An Excess of Phobias and Manias
Extensive Information about Fears, Anxieties, and Compulsive Behaviors Explained and Clarified!
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An Excess of Phobias and Manias
anthropophobia: An abnormal fear of people, of human society in general, a dread of human companionship, or it may be centered on a particular individual. An example in the extreme would involve the complete avoidance of all people by the phobic.
antlophobia: An excessive fear of floods, especially of drowning in one. This is just one of many fears of natural disasters that include hurricanes and tornadoes. When a fear about such natural threats is unreasonable, or excessive, it is considered a phobia; however, normal precautions would be considered sensible and wise.
ants: formiphobia, myrmecophobia
There are about 10,000 species of ants in the world; they are among the major predators in most terrestrial habitats but, mostly, do not pose a health problem.
In the USA, the principal ants of concern are fire ants and harvester ants. Imported-fire ants (Solenopsis invicta) from South America have become established in the USA from Florida to Texas and are extending their range. These ants have large colonies, and respond to a disturbance with vigorous mass stinging. Harvester ants (Pogo-nomyrmex), that are common in arid areas of the western USA and Mexico, have large colonies and cause painful stings; but they are less defensive than fire ants and, therefore, are not considered as much a threat for human beings. anuptaphobia: An excessive fear of remaining unmarried or single. Many people fear remaining single because they view the world as being populated by couples. The fear of being single is a fear of being considered socially different and rejected by everyone. This fear also includes a fear of growing old and being alone.
anxiety (general): panophobia
The word "anxiety" comes from a Greek root meaning "to press tight" or "to strangle". The Latin version, anxious, and its derivatives, imply "narrowness" and "constriction", usually with discomfort in the area of the throat (particularly in early references). These Greek and Latin derivatives of "anxious" denote distress, disquiet, and sadness; which carries over into the current psychiatric definition: a state of abnormal and intense apprehension or fear of real or imagined danger, manifested physiologically as increased heart rate, sweating, trembling, weakness, and stomach or intestinal discomfort.
From a psychological aspect, anxiety includes a specific conscious inner attitude and a peculiar feeling characterized by a physically as well as mentally painful awareness of being powerless to do anything about a personal matter and by the anticipation of an impending and almost inevitable danger.
Anxiety is differentiated from a simple fear which is considered to be a reaction to a real or threatened danger; whereas, anxiety is more typically a reaction to an unreal or imagined danger.
A phobia, on the other hand, is a type of anxiety disorder consisting of a morbid and irrational fear of a specific object or situation associated with severe anxiety, and recognized by the subject to be unreasonable or unwarranted. It is more than fear, however, since the feared object or situation must be avoided or can be endured only with extreme distress because of the anxiety response or panic attack that it almost always provokes. apeirophobia: An excessive fear of infinity. Individuals who fear infinity like to have terms defined and distances measured, and desire predictability in their lives. This fear may be related to an abhorrence regarding changes or newness. It also involves a neurotic preoccupation with the infinity of space and time which is usually encountered in adolescents and/or as an expression of an autistic or schizophrenic approach to life.
Infinity is a terrible thought.
I mean, when is it going to end?
-Anonymous
aphephobia: An excessive fear of touching or of being touched by other people. In some cases, this fear of being touched may relate to sexual fears. There are those who have anxieties about being touched because they fear being contaminated by others.
aphrodisiomania: An abnormally powerful sexual excitement or desire; an excessive erotic interest; a morbid desire for venery.
apimania: An overwhelming interest in and desire to have bees around.
apiphobia, apiophobia: An irrational fear of bees or of being stung by bees (and wasps) possibly because of severe allergic reactions. This fear may result in restricted travel or of driving with the windows of the car closed every time the phobic drives around or even of staying indoors during the day.
apotemnophobia: An irrational fear of people who are amputees.
Aprilophobia: A fear of April Fools' Day itself. People who suffer excessively from the fear of being ridiculed, losing face, blushing, being embarrassed, or "put down" in social situations.
aquaphobia: An irrational fear of water that is related to an abnormal fear of drowning and resultant death. Some aquaphobics are afraid of putting their faces into the water and getting it up into their noses; when this happens, they have a rapid heartbeat and breathe faster, often inhaling water, which further increases their anxiety and terror.
arachibutyrophobia: A morbid fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of one's mouth. It is related to fears of swallowing and gagging. There is also a strong fear that eating peanut products can cause severe allergic reactions in some people and as a result, it has become a public concern for both consumers and producers of peanut products.
This "phobia" is said to have been presented as a joke; however, it appears on almost every phobia list and it has even been explained, sometimes, with serious connotations as shown above.
arachnephobia, arachnophobia, arachneophobia: An excessive fear of spiders. Some arachnophobics fumigate their homes on a regular basis, wash all fruits and vegetables, and check incoming bags and other containers where spiders might be hiding. They are usually unable to go on a picnic or stay in strange hotels or houses, and they are always checking around themselves when they are outside. Some people have been known to become physically sick at the sight of a spider.
There are many who mildly dislike spiders; however, there is one phobic who has a much more intense reaction: "Seeing a spider makes me rigid with fear; hot, trembling and dizzy. I have occasionally vomited and once fainted in order to escape from the situation. These symptoms have lasted as long as three or four days after seeing a spider. Even realistic pictures can cause the same effect, especially if I place my hand on one by mistake."
Another phobic said, "Recently I came downstairs early in the morning and walked into a spider hanging on a long web. The spider actually touched my face and in my fear I tore at my face, scratching it in several places, became hysterical, and was very nearly sick."
Spiders, Spiders Everywhere
Currently, about 30,000 species of spiders have been recognized, although it is certain that many more have yet to be discovered from all parts of the world. The spiders are known to occupy nearly every terrestrial habitat, from the peaks of the highest mountain ranges into the depths of the largest caves and holes, from damp marsh to dry desert, anywhere in fact that they can find other arthropods to provide them with a meal.
-Rod & Ken Preston-Mafham
Spiders of the World
Sometimes she is the admired heroine
deserving of reverence, at times the recipient of men's
souls after death, and at other times the villain
who induces fear, abhorrence and sinister forebodings.
-W.S. Bristowe, The World of Spiders
arachnoophobia: An excessive fear of spider eggs probably because they represent the presence of spiders and the possibility that there will be many more of them.
Inaction breeds doubt and fear.
Action breeds confidence and courage.
If you want to conquer fear, do not sit at home and
think about it. Go out and get busy.
-Dale Carnegie (1888-1955), author of
How to Win Friends and Influence People
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