Phobia Guides and Fear Topics

Apiphobia, also called melissophobia, means an intense fear of bees. Some people also fear wasps or other stinging insects, although the animals and the risks differ. Reliable figures for how common this fear is are lacking. Support can help you regain activities that anxiety has restricted while keeping sensible precautions against stings. To an extent, the fear of … [Read more...]

Gynophobia is an informal term used for intense fear or anxiety around women. It should be distinguished from misogyny, which involves prejudice or hostility. Anxiety can deserve treatment, but it does not excuse demeaning, threatening or excluding women. The label is not a well-established separate diagnosis. Other informal labels describe anxiety around particular … [Read more...]

Somniphobia is a term for an intense fear of sleep or falling asleep. Someone may be exhausted yet delay bedtime because they dread losing awareness, having nightmares or experiencing a frightening event during the night. Fear of sleep and insomnia can overlap, but they are not identical and may need assessment for different causes. Hypnophobia is another name sometimes … [Read more...]

Paraskevidekatriaphobia and friggatriskaidekaphobia are names used for an intense fear of Friday the 13th. The fear is related to triskaidekaphobia, or fear associated with the number 13, but a person may worry specifically about the date. These are descriptive labels rather than a diagnosis that a calendar preference can establish. The number and the weekday have … [Read more...]

Podophobia is an informal term for an intense fear of feet. Someone may react to their own feet, other people’s feet, touch, images or discussion. Research on this particular fear is limited, so its worldwide frequency remains unclear. The experience may involve fear, disgust, sensory discomfort, body-image concerns or a worry about contamination. Not wanting your feet … [Read more...]

Panophobia, pantophobia and omniphobia are informal terms sometimes used for a broad or pervasive sense of fear. They are not a well-established separate diagnosis meaning that someone literally has a phobia of every object. A feeling that danger is everywhere can be real and exhausting, and it deserves assessment rather than dismissal. Someone may describe constant … [Read more...]

Lepidopterophobia is a term for an intense fear of butterflies or moths. Lepidoptera is the insect order that includes both; it does not include every winged insect. Someone may fear butterflies alone or also experience other animal fears. Celebrity anecdotes do not establish a diagnosis or explain an individual’s reaction. The response may involve anxiety, disgust, … [Read more...]

Entomophobia, sometimes called insectophobia, is an intense fear of insects. Acarophobia is a term more specifically associated with mites or infestation-related concerns, so the words are not always interchangeable. A clinician can assess the actual fear without relying on a technical label. Fear, disgust, sudden movement, bites or contamination worries may be central. … [Read more...]

Gephyrophobia is a term for an intense fear of bridges or crossing them. It may involve driving, travelling as a passenger, walking across a bridge or viewing an image. Fear of tunnels can overlap, but it is not automatically the same problem. There is no reliable prevalence figure specific to this label. Avoidance can affect journeys, work and family activities. If … [Read more...]

Emetophobia is an intense fear of vomiting, seeing someone else vomit or situations associated with sickness. It can affect meals, travel, relationships and healthcare. Fear of swallowing or choking and a lump sensation in the throat are different concerns, although some experiences overlap. A clinician can help distinguish them. Someone may fear losing control, … [Read more...]

Triskaidekaphobia is a term for an intense fear associated with the number 13. Someone may avoid dates, addresses, room numbers or other ordinary situations because the number feels threatening. A superstition or preference alone is not a disorder; the concern is persistent distress and interference with daily life. Fear specifically involving Friday the 13th is … [Read more...]

Philophobia is an informal term for intense fear associated with falling in love or emotional closeness. Someone may want connection yet become very anxious when a relationship deepens. It is not a well-established separate diagnosis, and choosing to remain single or not pursue romance is not itself a disorder. The distress may affect communication, trust or decisions … [Read more...]

Franklin D. Roosevelt’s 1933 inaugural address included the words “the only thing we have to fear is fear itself”. In anxiety, a related experience can occur when someone becomes frightened of becoming frightened. Phobophobia is a descriptive term for this fear of fear, rather than proof of a separate disorder in every case. The concern may be another panic attack, an … [Read more...]

Androphobia is an informal term for an intense fear associated with men. It can affect people of different genders and ages, and is not a well-established separate diagnosis. A clinician can assess the fear and its context without assuming that it is an instinctive response or that one demographic group always experiences it. The distress may affect appointments, work, … [Read more...]

Nyctophobia is a term for an intense fear of darkness or night. Scotophobia, lygophobia and achluophobia are other names sometimes used. The labels describe a fear; they do not tell you why it occurs or establish a diagnosis from a preference for light. The word Nyctophobia is derived from Greek ‘Nyctus ‘meaning night or darkness and Phobos which means deep fear or … [Read more...]