Phobia Report

I don’t remember exactly when, but my fear of birds must have crept into my mind since I happened to watch the Alfred Hitchcock’s film The Birds as a child. As well aware, the movie is about birds’ sudden attack on humans in a Californian bay area. I find myself sitting on the edge of my seat, white-knuckling the entire movie.  Through my fingers covering my frightened eyes, I saw a huge flock of sparrows and seagulls flying into houses and finally engulfing the entire town. I felt the goose bumps and creeps all over me. Since that day, I have unintentionally developed some kind of ornithophobia. However, as a dweller in a mid-west town closely surrounded by nature in the States, I have come to savor the joyful chirping of the birds early in the morning, and my fear of birds has gradually disappeared. Well, how about you out there? Is there anything specific that petrifies and terrorizes you by just the thought of being around it? Do you think they can be overcome with gumption at some points in life? Today, we would like to talk about a variety of “phobias” that people suffer from.

Expressions

to sit on the edge of one’s seat: (verb) to wait eagerly or anxiously for some resolution, feeling nervous

to white-knuckle something: (verb) to survive something threatening through strained endurance, that is to say, holding on tight

flock: (noun) a flock is a group of birds conducting flocking behavior in flight

goosebumps: (noun)  momentary roughness of the skin caused in response to cold or to a strong emotion, such as fear or awe. Synonyms include goose flesh and goose pimples.

ornithophobia: fear of birds

gumption: courage, confidence

List of Phobia
xenophobia: the fear of foreigners

agoraphobia: the fear of open spaces such a huge park with large crowds

ó claustrophobia: the fear of enclosed or tight spaces. Severe level of claustrophobia can be especially disabling if it prevents you from riding in cars or elevators.

acrophobia: the fear of heights, which makes you stay away from mountains, bridges, or the higher floors of buildings, roller-coaster rides, and traveling by air. Symptoms include vertigo, dizziness, sweating, and feeling as if you’ll faint.

** aerophobia: the fear of flying which is usually associated with agoraphobia, claustrophobia, or acrophobia

coulrophobia: the fear of clowns. (Quite a lot of people are afraid of clowns –beginning from their childhood-  that show exaggerated makeup and acting)

hemophobia: the fear of blood or injury

homophobia: irrational fear of, aversion to, or discrimination against homosexuality or homosexuals

social phobia: social anxiety disorder which makes you extremely worry about social situations that can lead to self-isolation. A social phobia can be so severe that the simplest interactions, such as ordering at a restaurant or answering the telephone, can cause panic. Those with social phobia will often go out of their way to avoid public situations.

autophobia: the fear of abandonment phobia which is characterized by extreme dependency on others. People with this phobia are generally diagnosed with Borderline Personality disorders

glossophobia: the fear of public speaking (*We normally express this feeling as some kind of “stage fright”)

aichmophobia: the morbid fear of sharp things, such as pencils, needles, knives, a pointing finger

trypophobia: the fear of holes. The mere sight or thought of holes can set off a panic attack in the trypophobe (e.g., fear of beehives)

ortholinaphobia: the fear of straight lines

mysophobia: the excessive fear of germs which is often closely related to obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD)

phobophobia: the fear of phobias or fear of developing a phobia. It is closely connected to anxiety disorders and panic attacks

<zoophobia> : specific phobias to particular animals

cynophobia: the fear of dogs is known to be quite common owing to the historic association between dogs and wolves. As a result, most cynophobics generally fear large and vicious looking dogs, though, in extreme cases, one might even fear small or aggressive puppies

ophidiophobia: the fear of snakes affecting nearly 1/3rd of the adult human population.

ornithophobia: the fear of birds

ranidaphobia: the fear of frogs

arachnophobia: the fear of spiders

kastaridaphobia: the fear of cockroaches

musophobia: the fear of mice

vermiphobia: the fear of worms

moths: the fear of moths