Phobia and fear: much of a muchness

Phobia is defined by the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English as a strong, unnatural, and usually unreasonable fear and dislike. The same dictionary defines fear as an unpleasant and usually strong feeling caused by the presence or expectation of danger.

All of us have something we fear and dread. There is no gainsaying that. If you say that you there is nothing you fear, however infinitesimal, then you will have to forgive me when I call you one big liar. Moreover, ofcourse, what you fear should not necessarily be what I fear.

People fear anything ranging from ants to lions and snakes. It is only when your fear is unreasonable that you can start worrying of being phobic.

A phobia is said to be a 'learned anxiety' that has formed around a real or imagined situation. The original source of the anxiety is gradually replaced by symbols that come to represent it. In time, the symbols become the source of fear and a phobia is born.

Phobias about different things have names that I find very rib tickling if not strange.
Here I share with you some that I came across recently:

• Kakorraphiaphobia - fear of failure
• Aulophobia – fear of the flute
• Papaphobia – fear of the pope (God forbid!)
• Acrophobia – fear of heights
• Agoraphobia – fear of open spaces
• Claustrophobia – fear of closed places
• Triskaidekaphobia – fear of number 13
• Xenophobia – fear of foreigners
• Zoophobia – fear of animals
• Arachybutyrophobia – fear of eating peanut butter
• Cyberphobia – fear of computers
• Keraunothnetophobia – fear of falling man-made satellites
• Cibophobia/Sitophobia/Sitiophobia – fear of food
• Anglophobia – fear of Britain
• Didaskaleinophobia – fear of going to school
• Anuptaphobia – fear of staying single
• Brontophobia – fear of thunder and lightning
• Agyrophobia – fear of streets or crossing streets
• Agateophobia – fear of insanity
• Hellenologophobia – fear of Greek terms or complex scientific terminology
• Venustraphobia – fear of beautiful women (what a phobia!)
• Levophobia – fear of things to the left side of the body
• Athazagoraphobia – fear of being forgotten or ignored or forgetting
• Gephyrophobia /gephysrophobia/ghephydrophobia – fear of crossing bridges
• Siderodromophobia – fear of travelling by train
• Xenoglossophobia – fear of foreign languages
• Xanthaphobia – fear of colour yellow or word yellow
• Paraskavedekatriaphobia – fear of Friday, 13th
• Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia – fear of long words
• Chronomentrophobia – fear of clocks
• Arrhenphobia – fear of men
• Erythrophobia/erytophobia/ereuthophobia - fear of red lights or of blushing
• Rhabdophobia – fear of being punished severely with a rod or being criticized
• Bromidrosiphobia/bromidrophobia – fear of body smells
• Ablutophobia – fear of bathing (I bet that classmate of mine in boarding school had this phobia. What with bathing only once in months!)
• Ancraophobia/anemophobia – fear of wind
• Amaxophobia – fear of riding in a car
• Felinophobia/ailuophobia/elurophobia/gatophobia – fear of cats

Phobias are strange things altogether. If there are others you know, please feel free to post them on this column. We'll be more than eager to read from you.