough to trigger fear.
Acrophobia
Fear of heights is another common phobia, with between 2 and 5 percent of Americans suffering from it. Most people experience at least a twinge of nervousness when exposed to heights, especially when there is little protection from a fall, but people with acrophobia may have panic attacks in a high places. People with a more general fear of heights may make bad decisions while hiking or at an amusement park and find themselves stuck at the top of a cliff or seriously regretting that 32-ounce Diet Coke (me).
Fear of heights has traditionally been thought to be caused by a traumatic experience involving heights, but more recent theories suggest the fear is more likely an inborn fear leftover from a world where falls posed a significant danger.
Social phobia
Those with a social phobia have a fear of being misjudged or misunderstood in social situations. Social phobias often begin in adolescence and may be the product of having overprotective parents or limited social experiences.
Physical symptoms of social phobias often include blushing, difficulty talking, nausea, sweating and trembling. People who suffer from these phobias are likely to fear attending parties and speaking in public, but can also fear activities such as eating, drinking and writing in public or even using public restrooms. The phobia itself is far more severe and serious than shyness or social awkwardness, which is a more common ailment often represented by a Socially Awkward Penguin.
- Anatidaephobia: the fear of being watched by a duck.
- Aerophobia: the fear of swallowing air
- Phengophobia: the fear of daylight.
- Vestiophobia: the fear of clothing.
- Syngenesophobia: the fear of relatives.
- Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia: the fear of long words (yep.)
- Arachibutyrophobia: the fear of peanut butter clinging to the top your mouth
- Coulrophobia: the fear of clowns
- Linonophobia: the fear of string
- Verbophobia: the fear of words
ClaustrophobiaClaustrophobia is the fear of having no escape and being enclosed in small spaces. It is estimated that between 5 and 7 percent of people suffer from the phobia.
Claustrophobics often fear places such as cars, tunnels, elevators, or locked rooms. Sometimes, the fear of restriction is bad enough to interfere with daily activities such as waiting in line at the grocery store or getting a haircut, for fear of being stuck in one place.
Aerophobia
The fear of flying is sometimes referred to as a distinct phobia in itself, but is sometimes thought to be an expression of one or more other phobias, such as claustrophobia or acrophobia.
Exact numbers are unclear, but a significant minority of the population is said to have at least some fear of flying. This can be caused by fear of crashing, heights, turbulence or terrorism, among other things.
A previous traumatizing experience can also cause a fear of flying, such as if during your childhood you were flying from Salt Lake City to Sacramento and the airline lost you, leaving you alone in Michigan for a day back before everyone had cellphones.
Aerophobia also refers to the fear of swallowing air.
There is some variation in what is said to round out the top 10 phobias, but others commonly listed include:
- Agoraphobia: the fear of being unable to escape
- Brontophobia: the fear of thunderstorms
- Necrophobia: the fear of death
- Mysophobia: the fear of germs
- Ophidiophobia: the fear of snakes
What's your greatest fear? Tell us on the comment board, Twitter, or Facebook.
